Inside Manufacturing CapEx: Real-World Strategies for Better Capital Decisions

Manufacturing organisations are facing unprecedented pressure to deliver more value from every capital investment. With tighter ROIC targets, shorter payback expectations, and greater board-level scrutiny, the need for smarter capital planning and execution has never been greater.

In this on-demand roundtable, hear directly from two global manufacturing leaders as they discuss how they are tackling these challenges and driving better outcomes across their capital portfolios. Discover the strategies, lessons learned, and best practices helping leading manufacturers stay ahead in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Fill in the form below to get instant access to the full webinar recording.

Meet Our Webinar Guest Speakers & Host

Guest Speakers:

Aaron Adamick - Director Global Capital Portfolio, Lubrizol Corporation

Aaron Adamick is Director, Global Capital Portfolio, where he oversees capital investment strategy across the company's global manufacturing operations. Aaron brings over two decades of project and portfolio management experience across major global organisations. His background spans large-scale capital projects, from billion-dollar plant expansions to multi-region portfolio governance, giving him a rounded, hands-on perspective on the CapEx challenges manufacturers face today. 

Cray Vidrine - Senior Program Manager, New Product Development, Daikin Comfort Technologies

Cray Vidrine is Senior Program Manager, New Product Development, where he leads cross-functional teams across engineering, operations, finance, and marketing to deliver complex programs from concept to market. With over seven years' experience in program management, Cray specializes in project planning and risk management, with a close focus on the budget governance and CapEx decisions that shape every new product launch. This experience gives Cray a practical view of the CapEx trade-offs manufacturers face when bringing new products to market.

Webinar Host

Pierre Hulin - Chief Strategy Officer, Cora Systems

Pierre Hulin is a CxO with more than 20 years of experience helping enterprise organizations improve how they plan, govern, and deliver complex capital investments. Working closely with manufacturers and other asset-intensive industries, Pierre brings deep insight into the challenges of managing large-scale CapEx portfolios—from aligning strategic priorities and investment decisions to improving execution, governance, and visibility across the project lifecycle.

Sneak Peek: What Was Discussed

1. The new reality in manufacturing capital investment:

   Aaron and Cray compare notes on how geopolitical uncertainty, tariffs, and supply chain shifts have changed sourcing decisions, and how the bar for approval has risen — from looser ROI expectations a few years ago to tighter ROIC targets and shorter payback windows today.

2. Where internal CapEx processes break down:

   A frank discussion of the friction points both leaders have run into: inconsistent governance standards across sites, fragmented project data spread across spreadsheets and disconnected systems, and the costly gap that can open up between the teams that plan a project and the teams that execute it.

3. How manufacturers decide what gets funded when capital is limited:

   Aaron walks through Lubrizol's priority-scoring matrix and how sites are categorized by growth stage, while Cray shares how Daikin is moving from an informal, ad hoc approach to a more structured, strategy-aligned prioritization model. Both share what actually makes a business case "win" when budgets are tight.

4. Scaling one consistent process across global sites and functions:

   Practical advice on rolling out standardized governance without stalling local teams — including how Lubrizol used its most mature sites as champions to bring newer sites up to speed, and how Daikin balances a standardized framework with flexibility for different product teams.