Intelligent Autonomous Systems Fuel the Future of Industry

Rockwell Automation Fair 2025 Event Brief

Axendia participated in The Rockwell Automation Fair 2025, held in Chicago, IL. This year, the event attracted over 15,000 attendees, partner exhibitors and sponsors.

**Blake Moret, Chairman and CEO,**
**Rockwell Automation**
Source: Axendia, Inc.

The conference showcased the newest developments in automation technology and theirtransformative impact across various industries. Blake Moret, Chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation, delivered a keynote address that focused on the theme “Create What’s Next.” Moret highlighted “the power of turning bold ideas into real-world impact as we build more resilient systems, embrace sustainability and simplify operations on the plant floor.” Moret emphasized how intelligent autonomous systems fuel the future of industry, open architectures enable agility and industrial AI, and advanced analytics power the production lifecycle.

1 Million Square Feet Manufacturing Site Investment

Moret announced plans to build a new greenfield manufacturing site in Southeastern Wisconsin. The project marks the next step in Rockwell’s $2 billion investment in plants, digital infrastructure, and talent to grow share, build resilience, and expand margins over the next five years. This new facility will span more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space and will be equipped with advanced automation, robotics, and digital systems that will showcase modern manufacturing and demonstrate Rockwell’s leadership in industrial automation.

“Designing a new facility presents the opportunity to create the future of industrial operations, with highly orchestrated production,” says Moret. “We are expanding our U.S. manufacturing footprint with advanced production capability that supports growth and performance with the latest Rockwell technologies and solutions.”

Bob Buttermore, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Rockwell Automation added “It will integrate the latest in Rockwell’s production technologies, including AI and analytics tools, to increase efficiency and precision, while providing team members with access to advanced tools and training. I’m excited to see our highly skilled workforce maximize the potential of this site.”

Artificial Intelligence and Industry Autonomy

Rockwell is integrating AI into existing products at various levels, underscoring the importance of enhancing them rather than replacing current systems. This approach allows AI to be enabled throughout the manufacturing process, providing benefits without the need for a complete overhaul of existing systems. This approach minimizes risk and ensures a smoother transition to more advanced technologies.

**Jordan Reynolds, VP, AI & Autonomy, Rockwell Automation**
Source: Axendia, Inc.

Jordan Reynolds, Vice President, Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy emphasized the essential role of AI in achieving true autonomy within manufacturing systems. “The complexities involved in autonomous operations far surpass what humans could ever anticipate or program manually, especially when considering the countless “if-then” scenarios required for fully autonomous functionality, said Reynolds. He also challenged the audience to consider how production systems might be reinvented if AI could be leveraged at every function and decision point.

“With AI integrated throughout the production process, crucial decisions such as what products to manufacture, in what quantities, and at which locations could be dynamically scheduled by the system itself,” he added.

This shift represents a fundamental reinvention of processes and systems, driving the transition from traditional, code-based control scenarios to more advanced, model-based approaches powered by AI. Reynolds underscored the importance of “trust but verify” principles, where model validation is an ongoing process as AI systems learn and evolve over time.

He cited the “ROK on ROK” initiative, which exemplifies the philosophy of “learn by doing.” Through this initiative, Rockwell created a fully autonomous contactor production line, with all scheduling and controls governed by AI-driven systems.

As more organizations progress toward higher maturity levels of autonomy, every layer of the automation stack, from learning and adaptation to generating actionable insights and applying first principles, leverages and benefits from AI technologies.

Reynolds highlighted the transformative potential of AI in the life sciences sector, where it enables organizations to leapfrog traditional barriers and accelerate innovation at unprecedented rates.

Implications for the Life Sciences Industry

To understand the implications on our industry, we took a deep dive with Matt Weaver, Vice President of Life Sciences at Rockwell Automation and Smriti Khera, Ph.D., Head of Global Life Sciences Strategy and Marketing.

Weaver emphasized Rockwell Automation’s long-term commitment to digital transformation and operational excellence in the Life Sciences industry. He highlighted the company’s approach to blending innovation with business insight to modernize operations and drive sustainable success. “By combining innovation with business insight, Rockwell empowers companies to modernize operations, embrace transformation, and achieve sustainable success in an increasingly connected and competitive landscape,” he added.

Investment Trends and Regional Hubs

In recent months, there has been a significant increase in investments within the Life Sciences industry, particularly in the U.S., Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Europe with a focus on regional hubs and the adoption of new technologies. Weaver noted, ” There’s a lot of attention on the U.S. right now, with investments exceeding $150B; an incredibly exciting development. However, significant investments are also happening globally, with Latin America, Asia, and Europe all seeing notable growth.”

This surge in investment is incredibly exciting and positions the industry for substantial growth. This is driving the emergence of regional hubs in various parts of the world. “In Latin America, investment is rising, particularly in the medical device sector. Likewise, the Asia Pacific region is seeing the emergence of regional innovation hubs focused on therapy and device manufacturing. Meanwhile, Europe is exploring ways to modernize existing sites by adopting new technologies and reimagining key areas.” These regional hubs are driving the adoption of new technologies to optimize and bolster their value chains. “This positions Rockwell Automation very nicely with the technologies we have invested in over the years,” explained Weaver.

AI Autonomy and Digital Tools in Life Sciences

Rockwell Automation’s approach to AI is to embed it into their products to enhance functionality and efficiency. This integration allows for advanced root cause analysis and troubleshooting, reducing the load on operators and quality teams. Weaver explained, “On the show floor, we’re highlighting key areas of AI adoption across our portfolio, embedding AI into solutions like our PlantPAx distributed control system and FactoryTalk Data Mosaix DataOps platform. These capabilities enable persona-guided troubleshooting, advanced data analysis, and closed-loop process control, driving reduced risk, higher yield, and enhanced operational awareness. In addition, we’ve deployed Copilot in FactoryTalk Optix and introduced MLOps capabilities to the platform, enabling edge-based AI deployments for even greater flexibility and intelligence at scale.”

Khera emphasized the deliberate and thoughtful approach Rockwell Automation is taking towards AI and autonomy in manufacturing. She highlighted the importance “we have good resonance for the way we are approaching autonomy. And how we’re approaching AI in a step-by-step approach, leveraging the data that exists within the machine to help improve specific workflows.”

Rockwell is also investing in AI-based bioprocessing digital tools and the use of digital twins in the pharma and medical device spaces. Weaver emphasized “We’re seeing the industry increasingly adopt digitally native technologies earlier in the product lifecycle; driving faster time to market, minimizing errors, and optimizing processes..”

Khera discussed the role of digital technologies, such as digital twins, in improving machine and line design, facility planning, training and troubleshooting. She explained how these technologies help with fast commissioning and validation. “I will tell you that the physics-based emulation models are seeing a great degree of interest.”

Enhancing Cloud Resilience Via Hybrid Technology

Resilience is not a new concept in the Life Sciences industry. The industry has always focused on reducing risk, and as technology advances, new risks are introduced that need to be mitigated.

To address and mitigate cloud risks, Rockwell Automation is embracing a hybrid approach to ensure resilience. This includes the execution of recipes, data storage, and forwarding, as well as cache data. Weaver explained, ” The hybrid approach enables us to shift certain components that would traditionally run entirely in the cloud to the edge when necessary. This includes executing the actual recipe, storing and forwarding data, and caching information from other systems like ERP, LIMS, QMS, etc. within MES. All of this can be downloaded, cataloged, and configured by the user; allowing them to define retention preferences, such as keeping one month of local data.”

Additionally, redundancy and cyber hardening are critical in hybrid cloud offerings. Rockwell components moved from the cloud to the edge are now redundant, ensuring that operations can continue even if connectivity to the cloud is lost. According to Weaver, “Redundancy is essential, whether in the cloud or at the edge. Everything developed from the cloud to the edge is designed to maintain full redundancy.”

He also mentioned that their systems are fully ISA 62443 compliant, an international standard for securing industrial automation and control systems throughout their entire life cycle, providing a safe and secure manufacturing environment.

Rockwell also supports elastic system capabilities, Weaver explained, ” The system is designed to be elastic, leveraging modern technologies like Kubernetes to automatically manage resources; spinning system components up or down as needed.”

Digital Thread, AI and Regulatory Compliance

AI adoption is increasing across the product lifecycle and there is a push from regulators to enhance AI adoption as a decision support mechanism. Weaver mentioned, “Regulators are pushing for broader AI adoption across the entire product lifecycle, from early research and process development to clinical trials and commercial manufacturing.” This aligns with Axendia findings (see The Expanding Role of AI in Life Sciences: Axendia’s New AI in Life Sciences Market Research )

Khera highlighted the importance of the digital thread in regulatory compliance and the unique integration between Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Regulatory Information Management Systems (RIMS). “Kalypso’s digital services allow med device companies to create that digital thread using the PLM system all the way from design, production and Quality, with traceability of personal devices all the way to the patient. The end to end digital thread and device history record is completely integrated into our RIMS to streamline regulatory data requirements and needs,” said Khera.

Weaver also addressed the need for standardization in the industry and Rockwell’s Digital Tech Transfer initiative. He explained how standardization helps in optimizing and bolstering value chains in regional manufacturing hubs. Weaver stated, ” As the industry rapidly expands to meet the needs of patients, the need to streamline tech transfers across site networks is growing. Digitizing this process, by leveraging AI alongside existing data standards and integration with manufacturing systems, enables faster data sharing and accelerates the path to production.”

Overcoming Challenges with Innovative Solutions

This year, I had the pleasure of hosting and moderating the Life Sciences Viewpoint. Joining me on stage were two distinguished panelists:

Michael Healy, VP of Technology & Products, ATS Corporation
Scot Radowski, OT/IT Governance, AstraZeneca

**Left to Right: Daniel Matlis, Michael Healy, and Scot Radowski**
Source: Axendia, Inc.

During the session, we addressed the current and desired state of Automation and Digital Transformation in Drug and Device Manufacturing. We discussed how leading organizations are navigating this shift, balancing innovation with compliance, and building resilient, data-driven operations.

The feedback was incredibly positive! We are grateful to everyone who attended and contributed to the discussions!

In Brief

Automation Fair 2025 demonstrated Rockwell’s commitment to advancing technology and its applications across various industries, including the Life Sciences sector. The insights shared by Rockwell executives highlight the transformative potential of AI, industrial autonomy, and resilient edge-cloud approach in driving innovation and efficiency in manufacturing.

Rockwell Automation Fair provided us with valuable insights into the current state and prospects of automation. Their observations on adaptability, collaboration, data analytics, process optimization, and digital transformation offered valuable takeaways for businesses aiming to thrive in an ever-changing environment. Rockwell’s creation of a fully autonomous contactor production line, leveraging the “ROK on ROK” initiative exemplifies the philosophy of “learn by doing”. The company intends to expand its use of autonomous operations at the newly announced greenfield manufacturing site in Southeastern Wisconsin.

The informative nature of the conversations underscored the importance of knowledge-sharing and collective intelligence in navigating complex challenges and seizing growth opportunities.

We will continue to provide updates on Rockwell Automation as they become available.

To discuss how this initiative impacts your organization, click on this link to schedule an Analyst Inquiry on this topic.

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The opinions and analysis expressed in this post reflect the judgment of Axendia at the time of publication and are subject to change without notice. Information contained in this post is current as of publication date. Information cited is not warranted by Axendia but has been obtained through a valid research methodology. This post is not intended to endorse any company or product and should not be attributed as such.