Siemens USA CEO explains how digital twins work to optimize manufacturing

In a Tuesday interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer, Siemens USA CEO Barbara Humpton detailed how her company's digital twin program lets builders test models virtually before starting production.
"Digital twin can help you play around with a whole lot of permutations before you start to bend metal — ask yourself, you know, how would this perform, how would that perform," she said. "It's tools like that, now are changing everything about how we work."

In a Tuesday interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer, Siemens USA CEO Barbara Humpton detailed how her company's digital twin program lets builders test models virtually before starting production.

"Digital twin can help you play around with a whole lot of permutations before you start to bend metal — ask yourself, you know, how would this perform, how would that perform," she said. "It's tools like that, now, are changing everything about how we work."

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Based in Germany, Siemens develops hardware and software for several industries like electrical infrastructure and transportation, as well as digital twin technology for manufacturing facilities. Humpton said digital twins produce a "digital representation of any physical object" and incorporate the laws of physics. She used the Mars rover as an example, as NASA used the company's technology for that mission. She said the rover couldn't have landed on Mars without the simulation, as it's not possible to replicate the planet's conditions on Earth.

The company is expanding its presence in the U.S. and announced earlier this month it would create a $60 million factory in upstate New York to build a railway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Siemens claimed the project would be the first high-speed rail production site in North America, and that it would create about 300 jobs. The facility is set to start production in 2026.

Humpton highlighted the company's "smart infrastructure" initiative, which she said is Siemens USA's largest and fastest-growing business. Smart infrastructure technology enables widespread electrification and data center creation, she said.

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"We are at the beginning of the next industrial revolution here in the United States," Humpton said, adding that her company's technology will "make it possible for manufacturers in the U.S. to actually be more productive, be more sustainable and compete well on the global stage."