Shared via original MD+DI Online article by Claire Wallace, Senior Writer, Informa Markets – Engineering
TPC Group President Roy Barnes explains how AI is actually being used on medical manufacturing floors today, why reshoring is happening slower than expected, and what manufacturing risks medical device companies should prepare for in 2026.
The Partner Companies, a global network with several specialty manufacturers across aerospace, defense, energy, medical, technology, EV & auto, and telecom, has seen a lot of major changes in medical manufacturing since its founding in 1997.
TPC now operates across four countries, and in July, acquired Cortland, N.Y.-based manufacturer Precision Eforming, deepening its foothold into the medical device and pharmaceutical space.
The company’s management team helps its partners through a myriad of changes every year, from new technologies, to geopolitical changes, and a seemingly endless amount of global risk and opportunity.
MD+DI connected with TPC’s Group President, Roy Barnes, to discuss AI tariffs, 2026’s manufacturing challenges and opportunities, and more.
Beyond the buzzwords, what does AI-enabled predictive maintenance actually look like on a medical device manufacturing floor today, and what ROI are companies realistically seeing?
Barnes: For us on the manufacturing floor, we are using AI in a way to process large amounts of information from our manufacturing processes in a way that has been challenging for engineers to be able to process that much data, and come to conclusions or see patterns with that data. It has enabled us to analyze more aspects of our process, like motor speed, or the temperature of a bath in real time, in a more dynamic way such that we can start to see those patterns and be able to improve the overall quality and output of our process, ultimately leading to faster turnaround times for new process development and enabling us to be able to scale processes more repeatedly and faster once we do go to the production environment. So it is really around that data analysis and processing that we focus our AI efforts on.
Everyone talks about reshoring, but what does “realistic” localization actually mean for medical supply chains in 2026? What can companies actually bring back versus what should stay overseas?
Barnes: The reshoring has been an interesting concept that we have been talking about for a year or so. What we have personally observed is that reshoring is happening, but not as fast as we thought it would. A lot of medical device manufacturers have really well-defined supply chains, and any change to that supply chain results in requalification or revalidation on some of the equipment. In order for them to pivot, there is a tax to be paid upfront. That being said, we are seeing interest and making investments into new processes, new equipment, and new certifications to bring on more onshored manufacturing. There is a reduction in risk that will go forward for new projects that we’ll be able to see business done here in the U.S. from the start, rather than beginning overseas and struggling to bring things back to the U.S.
Looking ahead to 2026, what’s the biggest manufacturing risk that medical device companies aren’t adequately preparing for right now?
Barnes: I think you touched on one, which is how AI will affect the world. Another one is geopolitical uncertainty, whether that be tariffs or wars breaking out, that has all disrupted the supply chain. I think that leads customers, or manufacturers, to figure out a stable supply chain and where they can bring things back onshore. That’s where TPC has a very strong footprint and advantage with our multiple manufacturing centers in the U.S. with the technologies we have to be able to vertically integrate and take over some portion of that supply chain and simplify the process of reshoring and mitigate the risk of those geopolitical situations that have been happening.
On the flip side, what’s the most significant opportunity you see emerging in medical manufacturing that companies should be positioning themselves to capitalize on this year?
Barnes: The opportunities are around what we’ve been talking about; being able to quickly execute on new processes or new developments from the customers. To either be able to develop whatever their new thing is, or develop a process that they were running overseas to be able to bring that onshore here. That is really going to help manufacturing to be quick and responsive. The world is changing very fast, and as a company, we cannot take a long time to be able to develop something. You need to be able to be a rapid manufacturing organization to be able to do that. If you have vertical integration, you can be very responsive to that.
TPC just completed its 11th acquisition since 1997 and now operates across four countries. How has this global footprint shaped your approach to the manufacturing trends we’ve discussed, particularly around workforce models and supply chain strategy?
Barnes: It’s been interesting because we can be very dynamic with our customer base. By having those footprints, we have been able to meet customers’ needs by allocating work from one location to another based on dynamic tariff situations. We have a facility in China where we are doing a lot more domestic work for them just by being able to pivot. They were at one point doing a lot of outsourced opportunities to China, but now we are able to pivot and do it in another location like Tijuana, or do it in the U.S. That dynamic ability to move from one geographic area to another has enabled us to be able to meet customer needs both from a tariffs perspective as well as a cost of manufacturing perspective.
Is there anything else you would like to expand on?
Barnes: I think the main thing I would like to share is that the manufacturing world is changing very rapidly right now, with the advent of new technology. You can call it AI, but it’s really the adaptation of advanced technology to be able to facilitate growth and development of new processes and new things within a manufacturing environment. Nimble companies who are visionary in adapting to that technology are going to outpace legacy manufacturing concepts where it’s about grinding through the same old processes. Being able to be a dynamic organization with multiple technologies like TPC has to be able to pull on those technologies and integrate with rapid technology advancements will distinguish one manufacturing company from another in the future. Standing still and doing it the way you have always done it is going to be a challenge.
