About
Built from the factory floor
FrancisBarr is an enterprise AI and systems engineering consultancy founded on a simple conviction: the best technology solutions start with understanding the operation, not the other way around.
Our Story
FrancisBarr was founded after more than twenty years spent inside manufacturing operations — aerospace, defense, battery production, precision machining. We've managed ERP implementations, built data warehouses from scratch, deployed machine learning models in ITAR-regulated facilities, and written custom applications that replaced decades of spreadsheet workflows. We started this company because we saw the same pattern everywhere: brilliant technology applied without understanding the operation it was supposed to serve. We do it differently.
Our Philosophy
We start with the operation, not the technology. Before we write a line of code or design a data model, we learn how your business actually works — the processes, the people, the constraints that don't show up in a requirements document. Technology is the tool, not the starting point. This approach takes more time upfront but delivers solutions that actually get adopted, because they were built around the way your team works.
The Name
FrancisBarr is built from family names — a nod to the people and values that shaped how we think about work.
Based in Chicago
We're headquartered in Chicago, working with manufacturers across the United States. Our clients operate in regulated, high-complexity environments where getting it right matters more than getting it fast.
Let’s start a conversation
We’d like to hear about your operation and understand where you’re headed. No pitch. No pressure. Just a conversation.
Get in Touch