FER / ABOUT / CANONICAL
2023 · Auburn Hills, MI
01 / ABOUT
Feraston
Feraston is a research boutique providing proprietary intelligence on production systems and industrial automation to select senior executives responsible for multi-year production architecture and automation strategy.
02 / OVERVIEW
Overview
Key figures
4 FIGURES
700+
Senior executives
C-SUITE TO DIRECTOR
53
Organizations
ACROSS 4 SEGMENTS
$30B+
Annual production automation spend
ROBOTS · LINES · SOFTWARE
80%+
Of major automakers, suppliers and manufacturers
MAJOR COMPANIES SERVED
03 / VALUES
Values
Values
3 VALUES
01
First principles
We reason from what is established, not from what is assumed or agreed.
02
Speed
We decide quickly, act on it, and correct course as we learn.
03
Ownership
We own the work end to end, and answer for it.
04 / ORGANIZATIONS
Organizations
RELIED ON ACROSS PRODUCTION AND AUTOMATION EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS
24 OF 53 ORGANIZATIONS
Automakers 19 · Electronics 8 · Tier-1 Suppliers 14 · Industrials 12
05 / FUNCTIONS SERVED
Functions Served
Functions served
5 FUNCTIONS
Manufacturing Engineering and Industrialization
Production system design, line automation, and equipment integration across global plants, including industrialization programs that standardize robotics platforms.
- Coverage
- Factory engineering
- Line design
- Tooling
- Industrialization processes
- Robotics integration
- Example titles
- VP, Production Engineering & Launch
- Head of Global Equipment Engineering
Production Systems and Operations
Plant operations, continuous improvement, and robotics deployment, managing uptime and performance of automated production systems.
- Coverage
- Production systems
- Assembly operations
- Plant capacity
- Line throughput
- Site management
- Example titles
- Director of Production Systems
- Head of Plant Operations & Uptime
Digital Manufacturing and Industry 4.0
Digital transformation initiatives including MES, analytics, and smart factory connectivity, linking IT and OT to enable robotics data integration.
- Coverage
- Smart factory
- Robotics
- IoT integration
- Digital thread
- MES
- Connected production
- Example titles
- Head Digital Manufacturing
- Director, Industry 4.0 Deployment
Systems and Integration
Automation software, control systems, and robotics interfaces ensuring interoperability across production lines and enterprise systems.
- Coverage
- Robotics systems integration
- Automation controls
- Technology partnerships
- Cell interfaces
- Example titles
- Director Automation Systems Integration
- Head of Controls Integration
Executive Manufacturing and Strategy
Manufacturing strategy, capital allocation, and long-term automation roadmaps across regions and product divisions.
- Coverage
- Capital deployment
- Plant roadmap
- Global operations
- Manufacturing strategy
- Sourcing timing
- Example titles
- VP, Global Manufacturing Strategy & Investment
- Head of Operations Transformation
Seniority
3 LEVELS
01
Enterprise Leadership
Executives with authority over robotics investment allocation, factory strategy, and enterprise-level supplier selection across production networks and organizational units.
VP, Production Engineering & Launch
Executive Director Global Operations
02
Program Leadership
Executives accountable for transformation programs, supplier evaluation, robotics deployment coordination, and industrialization roadmap governance across plants and regions.
Head, Advanced Manufacturing Concepts
Global Head Production Systems
03
Technical Leadership
Engineering managers and technical leads responsible for implementation, validation, and system integration at the line or plant level.
Senior Manager Robotics Integration
Engineering Manager Production Systems
06 / SERVICES
Services
SERVICE 01 / 03
SERVICE 02 / 03
SERVICE 03 / 03
07 / SEGMENTS
Segments
SEGMENT 01 / 04
AUTOMAKERS · 19 ORGANIZATIONS
SEGMENT 02 / 04
ELECTRONICS · 8 ORGANIZATIONS
SEGMENT 03 / 04
TIER-1 · 14 ORGANIZATIONS
SEGMENT 04 / 04
INDUSTRIALS · 12 ORGANIZATIONS
08 / RECORDS
Records
DOCUMENT 01 / 05
DOCUMENT 02 / 05
DOCUMENT 03 / 05
DOCUMENT 04 / 05
DOCUMENT 05 / 05
09 / STATUS
Status
STATUS
10 / CAREERS
Careers
CAREERS
11 / ACCESS
Access
Access to Feraston Research, Feraston Advisory and Feraston Events is by review or invitation. Inquiries are evaluated on relevance, scope, and program stage.