Kickstart: New technology helps preserve a landmark

Ford Motor Co. took on a massive renovation project when it purchased the derelict Central Station in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood in 2018. The building had been closed since 1988 and many elements of the building were heavily damaged.

So Ford turned to new technology to restore parts of the 1912 building to its former glory. In just one example, writes Chad Livengood of our sister paper Crain's Detroit Business, Ford used its in-house 3D printers to create resin replicas of ornate cast iron decorative rosettes that had lined the station's massive windows.

The original rosettes were ripped out by scrappers who had stripped the building over the years, Livengood writes, but after Ford bought the building and announced plans to restore it and use it as the center for its autonomous vehicle development team, individuals who had acquired the pieces began dropping them off.

"Engineers in Ford's additive manufacturing unit used the original cast iron rosettes to reproduce them using 3D printers and resin," he wrote. "Some 560 new lightweight rosettes made by 3D printers now border each interior window frame."

If you can't access the full story on the renovation project, including the 3D printed replacements, you can see a short video via Livengood's Twitter stream on the rosettes here.

It's been more than two years since the last North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The Detroit Show traditionally had kicked off the year, but in 2020 it was slated to move from early January to June so car companies could take advantage of better weather conditions for outdoor "ride-and-drive" exhibits. But of course COVID-19 arrived to cancel both 2020 and 2021 events, although a shorter outdoor Motor Bella show took place in the Detroit suburbs.

Now organizers have set new dates for the auto show in 2022, Sept. 14-25 in downtown Detroit at the Huntington Place conference center, formerly called Cobo Center.

Press and technology days will take place Sept. 14 and 15, the Charity Preview is set for Sept. 16 and public days will run Sept. 17-25, Mike Martinez from our sister paper Automotive News writes.

But while the Detroit auto show may have a new date, the omicron variant is shaking up the schedule for other events in the near future.

Hannover Messe, an industrial trade show in Germany set for April 25-29, now appears it may be forced to cancel or postpone.

"We are looking to postpone the Hannover Messe event. You will get more information on Friday afternoon," a show spokesperson told European Rubber Journal. Other business-to-business events scheduled for Frankfurt, Germany, also are at risk, ERJ wrote.

"In view of the exponential worsening situation worldwide and the accompanying tightened travel and contact regulations, the [events] are cancelled," Messe Frankfurt announced earlier this month in canceling consumer goods shows. The situation is "deteriorating worldwide and the spread of the omicron virus in Europe and Germany currently makes it impossible to keep the dates."

Obviously those changes are tough on companies looking to introduce new items, but changes in Ohio got me wondering about other firms and people impacted by the sudden changes.

Both Ohio State University and Kent State University said that they were eliminating food sales at sporting events, according to our sister paper Crain's Cleveland Business. That means the schools won't be ordering the same amout of foodservice cutlery, cups and containers. But if previous COVID surges taught us anything, it's that we may find the supply chain stressed in completely new spots for this wave.