Feature

Machine builders and system integrators: The AI specialists manufacturers need today

Machine builders, systems integrators, engineers and even factories are increasingly thinking, acting, and sounding like AI and data specialists.

07/07/2025 11:45:19

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Some are further ahead than others, but everyone is looking for better advice, solutions and partners who can turn AI investments into real value. Manufacturing leaders want sources of expertise as the pace of AI in manufacturing speeds up and
the need to leverage operational data becomes more urgent.

This trend has been a long time coming, with February’s AI Summit in Paris playing an important role in changing the tone around AI toward one of greater investment, careful risk-taking,
and global competitiveness. A lot of new announcements have followed in the public and private sectors, with investments in the gigafactories and infrastructure needed for AI.

In Europe, 54 percent of manufacturing leaders expect AI to drive growth by 2029, according
to this Manufacturing Vision Study. However, 84 percent of European manufacturing leaders say they struggle to keep up with the pace of new technology, and 67 percent say don’t know how to start the process of digitally transforming the plant
floor.

Key barriers to digital transformation include identifying which business challenges or plant floor areas to start with, costs and availability of resources, and scalability of projects from pilot to organisation-wide implementation. We should also add data.

Read the full article in DPA's July 2025 issue

Written By Sophia Bell

Sophia Bell is the Group Editor of DPA, Connectivity, and PBSI. She joined the team in 2020 as Assistant Editor after achieving a First-Class Honours BA in English Literature and Film Studies from the University of East Anglia. In her current role, she leads the editorial strategy, driving digital growth and ensuring each title continues to deliver trusted, relevant insight for engineering and manufacturing professionals.