A Conversation on AI and ML Strategies, Fostering Collaboration, and Innovation with Dan Floyd, Vice President, Manufacturing Technology at The Lubrizol Corporation [Speaker Spotlight]

In this exclusive Speaker Spotlight interview, Dan Floyd, Vice President, Manufacturing Technology at The Lubrizol Corporation, shares his manufacturing career journey, strategies for leveraging AI and machine learning, and insights for effectively fostering collaboration and innovation. 

From implementing a data infrastructure to knowing how to leverage AI and machine learning to enhance process simulations, discover more insights ahead of his session titled “Enhancing Manufacturing, from Process Engineering to Commercialization" at the 11th annual American Manufacturing Summit!

Can you please give a brief introduction to yourself and describe your role and main responsibilities as the Vice President, Manufacturing Technology at The Lubrizol Corporation?

Hello, my name is Dan Floyd. I joined Lubrizol in February 2023, almost two years ago.
Essentially, I'm responsible for Process Technology. This includes leading the engineers who
define and understand our best-in-class process technology that is designed and running in our
plants, while also keeping an eye on the next generation of technology needed for our plants. I
am also responsible for the global engineering team, leveraging standards and practices, and
Lubrizol “Engineering Toolkits”, which are part of advanced process technology. This includes
automation innovation, robotics, and data utilization, as well as the basic elements like pumps,
steel structures, and Lubrizol’s standard practices.

Additionally, I oversee Lubrizol’s third-party manufacturing portfolio. These partners are worldwide, and critical to our synthesis process. They help by filling our materials into different containers or practicing chemistries we don't handle internally. Additionally, I am responsible for two of our Cleveland area locations.

What’s so exciting about my role at Lubrizol is the connection of our process technologies to finished products -- and how those products make the modern world work better. It’s the intersection of life and science. My role is focused on defining designer products, producing them safely in our plants, and delivering them to our customers.

Can you share more about your manufacturing technology career journey, leading up to your current role at The Lubrizol Corporation?

I've worked for several companies in the industry, with the longest tenure at Dow Chemical. This experience laid the foundation for my current role, whether working as a manufacturing engineer in plants or transitioning into process development, where I led pilot plant teams on scale-ups. I also managed the change process, post-acquisition when Dow bought Union Carbide, learning about stakeholder management, communications, change management, and standard work deployment. A significant challenge in advanced manufacturing is bringing people along with new processes.

I also spent time in a Kleiner Perkins-backed startup, which I refer to as my "poor man's MBA." I learned how to get a business running and viable, focusing on advanced process technology for synthesizing sugars from woody biomass. This experience taught me to prioritize what’s important in a chemical or manufacturing process.

Since then, I've held leadership roles in quality, manufacturing excellence, and process research/development, leading to my current role.

 
“When you're a startup, and you don't have a revenue line yet, it's very important to focus on what really matters to support further investment and then saleable products that you can actually get revenue from.”

Looking back on your career, what is one lesson or piece of advice you wish you had known when you first started within manufacturing technology?

It wasn't until I joined a startup that I understood how to describe and explain techno-economic analysis. If we address specific issues in a process, eliminate hazards, or improve yield, it can make the process cheaper and faster. Learning to describe this in a way that everyone across the business team can understand is crucial. This includes technical and non-technical team members. The challenge is integrating advanced manufacturing techniques into the supply chain and communicating the priorities and focus areas effectively. 

“...You're not just talking to a bunch of manufacturing engineers anymore about what you're trying to do to one part of the reactor. You need to involve more people across the entire business to take advantage of the opportunity.”

At Lubrizol, how have you and your team leveraged AI and machine learning to enhance process simulations and improve predictions for commercialization success?

Before I joined, Lubrizol had a strong data science capability. We started as a lubricants additives company in 1928, but now we are much more than that. A significant part of qualifying additives involves extensive and expensive testing. Our team has built digital twins using data science, AI, and machine learning tools to predict performance without running multiple tests, selecting only the most necessary ones. The opportunity before us now is to utilize inline analytical probes and new data to better understand and fully optimize our processes.

Can you provide an example of how AI or machine learning has significantly improved a business case or accelerated commercialization timeline?

Our data science team, working with pilot plants and formulators, has significantly reduced timelines to qualify new additive packages using predictive models. These models learn from all our previous years’ work.  It allows us to focus on the spaces in formulation that haven’t been explored in the past and not revisit previous learnings.  With machine learning tools, we have robust solutions that perform as promised to customers by using decades worth of data and learnings.

 
“With data science tools, we have robust solutions and an understanding that it'll operate the way we want it to in our plants—as we're making it—and know with certainty it will perform as promised to customers.”

When integrating AI and machine learning into manufacturing processes, what strategies have you found the most effective for fostering collaboration and generating innovative ideas?

I run a service organization, and it's crucial to be close to our internal customers and bring them on the journey of adopting new tools and equipment. Identifying pain points and tedious tasks in plants or labs that can be automated will create more time for creativity and process improvements. 

How do you balance technical requirements with operational needs when implementing a data infrastructure to support innovation?

A lot of my leadership theories come from Honeywell, where a prior CEO wrote a book called “Winning Now, Winning Later”.   The premise of the book is that it's important to start small and focus on quick wins rather than trying to overhaul everything at once. Data governance and architecture can be significant barriers but starting with automating some processes and building from there can lead to faster adoption, with the additional use of these processes and tools.

“Focus on where the pain is, where quick easy wins are, and then start getting that management operating system or muscle memory around. How do we start organizing and seeing this data?”

How do continuous performance insights contribute to identifying new opportunities for products or process improvements at Lubrizol?

We are developing and deploying live dashboards to provide insights into the performance of an individual plant, versus corporate best-in-class. If a plant is not running optimally, we work with the global team to analyze and improve, whether its process conditions or capital improvements that are needed. This continuous improvement approach helps smooth out variability and identify opportunities for new products or process enhancements.


What are you most looking forward to about the 11th annual American Manufacturing Summit?

I look forward to learning about new approaches and technologies from other companies and meeting potential vendors and suppliers. Additionally, I graduated high school near the summit location, so I’m excited to get to eat some old favorites. 

We are grateful to Dan Floyd for the insights and look forward to his session titled “Enhancing Manufacturing, from Process Engineering to Commercialization" at the American Manufacturing Summit taking place on March 19-20, 2025, in Chicago, IL. 

For further insights into the future of manufacturing, emerging trends, and more, visit manusummit.com.

Subscribe so you never miss a blog!