A technology executive issued a grim warning Wednesday to manufacturing companies unwilling to embrace artificial intelligence (AI). 

“If you don’t start now determining how AI will impact you and your team, and by your team I mean suppliers and vendors, I would put an expiration date on your business,” said Kevin Anderson, CEO of the local tech firm XALTER. “I think you’ve got 10 years and possibly less. I know that sounds hyperbolic…But it matters.”

Anderson was a guest speaker at the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s Manufacturers’ Council meeting at Midwest Precision, Inc. in Tulsa. 

About 40 people attended the luncheon, which was sponsored by the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa and featured an overview of Midwest Precision, a sheet metal fabricator that’s been around more than 50 years. 

Anderson said AI can be used to automate repetitive tasks, optimize the supply chain, increase efficiency and potentially reduce human error. 

He cited examples from companies such as electric car maker Tesla and automobile manufacturer BMW.

BMW has reduced unplanned downtime by 25% with predictive maintenance, and Tesla has sliced assembly time by 30% using AI and robotics, Anderson said. Overall, manufacturing operational costs have dropped 15%-20% by using AI, he said.

“It’s just time to do your homework,” Anderson told the audience. “It’s time to do your research.

“The great thing about AI right now is that the solution providers are very hungry for partnership, for collaboration. It’s about reaching out to universities like OU. Reach out to startups with problems you want to solve. You’re actually going to find who will probably go above and beyond because they know if they can solve it for you, they can probably scale that solution and solve it for a lot of people.”

The Chamber sponsors bi-monthly meetings of the Manufacturers’ Council, which convenes Chamber-member manufacturers for networking and discussion on issues impacting their companies and the sector. For more information about the Manufacturers’ Council, please contact Brien Thorstenberg, the Chamber’s vice president of economic development, at 918-560-0231.