U.S. Manufacturing Today features Bryce Carpenter, Chief Operating and Strategy Officer at Conexus Indiana, discussing why AI and automation efforts in manufacturing often stall at pilots and how to scale them into operational results. Carpenter explains Conexus as an industry-led nonprofit working with 130 Indiana manufacturers and public and education leaders to accelerate solutions by aligning stakeholders early. He argues adoption fails when companies lead with technology instead of clear problem statements and when cultural buy-in and workforce communication are missing, fueling fears of job loss. He notes small and midsize manufacturers can have advantages due to low AI cost barriers and fewer data-standardization challenges, but many lack connected equipment and usable data. Conexus is launching Industry Exchange Workshops and building an AI use-case inventory to improve ROI confidence. The episode also highlights flexible labor models, faster micro-trainings, and technology’s role in boosting U.S. competitiveness amid reshoring and tariffs.

Timestamps

00:00 AI Adoption Reality Check

01:12 Meet Bryce Carpenter

02:26 What Conexus Does

03:34 Ecosystem Bridge Building

06:54 Escaping Pilot Purgatory

10:44 SMB Edge in AI

13:15 Roadmap and Grants Lessons

15:46 Automation Upskilling Workers

19:19 Training and Talent Access

22:46 Flexible Labor Partnerships

24:27 Data Foundations for AI

From Pilot Purgatory to Digital Transformation: AI in Manufacturing, with Bryce Carpenter of Conexus Indiana