Integrity Tool partners with Palantir Technologies on major software investment

Already one of the top three tool and mould firms in North America, Windsor’s Integrity Tool and Mold announced Friday a multi-million-dollar, multi-year partnership with U.S. software company Palantir Technologies that will help accelerate growth and the digitalization of its business.

The groundbreaking deal makes Integrity the first Tier II firm in Canada to partner with Palantir, which specializes in software and big data analysis for Fortune 500 companies, health care, the U.S. military, and counterterrorism and intelligence agencies.

In the automotive sector, Palantir counts Stellantis, Martinrea International, Forvia and Ferrari’s F-1 program among its customers.

“We’ve been planning for this for the past five or six years,” said Integrity’s director of operations Kevin Booker.

“From our standpoint, we’d maxed out our current system and growth patterns. This platform will allow us to provide the maximum utilization of our people and assets.”

Integrity is currently building its seventh facility in the Windsor area to go with its two plants in Tennessee and one in Mexico. About 600 of its roughly 700 employees are based in Windsor.

With automakers pushing innovation and the search for cost savings further down the supply chain, Booker said the new software platform moves Integrity closer to being a complete Industry 4.0 operation capable of meeting those challenges.

“It’s pretty clear what the OEMs want,” Booker said.

“They want results faster and more competitive pricing. This is part of our motivation.

“We want to stay ahead of our competition and this will help do that.”

Palantir Canada’s lead on commercial business, Hanna Tomory, said the timing is also right for the Denver-based firm to explore partnerships with smaller companies.

The auto mobility sector and modern manufacturing are producing reams of data that can easily overwhelm companies with information.

“This is a beachhead for us,” Tomory said.

“The software that works in the belly of an Airbus is worthwhile being put to use to support the global manufacturing sector.

“It also can support other companies in a number of tiers in this sector (besides OEMs and Tier I). All companies have the challenge of dealing with large data and how to use it.”

Tomory said Palantir, which has 3,000 employees with revenues of over $1.5 billion US in 2021, is selective in who it partners with. The company doesn’t view its software as a vehicle for replacing workers.

“Palantir tries to partner with executive leadership that shares its values,” Tomory said. “We use technology to augment humans, not replace them.”

Booker said the roots of the partnership with Palantir were planted after Integrity’s founder Paul DiGiovanni spotted their poster featuring Ferrari’s F-1 team in an airport. An avid F-1 fan, DiGiovanni knew such software systems could also be applicable to his own firm, so he snapped a photo of the poster and sent it to Booker with instructions to contact Palantir.

Soon a company DiGiovanni wasn’t familiar with was trusted to play a significant role in positioning Integrity for the future.

“We’ve had (Palantir’s Foundry) platform in place six to eight weeks and we can see the difference already,” Booker said. “Everything is faster. The data is more accurate.

“We’re recovering data we couldn’t access before that our management team is now using in decision-making.”

Booker said the platform is also compatible with Integrity’s existing systems allowing for an easy transition. Integrity plans to use the software across all its production sites.

The software will gather data on every aspect of the company’s operations ranging from information gathered from machines on the shop floor to scheduling and required maintenance.

“It brings together a diverse set of data in a central ontology,” Tomory said. “It makes it more accessible and easier to make decisions using that data.”

Booker added the software wasn’t purchased with just improvements in productivity and quality in mind. It also offers human resources benefits.

“We want to create a better employee experience,” Booker said.

“We want to be seen by potential employees as a leading company and make it easier for employees in the company.

“We want to be a company that employees want to go to.”

[email protected]

twitter.com/winstarwaddell