Rockwell Automation showcases AI & digitalisation in Jakarta
Rockwell Automation held its ROKLive Jakarta 2026 event in Jakarta, drawing nearly 400 industry professionals from Indonesia's major industrial sectors.
The event focused on how manufacturers are applying artificial intelligence, digitalisation, advanced analytics and sustainability measures in industrial operations. Attendees came from sectors including food and beverage, consumer packaged goods, oil and gas, mining, chemicals, data centres and energy.
Sessions included keynote presentations, customer panel discussions and interactive forums on smart factories, control platforms, artificial intelligence in manufacturing and system resilience. The programme also featured hands-on labs and a solutions showcase focused on digital twins, visualisation platforms, AI-led analytics and energy management.
Rockwell presented the Jakarta meeting as its flagship event in Indonesia for customers and partners, using it to address mounting pressure on manufacturers from operational complexity, workforce constraints and the need to improve efficiency.
Indonesia has become an important market for industrial automation suppliers as manufacturers invest in technology aligned with the government's Making Indonesia 4.0 agenda. The country's manufacturing base remains a major contributor to economic growth, and industrial groups have been increasing spending on systems designed to improve output, visibility and energy use.
That backdrop shaped much of the discussion at the event, where companies were seen taking a closer look at connected industrial systems as they respond to supply chain disruption, labour shortages and tighter sustainability targets.
Scott Wooldridge, Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific, Rockwell Automation, delivered the main keynote. Emmy Suryandari, Head of Industrial Services Standardization and Policy Agency at Indonesia's Ministry of Industry, also addressed attendees on the outlook for the country's manufacturing sector and the role of technology and innovation in industrial change.
Market focus
Indonesia is one of Rockwell's stronger markets in Southeast Asia, reflecting broader demand for factory automation, industrial software and digital tools as local operators modernise plants and manage more complex production environments.
Across Southeast Asia, industrial companies have been weighing how far and how quickly they can adopt artificial intelligence in production settings. Many of the use cases now being discussed by suppliers and manufacturers focus on maintenance, process monitoring, operational analysis and energy consumption rather than fully autonomous production systems.
Digitalisation was another key theme in Jakarta, particularly around unifying control systems and improving visibility across plant operations. For manufacturers with older infrastructure, that often means integrating newer software and analytics layers with existing equipment rather than replacing systems outright.
Energy management also featured prominently as manufacturers face pressure to curb operating costs and reduce emissions. In sectors such as chemicals, mining and food processing, energy use can account for a significant share of production costs, making monitoring tools and efficiency measures a growing area of interest.
Industry pressures
The event's focus reflected a wider shift in industrial technology spending across the region. Companies are increasingly seeking practical applications that can deliver measurable gains in uptime, labour productivity and resource use, especially as economic conditions remain uneven across export markets.
For automation providers, customer events such as this serve a dual role: they give users a forum to compare approaches to plant modernisation and allow suppliers to gauge which technologies are gaining traction in local markets. In Indonesia, that conversation is increasingly tied to the pace of industrial digital transformation and manufacturers' ability to deploy new tools without disrupting existing operations.
Marcelo Tarkieltaub, Regional Vice President, Southeast Asia, Rockwell Automation, made that case in his remarks at the event.
"Manufacturers are navigating increasingly complex operating environments, from supply chain disruptions to productivity demands," said Marcelo Tarkieltaub, Regional Vice President, Southeast Asia, Rockwell Automation. "Technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced analytics and digitalization are enabling organizations to operate with greater agility and insight. ROKLive Jakarta provided a platform for industry leaders to explore how these technologies can be applied in practice to drive innovation, strengthen resilience and unlock new opportunities for growth."