SuzhouMay 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Critical Manufacturing, an industrial operations platform provider and subsidiary of ASMPT, dedicated to integrating execution, connectivity, analytics, and AI, has recently been recognized as a Representative Vendor by Gartner in the “Market Guide for Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).” The report notes that as operational demands continue to rise, manufacturing systems are persistently transitioning towards more interconnected and data-driven models, while enterprises increasingly emphasize the application of AI and more open, interoperable production system management approaches.
Gartner states that MES remains the core of digital manufacturing, with vendors continuously evolving their product capabilities to address changes in business and production needs, including a greater focus on system integration, flexibility, and platform capabilities.
Francisco Almada Lobo, CEO and Co-founder of Critical Manufacturing, said: “We are delighted to be included in the Gartner MES Market Guide. In our view, this reflects our ongoing commitment to helping manufacturing enterprises succeed in today’s and tomorrow’s demanding, highly regulated industries. We continuously integrate cutting-edge technologies like AI into a solid, reliable foundation to drive digital transformation that delivers real value and return on investment.”
As manufacturing complexity increases, enterprises are placing greater importance on the role of systems in enhancing visibility, collaboration, and decision-making capabilities. Critical Manufacturing addresses this need through its industrial operations platform, where MES serves as the execution core, integrated into a broader framework that unifies production, data, and intelligence.
Almada Lobo added: “Manufacturing is no longer just about controlling shop floor processes; it’s about transforming production data into meaningful, timely decisions that improve overall operational performance. We are witnessing a shift from siloed systems to an environment where execution, data, and intelligence continuously drive each other. This is key for manufacturing enterprises to achieve faster responsiveness, clearer operations, and competitiveness in complex markets.”
Within this architecture, MES plays a central role in capturing and contextualizing manufacturing data, connecting with analytics tools and enterprise systems to enable a continuous flow of information between the shop floor and business decision-making levels.
Critical Manufacturing continues to enhance its solution capabilities for high-tech industries such as semiconductors, electronics, medical devices and life sciences, and industrial equipment. Latest features include batch management supporting batch matching, resource cluster services for multi-chamber equipment, and more granular job-level personnel tracking. Additionally, flexible BOM management, advanced substrate mapping, and intelligent barcode scanning further strengthen control and traceability during production.
The platform has also expanded capabilities for line clearance management and maintenance of reusable spare parts, along with enhanced reporting through tools like Grafana and Stimulsoft. Unified namespace data streaming via MQTT, along with a centralized enterprise data platform, provides broader visualization capabilities across multiple factories.
Meanwhile, Critical Manufacturing is advancing its AI roadmap, encompassing machine learning, generative AI, and more advanced autonomous systems. These capabilities are embedded within the MES and data platform, enabling enhanced contextual understanding, predictive insights, and more efficient operations and decision-making processes.
The report also advises manufacturing enterprises to evaluate the suitability of MES solutions for future needs, including integration capabilities with other systems, responsiveness to process changes, and scalability across factories. For enterprises in complex industries, selecting solutions that align with their operational requirements can help reduce implementation costs and maintain long-term flexibility.
Critical Manufacturing serves a broad customer base across Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and North America, catering to industries with stringent demands for traceability, quality, and responsiveness. By integrating MES, data, analytics, and AI into a unified platform, the company helps manufacturing enterprises build more resilient, transparent, agile, and future-ready operations.
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About Critical Manufacturing
Critical Manufacturing, a subsidiary of ASMPT and recognized as an industry leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™, provides one of the most advanced manufacturing operations platforms in the industry. By combining MES, connectivity, automation, and analytics, Critical Manufacturing helps manufacturing enterprises build the connected smart factories of the future, where humans and AI collaborate seamlessly to achieve true Industry 4.0. For more information, visit https://www.criticalmanufacturing.com/
About ASMPT
ASMPT (HKEX: 0522) is a global leader in hardware and software solutions for the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing sectors. Headquartered in Singapore, its business encompasses semiconductor packaging and assembly, as well as the SMT industry, offering a wide range of solutions from wafer deposition to the organization, assembly, and packaging of sensitive electronic components, ultimately serving diverse fields such as electronics, mobile communications, computing, automotive, industrial, and LED. ASMPT works closely with customers and, through continuous R&D investment, provides the industry with cost-effective, industry-shaping solutions that offer higher productivity, greater reliability, and better quality.
ASMPT is a constituent stock of the Hang Seng Composite MidCap Index, the Hang Seng Composite Information Technology Industry Index, and the Hang Seng Hong Kong 35 Index. For more information, visit www.asmpt.com.