A Smarter Approach to Local Manufacturing

By Matt Prou and Michelle Buerkler

If you want a glimpse into the future of North American manufacturing, look no further than Farmington, CT. There, global high-tech leader TRUMPF has unveiled its newest Smart Factory, an advanced facility transforming how sheet metal parts are made—and setting a new standard for automated powder coating.

A Legacy of Innovation
With more than a century of expertise, TRUMPF is synonymous with innovative advanced manufacturing technology that enhances precision and efficiency. The company supplies the fabrication technology behind sheet metal parts used in everything from cars and satellites to medical stents, data center cabinets, and fitness equipment. You can find TRUMPF’s fabricating machine tools, industrial lasers, and services enabling manufacturers around the world in a wide variety of industries to continuously meet evolving production demands.

TRUMPF first established a U.S. presence in 1969 in Farmington. Since then, the company has grown its North American headquarters, TRUMPF Inc., into a billion-dollar business serving manufacturers in various industries, including medical, aerospace, shipbuilding, construction, semiconductors, consumer electronics, energy, and agricultural, across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. TRUMPF Inc.’s picturesque Connecticut campus spans 500,000 square feet and serves as a hub for innovation, featuring modern manufacturing facilities, a world-class training center, customer service center with remote diagnostic capabilities, technology center for customer consultations, and now, a new Smart Factory.

Making a Factory Smarter
While the smart factory concept isn’t new, intelligent automation now makes lights-out production a reality for a wider spectrum of manufacturers. What makes a factory “smart?” For TRUMPF, a smart factory isn’t just about machines, robots, and software. It is a fully digitized, connected environment where raw materials enter one side of production and finished, high-quality parts exit the other, often with minimal human intervention. This approach addresses a major pain point for manufacturers: the shortage of skilled labor for repetitive or physically demanding jobs. Automation frees up employees for other tasks. Smart factories use connected, automated systems and real-time data to adapt quickly, boost productivity, and ensure consistent quality. The result? The enhanced productivity and flexibility needed for manufacturers to successfully compete in the current world market.

Opened in May 2025, the Connecticut Smart Factory is TRUMPF’s fourth worldwide, second in the United States, and the first to connect to an automated powder coating line. Additional TRUMPF Smart Factories in Illinois, China, and at the company’s global headquarters in Germany all serve as hands-on demonstration sites for manufacturers to discover how to implement automated, connected manufacturing in their own facilities. TRUMPF’s newest Smart Factory is also a working factory that expands “local for local” production in Connecticut, where the company has manufactured since 1974. Increasing local production helps TRUMPF Inc. meet the equipment needs of a growing North American manufacturing market and eliminates the time needed to ship large equipment across the Atlantic, which means faster delivery and a reduced carbon footprint.

The modern addition to TRUMPF Inc.’s production building adds 55,000 square feet of space and features sustainable “smart glass” windows which can be darkened or lightened as needed, a drive-through truck bay, welding and powder coating capabilities, and automated laser cutting, punching, and bending technology connected by TRUMPF software and a massive STOPA storage system. The company will use the Smart Factory’s innovative capabilities to produce sheet metal parts for its local portfolio of laser cutting machines, tube laser cutting machines, welding machines, automation components, and a future new press brake line for the North American market. Essentially, the Smart Factory uses TRUMPF technology to make TRUMPF machinery. But an unexpected star of the show is the company’s state-of-the- art powder coating system.

Powder Coating Adds a Finishing Touch
Thousands of customers visit TRUMPF’s Connecticut campus annually, and a stand-out feature on the Smart Factory tour—one that stops guests in their tracks—is the automated powder coating system. Improved powder coating capabilities were part of the company’s planned production enhancements, and the Smart Factory expansion project created the perfect opportunity to redesign the powder coating system and connect it to automated sheet metal part production.

After more than twenty years of service, the company’s powder coating system was due for replacement. Located in a different production area, the previous system used a three-stage washer, was designed for smaller parts up to 500 millimeters in length (just under 20 inches), and required a lot of manual intervention. To meet rising throughput demands, TRUMPF made a strategic investment to modernize its powder coating capabilities. Measuring more than 13,000 square feet, the new integrated powder coating system is fully automated, designed to handle larger parts, and equipped to improve production efficiency and quality. Now, the system accommodates parts up to three meters long (10 feet) and 200 kilograms (441pounds) in weight, boosting production capabilities.

Streamlining Processes with Advanced Technology
The new powder coating system increases flexibility, reduces lead and cycle time to just over two hours (130 minutes), and features several technological advances.

Pretreatment and Drying: The process begins with a sophisticated GAT Finishing Systems five-stage washer that ensures pristine cleanliness before the parts are coated. The five-stage process includes alkaline degreasing, two rinsing cycles with city and reverse osmosis water, zirconium oxide conversion, and a final rinse. This pretreatment eliminates contaminants that could compromise finish quality. After washing, a dry-off oven eliminates residual moisture, preparing components for powder coating application. Then, parts are sorted automatically and sent to one of two booths for powder coating in white or other colors (black, blue, silver, and orange).

Automated Powder Coating: In the automated powder booth, robotic systems reduce manual labor requirements and facilitate consistent powder application across all parts. The system contains two powder coating booths with automatic Gema powder guns and controls, powder material loading, on/off triggering, air filtration, and a powder recycling system. The new system uses scanners to control the powder gun’s position around the parts. While the old system demanded two employees work inside each paint booth, now operators simply need to perform quality control checks, such as touching up the corners of the parts, or manually coating any areas that the robot cannot access.

Gelification and Curing: After powder application, parts move through the curing oven for a two-stage process. In the first step, the parts undergo a gelification process. The parts enter the infrared oven, which boosts the part temperature based on the thickness of the part, and is automatically coordinated with the help of TRUMPF’s Oseon material flow and production control software. The infrared booster helps ensure consistent curing of the paint regardless of part thickness and without any manual intervention. In the second step, the parts are transferred into a curing oven set at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190.5 degrees Celsius), which results in hardening for maximum durability.

Automation & Ergonomic Conveyor System: Every two minutes, a wagon with parts moves through the system from one of the three loading stations and is sorted automatically by color. The system also uses an automated power and free conveyor system to ensure smooth and efficient material handling throughout the coating process. A custom-built Caldan conveyor system optimizes material handling, allowing for easy movement of parts, and minimizes manual handling for better employee ergonomics. At the end of the process, the part transfers from the oven to the unloading area and begins its journey toward machine production.

Why Powder Coating?
While designing the new Smart Factory production space, TRUMPF met with manufacturers of different paint system options and shared samples of its metal parts. The majority of its coated parts are made of steel and aluminum, but the company also works with stainless steel, copper, and galvanized material, so the system also had to be able to process those substrates. Ultimately, TRUMPF opted for in- house powder coating for several compelling reasons including durability, quality, and eco-friendliness. Powder coating provides superior durability compared to traditional liquid paints, which contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and is more cost-effective. The new powder coating line also offered increased quality.

Overall, the powder coating system creates greater efficiency and aligns with TRUMPF’s sustainability goals. The equipment features a zero-reject water management pretreatment system and a powder recycling system that reclaims (and reuses) an impressive 97% of the powder used. Reverse cascade rinsing keeps the water ultra-clean and allows the company to run the powder coating line without wasting any water. This sustainable approach and improved operational efficiency fit TRUMPF's commitment to sustainability and environmentally responsible manufacturing practices.

In-house powder coating also created significant advantages in terms of costs and process control. The company estimates that outsourcing would add a week or more to turnaround times. By keeping powder coating in- house, TRUMPF maintains strict quality control, reduces lead times, and minimizes the risk of damage during transport. The system also creates a productivity boost and output is expected to increase by 20% within the first year. Now, the facility can produce thousands of coated parts monthly to meet the North American market’s growing demands.

The Future Is Here
As TRUMPF Inc. President & CEO Lutz Labisch notes, the future of manufacturing lies in smarter, more connected systems. Smart factories provide a framework for reshoring production, optimizing processes, and adapting to changing market needs. By embracing automation and sustainability, TRUMPF meets current challenges, but also shapes the future of manufacturing in North America. The company is empowering businesses to navigate modern production landscapes with confidence and seize future opportunities.

Matt Prou is production director and Michelle Buerkler is project engineer at TRUMPF Inc.