AI in Automotive Manufacturing – Arch Systems, the manufacturing intelligence platform powering AI agents on factory shop floors, announced that two automotive manufacturers it is working with, HARMAN Automotive and FORVIA HELLA, will join a panel at Automotive News Congress 2026 on how manufacturers are scaling AI use cases that actually deliver results on the plant floor.
The session, “How Automotive Manufacturers Are Scaling the AI Use Cases That Work,” is moderated by Arch Systems CTO and Co-Founder Tim Burke. It brings together operations and engineering leaders, Don Barnes, Vice President of Manufacturing Excellence, HARMAN Automotive, and Sven Hoenecke, CEO, FORVIA HELLA Americas, two tiers of the automotive supply chain, to share what it takes to turn AI pilots into measurable, repeatable outcomes.
This session gives manufacturing leaders a direct look at how AI is improving uptime, throughput, and quality today, and what it takes to scale a working use case across lines, plants, and operations.
HARMAN: Proven Results at Scale
HARMAN, the automotive technology leader and subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., partnered with Arch Systems to deploy the Arch Factory Intelligence Platform across its global electronics manufacturing network, beginning with a lighthouse deployment at its Suzhou, China facility.
Documented results from the deployment:
- Approximately 30% growth in total placements across four manufacturing sites
- Approximately 37% improvement in Defects Per Million Units (DPMU)
- 6 to 8 percentage-point improvement in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) across multiple sites
The joint initiative, “Scaling Factory Intelligence with Agentic AI,” was named a finalist for the 2026 Automotive News PACE Award.
“For us, AI is an enabler to drive quality and productivity across our manufacturing sites, while improving transparency and creating greater synergies across our global operations. Our collaboration with Arch Systems is helping us advance that journey, supported by HARMAN’s strong culture of continuous improvement and our teams’ willingness to embrace change,” said Don Barnes, Vice President of Manufacturing Excellence, HARMAN Automotive.
FORVIA HELLA: AI in Action on the Line
FORVIA HELLA, a global Tier 1 automotive electronics and lighting manufacturer, recently began a pilot with Arch Systems focused on real-time downtime labeling and AI-driven root-cause analysis across SMT lines. On stage, Sven Hoenecke will address what has to be true structurally before AI can scale across a global plant network, how AI, automation, and robotics combine to solve labor constraints in electronics manufacturing, and the lessons learned from putting AI to work in a highly quality-driven production environment.
“At FORVIA HELLA, we are focused on scaling AI where it creates measurable business impact,” says Sven Hoenecke, President and CEO of FORVIA HELLA Electronics, Americas. “With a connected manufacturing network, a dedicated transformation organization, and a clear focus on business value, we are turning AI into measurable improvements in quality, productivity, and resilience across our global operations.”
Event Details
Automotive News Congress 2026
Panel: How Automotive Manufacturers Are Scaling the AI Use Cases That Work
Date: September 29, 2026
Time: 12:40 PM
