Month: August 2023

CLEVELAND, August 15, 2023 /3BL/—KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) has appointed Zammy Arcos to senior relationship manager, to expand the firm’s equity originations activity. She will be focused on KeyBank’s community development banking efforts in North Carolina and the Northeast region. The move comes as KeyBank continues its commitment to affordable housing across the country, with a focus on expanding its CDLI platform. Arcos is based in Charlotte, N.C. and reports to Victoria O’Brien, senior vice president and head of equity originations at KeyBank Real Estate Capital.

“I am thrilled to welcome Zammy to the team to expand our reach,” said O’Brien. “In 2021 we set a goal to double affordable housing investments and lending by the end of 2023, and with our continued focus on expanding our team and services, we are projected to reach that mark.”

Arcos brings more than 15 years of experience focused on community development and commercial real estate to KeyBank. Arcos spent much of her career at Bank of America across the Midwest and Southeast markets in the Community Development Banking Group where she most recently served as a Credit Officer focused on construction and permanent debt financing as well as tax credit equity investments for the acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of affordable housing projects.

Arcos earned her B.B.A degree from Loyola University in Chicago.

About KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment

KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) finances projects that stabilize and revitalize communities across all 50 states. As one of the top affordable housing capital providers in the country, KeyBank’s platform brings together construction, acquisition, bridge-to-re-syndication, and preservation loans, as well as lines of credit, Agency and HUD permanent mortgage executions, and equity investments for low-income housing projects, especially Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing. KeyBank has earned 10 consecutive “Outstanding” ratings on the Community Reinvestment Act exam, from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, making it the first U.S. national bank among the 25 largest to do so since the Act’s passage in 1977.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp’s roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $195 billion at June 30, 2023. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications, and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

Originally published on 3M News Center

The U.S. is facing a “structural labor shortage.”

That’s what Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, said during a recent speech.

The latest data shows 10 million U.S. job openings with only 5.7 million unemployed workers available to fill those roles. One of most affected industries has been manufacturing, with a reported 803,000 vacancies in the United States. Globally, the vacancies are estimated to reach 8 million by the year 2030.

With such a tight labor market expected for years to come, more businesses are investing in automation, with many calling 3M for help.

3M opened its first robotics lab more than 30 years ago and now operates 10 labs in eight countries around the world. The company offers a wide portfolio of robotic solutions that automate abrasive and adhesive manufacturing processes. These systems allow businesses to continue operations with better reliability, consistency and, ultimately, cost effectiveness.

Robots for automakers

One notable example is an award-winning solution for the automotive industry called the 3M™ Finesse-It™ Robotic Paint Repair System.

Nearly every new vehicle off the assembly line needs to be visually inspected for paint defects and then sanded, polished and repainted. It’s a labor intensive and costly process for auto manufactures.

3M partnered with world-leading robotics expert FANUC to help deliver a solution by fully automating this inspection and rework process. The two companies are working closely with several major auto manufacturers.

“3M has perfected the recipe of paint repair over decades and holds the utmost credibility in the market,” said Jonathan Karr, vice president at FANUC. “We’ve taken that knowledge and added it to a robotics application.”

Here’s a video of the robot at BMW’s plant in Regensburg, Germany.

Robots and tape

3M is also blending robotics with its world-leading adhesives.

The RoboTape™ System for 3M™ launched in 2022 and uses 3M™ VHB™ Tapes to automate repetitive bonding applications. The new system allows industrial manufacturers to take advantage of the benefits of 3M tape while maximizing production throughput, improving quality, reducing or re-tasking manual labor and limiting re-work.

Another recent innovation is the 3M™ On Demand Bonding System featuring 3M™ VHB™ Extrudable Tape. This end-to-end automatic bonding solution combines all the benefits of 3M™ VHB™ Tapes with the versatility of a liquid adhesive in a single contained footprint, enabling usage on any scale. This product looks to make an impact in several industries, including appliances, transportation and windows and doors.

“In some cases, automation is the only path forward,” said Todd Lutkauskas, a 3M product marketer for the new bonding system. “I’m working with a customer who has 70 open positions they can’t fill and it’s probably going to get worse.”

But what about the negative stereotype that robots are taking jobs?

“People are starting to see that humans and robots can coexist at work,” Jonathan said. “Automation can be a partner in your operations and we’re seeing a lot more acceptance.”