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Rockwell Automation hosted its thirty-fourth Automation Fair in Chicago, bringing together more than 15,000 attendees from the manufacturing, energy, construction, and technology sectors. This year’s theme, Create What’s Next, focused on the transition from traditional automation to increasingly autonomous, software-defined automation, AI-powered industrial operations.
AUTOMATION FAIR 2025 IN CHICAGO BROUGHT TOGETHER MORE THAN 15,000 ATTENDEES FROM ACROSS INDUSTRY
The event highlighted how rapidly changing market conditions are affecting global manufacturers. Automation Fair offered attendees more than 250 educational sessions delivered over four days, including seven industry tracks: Automotive & Battery, Food & Beverage, Life Sciences, Mining, New & Traditional Energy, OEM/Machine Builders, and Water & Wastewater.
One example from the Automotive & Battery track was Automotive Viewpoint: Navigating the Crossroads, How Policy Shifts Are Reshaping Automotive Manufacturing and Automation. Panelists included Craig Resnick, VP at ARC Advisory Group; Mark Barrott, Partner at Plante Moran; James Glasson, VP, Global Industry, Auto, Tire and Advanced Mobility, Rockwell Automation; and Bill Sarver, Global Director of Rockwell Automation’s Smart Manufacturing – Automotive/EV Battery & Tire business.
Auto manufacturers are navigating declining EV tax credits in the US, tariffs, shifting regulatory environments, affordability concerns, supply chain fragmentation, and rising operational complexity. These changes are prompting companies to prioritize adaptability, visibility, and flexibility across production networks.
Panelists noted that technologies such as the digital thread, end-to-end data visibility, and AI-enabled optimization are becoming essential for managing quality, reducing variability, improving production predictability, and maintaining competitiveness. Craig Resnick, VP at ARC Advisory Group, says these technologies are increasingly critical because they improve product quality, lower warranty costs, and minimize recalls—benefits that often deliver a short-term return on investment while also reducing the indirect costs associated with declines to brand reputation and quality ratings. “It's really a matter of making sure that the vehicle that is produced is of top quality and is going to hopefully not require recalls down the road.”
While early excitement around connected, shared, autonomous, and electric vehicles has evolved, manufacturers are now focused on cost transformation, consolidated components, modular platforms, and scalable digital systems.
Keynotes: The Shift From Automation to Autonomy
Across the keynote sessions, Rockwell Automation emphasized the industry’s transition toward software-defined automation, embedded AI, advanced analytics, and robotics. Rockwell Automation speakers included Blake Moret, Chairman & CEO; Cyril Perducat, SVP & CTO; Matheus Bulho, SVP, Software and Control Segment; and Tessa Myers, SVP, Intelligent Devices; who collectively outlined how digital design, virtual commissioning, integrated control architectures, and adaptive systems will shape future factories.
Central themes included:
The emergence of learning, self-optimizing production systems.
The role of digital twins in design, simulation, and real-time decision-making.
The need for architectures that combine software-defined automation and control with embedded AI.
A shift toward autonomous material movement, AI-enabled vision inspection, and flexible cell-based production.
The integration of robotics, AMRs, fleet management, and intelligent logistics into unified plant operations.
Manufacturers are also preparing for new workforce expectations, with digitally fluent roles, expanded training requirements, hybrid learning environments, and advanced tools that allow operators to supervise broader areas instead of single machines.
Panel Insights: Building the Factory of the Future
Industry leaders from the automotive, mining, construction, and consumer goods sectors discussed how they are approaching autonomy, flexibility, and resilience in their operations. Panelists included Alberto Gomez of Procter & Gamble, Ann Especk of Bechtel, Gaetano Cantalupo of Lucid Motors, and Rafael Bittar of Vale Mining.
Key themes included:
People-powered transformation, with workforce empowerment central to operational redesign.
Process stabilization before automation, ensuring foundational systems are ready for scaling.
Scalable use cases, such as touchless quality, predictive maintenance, automated material handling, and model-based process control.
Reducing downtime, increasing throughput, and improving safety through AI-driven monitoring.
New workforce models, combining data science, process engineering, cybersecurity, and multi-disciplinary plant roles.
Flexible, modular plant designs, supporting rapid product introduction and adjusted production mix.
The panel emphasized that autonomy is not aimed at replacing workers but at redefining roles, improving safety, increasing throughput, and enabling operators to focus on higher-value tasks.
Major Announcement: New Greenfield Manufacturing Site in Wisconsin
During the event, Rockwell Automation announced plans to build a new greenfield manufacturing campus in Southeastern Wisconsin. The facility will become one of its largest production sites, forming a core part of its multi-year investment strategy in plants, digital infrastructure, and workforce development.
The site will span more than one million square feet and integrate:
Advanced automation.
Robotics.
Autonomous material movement.
AI-enabled optimization tools.
Digital design and emulation environments.
A warehouse designed for automated, lights-out operations.
This investment reinforces Rockwell Automation’s long-term commitment to scalable US-based manufacturing and its strategy to expand capacity, improve operational resilience, and support customers through increasingly complex production demands.
Press Conversations: Internal Transformation and Operational Learnings
In the executive press briefings, topics included supply chain strategies, building an AI-ready workforce, strengthening resilience through cybersecurity, enabling low-carbon energy solutions, and the future of robotics and software-defined automation. Rockwell Automation also described its own transformation journey, demonstrating how it is applying digital design, virtual commissioning, autonomous material movement, and energy optimization within its factories.
Highlights of the executive press briefings included:
A shift to digital-first factory design using emulate-3D and virtual simulation tools.
AMR-based material movement replacing manual transport.
Lights-out warehouse operations.
Energy management improvements supported by AI-driven monitoring.
Measurable gains in efficiency, quality, and throughput.
A structured approach to operational excellence, process optimization, and network re-engineering.
These briefings offered real-world examples for companies evaluating their own manufacturing transitions.
Conclusion
Attendees of the thirty-fourth Automation Fair left with a clear understanding that the future of manufacturing is being shaped by the convergence of advanced technology and empowered people. The event highlighted how cybersecurity, AI-enabled maintenance, flexible automation, and sustainable operations will guide the next era of industrial transformation. Throughout the fair, the message was consistent: success in modern manufacturing will depend on combining cutting-edge technology with people-centered strategies, continuous improvement, and collaborative innovation.
Rockwell Automation demonstrated how its technologies, solutions, and services can help customers advance toward the next era of manufacturing and operate competitively in a rapidly evolving global environment.