Automation & the Future of Manufacturing: A 25-Year Outlook

Agata Suwala CEng is a Technology Manager at the Manufacturing Technology Centre specialising in automation and robotics. With over twelve years’ experience in research and development she focusses on implementation and innovative system development, particularly in the aerospace industry.

She has co-ordinated and delivered a number of large-scale research and direct projects for automation in aerospace manufacturing, focussing on developing solutions for complex assembly process requiring artisan skills.

Recently she has been using her skills to drive the research and developing technologies necessary to enable the transition to a circular economy through A&R working with internal and external teams.

Beyond her technical expertise, Agata is continually working to support the growth of UK's automation & robotics companies and start-ups. Agata leads the MTC's Automation & Robotics Technology Accelerator (AURA) and is Entrepreneurship Chair for European Robotics Forum 2027 in Birmingham.

Harry Burroughes is a Chartered Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, bringing over 25 years of industrial experience, including more than a decade in research and development leadership. Renowned for spearheading large-scale, government-funded research projects, Harry has also delivered major automation initiatives across diverse manufacturing sectors.

Currently, Harry serves as the Global Process Owner and Technical Specialist for Automation at Rolls-Royce Plc. He leads the company’s global automation strategy, setting standards and policies to ensure the compliance, safety, and cyber-security of current and future Cyber-Physical systems throughout the organization.

Prior to joining Rolls-Royce, Harry was Professor of Integrated Manufacturing at the AMRC (University of Sheffield), where he headed the Integrated Manufacturing Group (IMG) Factory 2050. Here, he held responsibility for the strategic direction, financial performance, and operational management of a 100-person team, overseeing a research portfolio exceeding £10M annually. His expertise drove technology development and industrial exploitation, supporting the AMRC’s global reputation for impactful manufacturing research.

Earlier in his career, Harry held senior engineering roles at Tata Steels (Corus), managing multi-million-pound projects in vacuum induction and vacuum arc furnace installations. He led technical teams and oversaw all aspects of electrical design, project management, and safety compliance.

Harry holds a Personal Chair in Integrated Manufacture from the University of Sheffield, a BEng (Hons) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Sheffield Hallam University. His professional service includes panel reviewing for ISO robotics standards, chairing Sheffield Robotics and HVMC Automation initiatives, and serving on the GCHQ Cyber Security for Industrial Control Systems board. He has recently been appointed to the DSIT college of experts, supporting the UK government in shaping future manufacturing policy.

Harry’s distinguished career exemplifies technical excellence, strategic leadership, and a lifelong commitment to advancing industrial innovation.

Andrew McDonald is the Founder and Managing Director of Future of Manufacturing LLC, where he helps global manufacturers navigate the transition from automation to autonomous, AI-enabled enterprises. 

Over a career spanning more than four decades, Andrew has worked at the intersection of manufacturing, automation, digital transformation, and enterprise strategy. He spent more than twenty years with Unilever in global engineering and manufacturing leadership roles, leading major automation, digital factory, and future manufacturing initiatives across North America and internationally. 

Andrew has advised many of the world's leading manufacturers on manufacturing strategy, automation, digital transformation, operational excellence, and the application of emerging technologies. His work is consistently focused on one question:

How do organizations convert technological capability into sustainable business value? 

That question has become increasingly important as Artificial Intelligence transforms every aspect of manufacturing. 

Today, Andrew's work extends beyond digital transformation into a new field of research focused on Organizational Judgment—the capability of enterprises to combine human expertise, Artificial Intelligence, enterprise context, and trust into coordinated action. 

He is a champion of Decision Systems Engineering, an emerging engineering discipline that proposes organizations can deliberately design, govern, and continuously improve their capability to think together. 

His current research explores the evolution of manufacturing beyond Industry 4.0 toward Manufacturing 2050, where competitive advantage is determined not simply by access to Artificial Intelligence, but by an organization's ability to transform intelligence into enterprise value. 

Andrew is a frequent speaker on manufacturing innovation, digital transformation, Artificial Intelligence, and enterprise architecture. His presentations challenge traditional thinking about the future of manufacturing while providing practical frameworks for executives responsible for leading large-scale transformation. He believes that the defining competitive advantage of the AI era will not be intelligence alone, but an organization's ability to exercise Organizational Judgment.

Andrew summarizes his work by one simple proposition: 

AI creates potential. Organizational Judgment creates value. 
He believes the organizations that outperform over the next twenty years will not necessarily be those with the most Artificial Intelligence. They will be those that most effectively combine human expertise, Artificial Intelligence, enterprise context, and trust into a single organizational capability: the ability to think together.