Steve Bieszczat, chief marketing officer for DelmiaWorks, a manufacturing software supplier based in Paso Robles, Calif., recently shared a list of top trends from NPE2024, ranging from sustainability to artificial intelligence.
Bieszczat is responsible for DelmiaWorks brand management, demand generation and product marketing. Prior to DelmiaWorks, he held senior marketing roles at ERP companies IQMS, Epicor and Activant Solutions.
Bieszczat's focus is on aligning products with industry requirements as well as positioning DelmiaWorks with the strategic direction and requirements of the brand's manufacturing customers and prospects. He holds an engineering degree from the University of Kansas and an MBA from Rockhurst University.
Q: You've got some interesting topics on your list of trends to watch at NPE. Are there any that you think will surprise a lot of plastics processors and converters?
Bieszczat: I do not think there will be any major surprises. Most companies and leaders in the industry are very involved in the day-to-day evolution of the business and technology of the plastics industry. One thing that might shock some business owners is just how many owner/operator plastic processors are now owned by some form of financial investor.
Q. Artificial intelligence seems really cutting edge. I think if NPE had been held in 2021 and not canceled by the pandemic, we wouldn't have seen a lot of applications for AI. There wasn't a lot of talk about AI at K 2022, for example. What's driving this big surge?
Bieszczat: I think the AI surge is driven by the fascination with ChatGPT and all of the hype that came with it. For instance, Google AI doing basic statistical extrapolations at sporting events. Everybody is on that bandwagon. More realistically, I think the AI bubble has opened a lot of minds up to just how much can be done using basic analytical and statistical tools to optimize front-office and shop-floor operations — actions like forecasting and predictive maintenance, just to name two. AI gives ERP providers like DelmiaWorks a platform to discuss using some of our more advanced tools with manufacturers. So, it has been a good thing for us.
Q. AI really is all about data, in many ways. How can manufacturers take advantage of that?
Bieszczat: My answer comes from an ERP perspective. ERP is, by nature, a system of collecting, organizing and storing information — sales data, inventory levels and production rates. Once you have a time series of data, you can begin to use it to make data-driven decisions. Those decisions can be guided by looking at simple graphs and charts or by using the output of forecasting and planning algorithms, all the way up to applying learning tools to the data so that the results begin to feel more like AI.
Q. I think there's still concern about AI, too, perhaps related to cybersecurity and fear about how things can go wrong. Do you agree, and how can companies deal with that?
Bieszczat: I am not a security expert, but I do know security issues are 50 percent human-driven and 50 percent technology-related. On the technical side, it can be a game played between fast computers and clever programmers — both on the good and bad sides. So, any advances AI can provide the bad guys will have to be met with an equal amount of AI cleverness by good guys. It's an escalation that is accelerating, but the good guys seem to be keeping up. As a business owner, you have to be certain your human-factor cyber hygiene is locked down and that your internal and external technical teams are employing the latest defensive technologies.
Q. On the materials side, I agree that sustainability will be what everyone is talking about. Let's drill into that a little more. How important is reducing carbon footprint and tracking GHG emissions for processors now?
Bieszczat: I personally believe reducing GHG is important and real. In the plastics industry, I think there are two kinds of plastics: wasteful ones (e.g., plastic bags) and essential ones (e.g., lightweight plastic automobile components). I do not think the total environmental impact of highly engineered, long-lived plastic components is major problem. The issues reside with disposable plastics. Our industry has to work toward reducing and eliminating single-use plastics in order to win the PR battle and protect the place highly engineered, long-lived plastics play in the overall well-being of the planet. This brings the battle directly to the packaging sector of our industry and how well they can develop alternative, recyclable and/or compostable packaging.
Q. There's going to be talk about mechanical recycling, chemical recycling and bio-based feedstocks. Which do you think are most important now, and will that change in the future?
Bieszczat: I will have to leave this answer to the experts, but you can bet it is all three.
Q. Automation was a big trend at the last NPE, in 2018. I've noticed a lot of molders using more automation since then, whether it's in automated cells or cobots. And I'm starting to see more using Industry 4.0 tools as well. Does that line up with what you're seeing, and how important is that for companies to be competitive?
Bieszczat: We are certainly seeing more automation, and it is driven by two factors. One is labor cost and availability. The other is the ease of using modern robotics. Robots and vision systems are much simpler to program today than in the past. A few years ago, it took a specialized technician to train and implement a robotic/vision system. Today, with all the programming and training tools developed by the robotic and vision system manufacturers, programming an automated work cell is straightforward setup work. As a result, more complex jobs can be automated; robots and visions systems can be used in multiple work situations, and lower-volume/higher-changeover jobs can be cost-effectively automated.
Q. You also talked about new equipment and energy efficiency. Do you still see a lot of companies running older, less efficient machines?
Bieszczat: Yes, I do see a lot of older equipment, but I also think the energy efficiency and productivity of new equipment has completely tilted the balance toward new equipment. During the next manufacturing rebound cycle, we can expect to see the lion's share of the old equipment retired. I think NPE2024 will be the start of that cycle.
Q. How do you feel about the current state of the North American plastics industry and about its future prospects?
Bieszczat: I don't think it is going to grow or shrink substantially. There always seems to be a market for better quality and perhaps more convenient manufacturing capacity. The USA and most of Europe provide that kind of manufacturing. Some products will slip offshore for lower-priced labor or less restrictive environmental regulations. Other products will come back onshore to ensure quality and timely supply. I think it is at a relative balance for now and the next 10 years.