Stephanie Neil

Editor in Chief

Stephanie Neil has been reporting on business and technology for over 20 years and was named Editor in Chief of OEM in 2018. She joinedPMMI Media Group’s Automation World in 2015, where she contributes as Senior Editor. Earlier in her career, she was Senior Editor at Thomas Publishing’s Managing Automation and a community manager for Manufacturing-Executive.com. Stephanie has a wealth of knowledge in CPG, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and covers engineering, trends, workforce development and more.

The Robex Staxx palletizer is offered on the Flexx Machine-as-a-Service program.

Paying for Performance

The new automation model focuses on services that reduce a manufacturer’s financial risks by shifting the responsibility of asset acquisition on to the OEM or technology supplier via performance-based service level agreements or cloud-based subscription.

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The Pandemic is Shaping the Future Supply Chain

Some of the greatest innovations happen during times of disruption.

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Workers Wanted? Contact the Robot Employment Agency

Start-up MusashiAI introduces intelligent autonomous robots for quality inspection and forklift driving—allowing the redistribution of human labor to more value-added jobs.

The future of manufacturing can't be imagined in a present-forward mindset. Innovation comes from the future-back.

Reverse Engineering the Organization

A new book reveals how “future-back” thinking—defining what the company will look like decades from now and working backwards—can encourage innovative ideas that will create breakthrough growth.

More from Stephanie Neil

Dr. Frank Melzer (middle) and Marcus Stemler (right) of Festo discuss how digital pneumatics can save energy.

Festo Explores How Digitization Affects Energy, Education

From digital pneumatics to bionic birds, the automation supplier discusses the technologies that will shape the factory of the future.

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Closing the Loop Between CAD, PLM, Digital Twins, and the Cloud

Siemens Digital Industries Software adds to its Xcelerator portfolio to enhance design, engineering, and manufacturing software, and partners with IBM on service lifecycle management.

Software as a Service Enters Engineering and Manufacturing Circles

PTC introduces Atlas, a SaaS-based product development platform, and teams up with Rockwell Automation and Microsoft to deliver Factory Insights as a Service.

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PLCs Gain Esteem as the Brains Behind the Machine

Next-generation controllers are offering multifunctional automation with more intelligence and connectivity, opening the door to new opportunity for machine builders.

FDT IIoT Server (FITS) Architecture

FDT Group Releases Data Exchange Standard for Next-Gen Automation

The new FDT 3.0 standard and developer toolkits are secure, scalable and platform-independent, enabling remote access to device and network data across the enterprise without PLC/DCS host intervention.

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Company Performance Depends on Diversity

Research shows that businesses with gender diverse leadership teams have better results. So why are there so few women in the C-suite?

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Using Automation to Fast Track COVID-19 Vaccine Production

Honeywell combines batch software, virtualization, cloud, and more to prepare manufacturing capabilities in parallel with clinical trials.

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Technology Built for the Open Road Hits the Plant Floor

General Mills turns to Sena Technologies—known for its Bluetooth motorcycle helmets—to train machine operators while social distancing.

CPGs Retool to Get Into the Loop

As manufacturers ramp up sustainability efforts, they are looking at innovative ideas—like TerraCycle Loop, a closed-loop system of reusable containers. But such efforts mean investing in new product designs and packaging lines.