Inside Dräxlmaier’s digital drive: COO Arno Güllering on AI, mindset shifts and global smart factory strategy
In a revealing interview at the Automobil Produktion Kongress in Munich, Arno Güllering, chief operating officer of Dräxlmaier Group, shares how the global supplier is accelerating its smart factory transformation. From unexpected digital frontrunners like Tunisia to the growing role of generative AI in maintenance, Güllering discusses his first-year priorities and why a shift in mindset is just as critical as technology.
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In this insightful conversation from the Automobil Produktion Kongress, Arno Güllering, chief operating officer at Dräxlmaier, outlines his first-year priorities leading production and logistics for the global supplier—and why digitalisation is central to every step forward.
Visiting sites from Mexico to Tunisia, Güllering was struck by the digital maturity in some of Dräxlmaier’s so-called “best-cost” locations. “You would not guess how far advanced in digitalisation Tunisia is,” he notes. “It was an eye-opener.” These locations are now shaping best practices across the wider plant network.
He stresses that digitalisation isn’t just a buzzword—it’s essential for global competitiveness. “We have to make use of it to keep up with China,” Güllering explains. “You have to give it space to grow.”
→Read more on AMS’ exclusive conversation with Arno Güllering: Arno Güllering on harnessing shopfloor visualisation and genAI in Dräxlmaier production
Dräxlmaier has already connected nearly every plant to the cloud and built highly tailored shopfloor dashboards. But the next frontier, Güllering says, is leveraging generative AI. One high-potential area: maintenance. “You just talk to your phone… and it tells you when the machine was last repaired, how often it fails, and what to do differently.”
Driving this transformation requires not massive headcounts, but focused expertise. “It’s amazing how small the number of specialists in a plant is—just 3 to 5 people,” he explains, “but they form the backbone of the digital push.”
To succeed, Dräxlmaier is investing in IT/OT connectivity, AI integration, and the skills to future-proof its manufacturing network.
As Güllering concludes: “If you have 100 machines and only 10 are connected, you will not improve the whole plant.”
Arno Güllering, chief operating officer at the Dräxlmaier Group, was a speaker at the 2025 Automobil Produktion and AMS Kongress in Munich, Germany, where he joined other manufacturing leaders to discuss digitalisation, flexibility and sustainability in automotive manufacturing. We will back back with the 2026 Automobil Produktion and AMS Kongress in Munich, Germany again. Click below to know more.