Meet Chris Balow | EV Magazine

Meet Chris Balow, who has 18 years of experience at Plex. Chris has developed a deep understanding of the manufacturing industry by visiting factory floors across the country and building valuable relationships with manufacturers across multiple industries. His expertise includes integrated manufacturing, product design, and software development, particularly in the automotive industry. At Plex, Chris plays a critical role in developing and implementing innovative manufacturing solutions that increase efficiency and fundamentally transform existing processes.

Hello, please introduce yourself.

I am the Director of Product Management at Plex, a division of Rockwell Automation. During my time at Plex, I have had the privilege of visiting factory floors across the country and building relationships with manufacturers in various industries.

Tell us about your study and professional experiences.

I have a degree in integrated manufacturing, which we used to call smart manufacturing. After graduating, I started my career as a product designer at Ford Motor Company, where I began developing software to support the automotive manufacturing sector. I joined Plex in 2005 and focused on implementation, which meant meeting manufacturers, understanding their challenges, and helping them solve them. The role gave me extensive insight into all aspects of the supply chain across different industries, which was invaluable when I moved into product development. In my current role, I am again focusing on smart manufacturing in the automotive industry.

What skills have you developed throughout your career?

Throughout my career at Plex, I have continually developed my skills to keep pace with the growth of the company and the evolving needs of the manufacturing industry. My early experience in integrated manufacturing was critical to developing new or improved smart manufacturing solutions. Over the years, I have honed my skills in product leadership, team building, project management, and cross-team collaboration.

What is Plex?

Plex is a Rockwell Automation leader in cloud-based smart manufacturing solutions. We empower manufacturers worldwide to create outstanding products. The Plex platform enables manufacturers to connect, automate, track and analyze every aspect of their business to drive transformation. BOXOUT, our smart manufacturing platform, includes solutions for MES, ERP, quality, supply chain planning and management, asset performance management, production monitoring, process automation and analytics. It connects people, systems, machines and supply chains and enables manufacturers to lead with precision, efficiency and agility.

How do you support the circular economy?

Achieving true circularity requires integrating complex business processes under one digital roof. Real-time data and advanced analytics can manage massive data sets and enable automation and efficiency beyond human capabilities. Plex supports the circular economy by providing digital tools that optimize resource usage and product lifecycles and track product composition. For example, Plex’s DemandCaster helps manufacturers accurately predict demand, ensuring efficient and sufficient inventory management.

Plex helps with:

• Sustainability: Tracking material consumption, material origin, energy use and waste generation to make informed decisions about sourcing sustainable materials, minimizing waste and designing products for recyclability.
• Operational efficiency: Optimizing production processes to reduce material waste and energy consumption.

How can the entire electric vehicle sector strengthen the circular economy?

Traditionally, automobile manufacturing is linear: raw materials are mined, cars are built and then scrapped. In a circular economy, resources are used for as long as possible. For electric vehicles, this means:

• Disassembly-friendly design: Easier disassembly of electric vehicles allows valuable components such as batteries and motors to be reused or recycled.
• Second life for batteries: EV batteries retain a significant charge even after their car life. We extend their life and reduce waste by developing energy storage systems for secondary uses.
• Use of recycled materials: Using more recycled materials such as steel and aluminum in the production of electric vehicles reduces dependence on new resources and reduces environmental impact.

Are there any partnerships in the electric vehicle space that you can tell us about?

At Plex, we are proud of our strong partnerships in the electric vehicle space, such as with The Shyft Group. We partnered with The Shyft Group, a leading specialty vehicle manufacturer, to revolutionize their production process and accelerate the development of electric delivery vehicles. By implementing Plex’s intelligent manufacturing platform, including ERP and MES capabilities, across three plants, they streamlined operations, improved efficiency, and significantly reduced development time. For example, their Plymouth, Michigan plant created a Plex environment in just two weeks that supported initial bill of materials, purchasing workflows, material ordering, and inventory management. This enabled rapid prototyping, taking just nine months from concept to working prototype. The new electric vehicle was launched under Shyft Group’s Blue Arc brand and is focused on developing commercial electric vehicle solutions.

What are your plans for the next 12 months?

In the next year, Plex will continue to advance its commitment to smart manufacturing solutions. We plan to develop products that improve factory operations through improved planning and worker connectivity solutions, targeting the development of the next generation manufacturing workforce.

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