FactoryTwin Welcomes Smart Manufacturing Leader Jim Wetzel to Its Board of Advisors

Minneapolis, MN — October 14, 2025 — FactoryTwin, the AI-powered digital twin analytics platform for small and mid-sized manufacturers, announces the appointment of Jim Wetzel to its Board of Advisors. 

Wetzel is a nationally recognized leader in Smart Manufacturing and Digital Transformation with more than three decades of experience delivering measurable operational impact. His background spans Co-Founder of NxGen Group, founding CEO and Strategic Advisor to CESMII (The Smart Manufacturing Institute), and Director of Global Reliability at General Mills, where he helped manufacturers connect strategy to execution and achieve data-driven performance improvements on the shop floor.

In 2025, Wetzel received the Manufacturing Leadership Council Award for Digital Transformation Leadership from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), recognizing his continued contributions to advancing digital excellence across U.S. manufacturing.

By joining FactoryTwin’s advisory board, Wetzel will guide platform strategy, customer deployment best practices, and ecosystem partnerships. His leadership in the Smart Manufacturing Acceleration Framework and long-standing commitment to workforce development align directly with FactoryTwin’s mission to help manufacturers make smarter, faster, and more connected factory decisions.

FactoryTwin unifies operational data across ERP, MES, QMS, and other systems to deliver predictive and prescriptive analytics for S&OP, dynamic scheduling, resource utilization, and Digital Continuous Improvement. The platform is supported by FactoryValidator®, an automated data quality and health assessment engine that ensures trustworthy insights and rapid time to value.

About Jim Wetzel

Jim Wetzel is a Smart Manufacturing and reliability leader with 30+ years of experience in operations, standards, and digital transformation. He has advised industry, workforce, and public–private initiatives focused on translating strategy into sustainable factory performance.

About FactoryTwin

FactoryTwin is an AI-driven digital twin analytics platform purpose-built for small and mid-sized manufacturers. By connecting ERP, MES, QMS, and other operational systems into a unified view, FactoryTwin transforms disconnected data into predictive and prescriptive insights that improve revenue, profitability, cash flow, and on-time delivery. Backed by NSF-funded R&D and designed for rapid, low-disruption implementations, FactoryTwin helps teams move from interfaces to decisions.

Learn more: www.factory-twin.com