With automation advancing rapidly, Mission Design & Automation remains at the industry’s leading edge
Defined by intelligent innovation, Mission Design & Automation (Mission Design) is the automation integrator building the future of manufacturing. Founded in 2004 and based in Michigan, the company is unique in its commitment to providing bespoke, automated solutions – a quality that has made it a true leader within its field. Whether designing dispensing solutions for chemical processes or building automated assembly systems for commercial production lines, Mission Design is driven by a desire for continuous improvement and excellence, and the company prides itself on its advanced problem-solving solutions. Manufacturing Today sits down with Scot Lindemann, Chief Executive Officer, to learn more about how the company is leveraging its innovative, problem-solving approach to unlock new opportunities and progressions in the manufacturing industry. He begins, however, by providing some insight into the company’s background.
“Mission Design has been in business for 20 years, privately held and financially backed by a group of investors in West Michigan. The company was founded by a couple of guys in their garage and has since grown to three buildings on one large manufacturing campus with around 180 employees and customers all over the world. We sell through people-to-people contact; we’re a product company, and we take care of our customers very well,” Scot shares.
“We offer a broad range of solutions; some are very complex and technologically advanced, and some are simpler,” he continues, elaborating on Mission Design’s scope of capabilities. “We ask our customers a lot of questions and we conduct regular site visits to understand their current processes and what could be improved. We then bring a set of solutions to the table; our toolbox includes a range of solutions from fully automated cells incorporating AI, vision and robotics to ergonomically advantageous operator stations. It’s a unique way of going about business; we don’t come with a predefined set of products that we’re trying to sell. We ask the customer what their problems are, and, with our partners, we bring the best solutions and technologies to solve those problems.”
Championing a fully comprehensive, customer-centric approach, Mission Design is widely recognized for pushing the boundaries in the realm of manufacturing and automation. From initial design conception and research and development to engineering and final integration, Mission Design’s process is collaborative, driving the successful configuration of solutions that exceed expectations and are truly transformative to its customers’ processes.
“We work proactively with our partners when it comes to research and development. We visit different trade shows and conferences to learn about new technologies and what problems they’re designed to solve. We’ll ask for proofs of concept and test the application of the technologies to ensure that it effectively solves the problems at hand and is tolerant of the variables that are going to exist in a given customer’s manufacturing world,” Scot explains.
“Additionally, we’re around technology all the time and tend to adapt it ourselves without even thinking about it. We operate a really hybrid system when it comes to our working process. Our people will visit our customers and see parts of their systems that they like, and they’ll then bring them back to be adapted into our own system. Sometimes it’s as simple as sticky notes on a whiteboard.”
A key example of this is the close partnership Mission Design has with global robotic manufacturer, Fanuc Robotics. This collaboration gave rise to one of Mission Design’s most recent innovations: the Buddy System.
“We have a great partnership with Fanuc Robotics. Using one of their cobots, we’ve implemented the Buddy System. It consists of a pre-engineered software-based solution where robots and software work together to operate different technologies, whether for dispensing systems, screwdriving systems, or quality control,” Scot elaborates. “The Buddy System can be implemented very quickly and can be highly beneficial for our customers, not replacing their people but working next to them and augmenting their workflow.”
Mission Design’s Buddy System is a revolutionary development in the integration of automation. Lightweight, easy to deploy, and highly adaptable, the Buddy System can excel in many applications across a wide range of sectors and environments, once again proving Mission Design’s leadership in the automation industry. However, when it comes to the concept of ‘buddies’, Mission Design takes its expertise beyond the factory, connecting with its local communities and inspiring the next generation of manufacturing.
“We spend a lot of time nurturing relationships with upcoming students, from high schools to universities and through apprenticeship programs. We actively
recruit university graduates and provide internships and co-ops that come as a part of their education, allowing them to build projects with our teams,” Scot says. “We also often have high school students come and visit, where they can work with us for two or three afternoons a week and it counts as class credit. We conduct tours with sixth, seventh, and eighth graders to expose them to the industry, and sometimes, we’ll do a guest lecture in their classes and some of our engineers will go and mentor them. It forms a very important part of our community outreach.”
Despite the onslaught of macroeconomic challenges that have swept the US manufacturing industry in recent years, Scot is optimistic for the future. As automation continues to boom, Mission Design is well-positioned for another prosperous year, leading at the forefront of innovation, expanding its solutions to even greater horizons.
“Market conditions are a hot topic at the moment, but I’ve come to the conclusion over the last few months that they’re not so abnormal. We haven’t had ‘normal’ for over five years since Covid – then it was shipping delays, tariffs, inflation, and everything in between. These are tough and trying times, but turmoil creates opportunities, and automation can be a good way to harness it,” Scot reveals. “Business drivers may have changed, but there are still lots of reasons to invest in manufacturing. Many companies are reshoring their businesses or becoming more vertically integrated, which creates a greater demand for automation.
“We’ll continue to invest in new technologies and partnerships,” Scot affirms, looking forward to the future. “Our growth will be driven by purposely finding new customers in different market segments. One of our priorities is to move into the aerospace and defense business, and we’re always looking to nurture new relationships where we can do future business, whilst continuously investing into operational improvements.
“Automation is a journey – it’s not a one-time ‘take it or leave it’. You need to engage with people, have some base hits under your belt, and just enjoy the automation journey as a part of manufacturing improvement.”