What keeps mission-critical computers running 24/7 on factory floors, military vehicles, and inside blazing-hot enclosures? In this episode of Tech Leaders Unplugged: Hardware Innovators & the Industrial Edge, host John Rice talks with Tim Barnett, President & CEO of Industrial PC, about how to design, build, and support rugged, long-lifecycle systems that don’t quit.
Tim traces his path from biomedical engineering and hospital mainframes to launching a U.S. industrial-computing integrator in the ’90s landing early web leads, navigating tariffs and supply chain swings, and growing a field-engineer-led sales org. He breaks down what truly differentiates industrial PCs (wide-temp, fanless thermal design, embedded roadmaps, serviceability), where AI/edge workloads fit (Intel vs. NVIDIA Jetson), and why modular panel PCs can turn a multi-week outage into a five-minute swap.
Whether you’re an MSP, OEM, or operations leader, you’ll get practical advice on specifying hardware that lasts, avoiding lifecycle traps, and building flexibility into your product roadmap - without sacrificing reliability.
Episode Highlights
[00:28] From biomedical engineering to mainframes: Tim’s entry into computing and the “cold-room” hospital era.
[02:10] Leaving rep life to found Industrial PC: early Taiwanese partnership and the late-night FrontPage website that made the phones ring.
[04:35] What “industrial computing” really means: long lifecycle embedded chipsets, wide-temp components, and fanless thermal design.
[07:18] Why consumer parts fail in the field: the hidden cost of standard-temp SSDs and mismatched specs.
[10:02] Customer-first integration vs. e-commerce boxes: designing to the environment, second-sourcing, and footprint-compatible drop-ins.
[13:21] Supply chain + tariffs reality: “Tim the tariff buster,” steering toward stable sources and shielding customers from shocks.
[15:44] AI at the edge: Intel accelerators vs. NVIDIA Jetson, what Tim’s team supports, and where the learning curve is real.
[18:06] Field challenge story: fitting a PC in a 3"×7" hot stainless cabinet risk-sharing with the customer and a decades-long win.
[21:30] Innovation Tim’s proud of: modular panel PCs -five-minute field swaps instead of weeks of downtime.
[24:12] Founder advice: be flexible, turn on a dime, chase solutions - not rigid plans.
[26:40] Outlook: AI everywhere, edge growth, and why the PC isn’t “dead” in industrial - stability matters as much as speed.
Tags/Keywords
industrial pc, fanless computers, wide-temperature hardware, embedded lifecycle, edge ai, nvidia jetson vs intel, rugged panel pc, thermal design, supply chain resilience, tariff strategy, OEM integration, MSP industrial IoT
Call to Action (CTA)
👉 To connect with John Rice and AI Savants:
Website: https://www.aisavants.io
Email: john@aisavants.io
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-rice-31329526/
👉 To connect with Tim Barnett and Industrial PC:
Website: https://industrialpc.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-barnett-a3439b12/
