Here’s what we know about Tremont, Illinois: It’s a small village in Tazewell County, (population 2,400+), holds an annual summer turkey festival (quite popular) and the courthouse is a famous historic site where politician James Shields challenged an “up-and-coming” lawyer named Abraham Lincoln to a duel with cavalry broad swords (they showed up, but the duel never materialized). In 2016, you can add FIRST Robotics Competition World Champion to the village’s rather eccentric list of accomplishments.

A nose-in-the-tent peek at the booths featuring mechanical motion components.

In this century’s complex, ever- changing world of manufacturing, such capabilities as hardware and software expertise, effective location and distribution, business savvy and yes, even luck, are some of the cardinal requirements for running a successful business.

Almost daily I’m asked about the switched reluctance motor (SRM) — a motor that was invented more than 100 years ago. But only in the 1980s did it ...