JOHNSTOWN — A new era of manufacturing is taking shape and it’s powered by innovation and artificial intelligence, according to Petra Mitchell, president and chief executive officer of Catalyst Connection, a nonprofit economic development agency in Pittsburgh.

While giving a presentation Thursday at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center, Mitchell said AI technology adoption is redefining competitiveness and productivity within manufacturing industries, with 70% of manufacturers already adopting — or planning to adopt — AI within the next five years.

AI tools are accelerating business processes and office productivity and could be expanded to streamline engineering, production and operations, Mitchell said, noting the number of manufacturing jobs in the Johnstown metropolitan area have grown 12% over the past decade.

Following her presentation, Mitchell moderated a panel discussion with representatives from Mission Critical Solutions, Concurrent Technologies Corp. and Johnstown Welding and Fabrication Industries.

David Scott, JWF Industries’ executive vice president of AI and technology, said the company is dabbling in a couple of different software applications to make people’s jobs a little easier. The company uses AI tools to speed up the bidding process for every project that comes in, he said.

By using AI, the company ensures that work is done as fast and accurately as possible, he said, noting the biggest thing that’s going to impact the manufacturing process itself is yet to come.

That’s going to be the combination of robotics and AI, he said.

“I believe five years from now, (AI is) going to look a lot different than it does today,” Scott said. “It’s going to be a game changer.”

Darin Mauzy, Mission Critical Solutions’ vice president of operations, jokingly said AI is developing so fast that the panelists will need to come back to the table in a few months to relearn how to capitalize off of it.

AI tools are already integral to the organization’s efficient use of resources, he said.

Dave Saranchak, Concurrent Technologies Corp.’s research fellow and senior director of data science and analytics, said AI is not going to replace the whole process of a manufacturing line. But it can be used as a tool to help employees be more efficient, he said.

When Mitchell asked what skills are going to matter the most in the future, Mauzy said he doesn’t see AI replacing workers with strong critical thinking and problem solving abilities.

As everyone is on their own AI journey, Mitchell asked each of the panelists what advice they would give to people looking to use AI to be more productive.

Saranchak said people should “just take that first step toward overcoming that challenge.”

“If you can encourage your workers, your family and your friends to do the same, it will snowball,” he said.

Mauzy said a majority of his peer group already uses AI effectively and he has learned how to use it by asking questions.

“It’s iron sharpens iron,” Mauzy said. “Almost every room I go into, the people in that room are a little bit more talented than me and it’s finding out from them what they’re using right now.”

The event was sponsored by the Greater Johnstown Regional Partnership, Johnstown Area Regional Industries and the Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.