Industry
Manufacturing
Employees
501-1,000
Region
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
THE CHALLENGE
Securing a distributed manufacturing environment without slowing production
For leading manufacturing technology provider CenterLine (Windsor) Limited, managing security risk is essential to keeping the business running smoothly. The company operates in a complex global environment, building automated welding systems for automotive, aerospace, and defence customers across multiple international sites. Maintaining consistent security practices across this footprint is challenging, particularly when local support levels vary from site to site. “Each location operates a little differently, and the level of support isn’t always consistent across the board,” says Information Technology Development Manager, Bruce Court.
Modern IT systems run alongside legacy industrial equipment designed to last for decades, creating gaps in visibility and control. Some machines run Microsoft Windows 7 with embedded controllers and limited disk space. On the plant floor, systems can’t easily be updated or replaced, which increases the risk and complexity. “You’re dealing with machines that cost six or seven figures. They need to stay operational for the business, but at the same time, you still have keep them secure,” says Court.
The rapid rise of AI introduces new risks as employees adopt tools outside of IT oversight, raising concerns about data exposure. “Employees were already using AI because it saves them time, but not always through tools that IT has vetted,” he explains.
“With TrendAI™ Vision One, we can see the risks and affected systems. We simply didn’t have that level of visibility before.”
Bruce Court
Information Technology Development Manager, CenterLine
THE SOLUTION
A unified platform for visibility and control
CenterLine moved to the TrendAI Vision One™ industryleading AI security platform to unify security across endpoints, servers, and industrial systems, replacing a fragmented toolset with a single, consolidated view of risk. “With TrendAI Vision One™, we can see the risks and affected systems. We simply didn’t have that level of visibility before,” says Court.
That visibility has been especially important in a manufacturing environment where legacy and embedded systems can’t easily be patched, upgraded, or replaced. With consistent insight across both modern and constrained systems, CenterLine can reduce exposure more effectively while ensuring production systems continue to run without disruption.
Measuring risk and driving accountability
As CenterLine formalized their AI strategy, they expanded the visibility gained from the TrendAI Vision One™ industryleading AI security platform into centralised control across their attack surface. They now use platform solution TrendAI Vision One™ Cyber Risk Exposure Management (CREM) and capabilities such as TrendAI Vision One™ AI Secure Access, and endpoint and email protection for total visibility into their environment.
Instead of managing disconnected tools or reacting after issues arise, the team applies policy-based controls and correlates risk across users, data, and systems in a single view. “This unified approach allows our small IT team to prioritise effectively across more than 1,000 endpoints while maintaining strong protection over critical operations,” says Court. “The team can now quickly identify what matters most and act on it immediately, before it becomes a bigger problem.”
It truly feels like a partnership grounded in responsiveness, familiarity, and a shared focus on doing things right.”
Information Technology Development Manager, CenterLine
Bruce Court
RESULTS
Security performance customers can trust
CenterLine has shifted security into a day-to-day operating discipline, using the TrendAI Vision One™ risk score as a shared benchmark that connects security performance directly to customer trust and outcomes. “The risk score has become a metric the whole business can understand, not just IT,” says Court. The team tracks it daily and trends it over time, making changes in risk posture visible across the organisation and tying them back to operational reliability.
This approach has also removed significant manual effort. Instead of constant firewall tuning and DNS blocking to control unauthorised AI usage, CenterLine now uses policybased controls through AI Secure Access capabilities. “That shift alone gave us time back to focus on higher-value remediation and strengthening resilience,” says Court.
The team has also strengthened governance around people and process, including monthly phishing simulations and updated AI training to support safer use of new tools without slowing productivity. “An enablement-first approach empowers our employees to use AI responsibly,” says Court.
The result is a tighter connection between security performance and business confidence. “Security is critical to our ability to deliver for customers. Having a partner like TrendAI™ means we’re not doing it alone. If our customer can’t trust what we’re doing with their information, we may lose their business,” says Court.
CUSTOMER SERVICE AS A DIFFERENTIATOR
A partnership that instills confidence with CenterLine
For CenterLine, the value of the relationship with TrendAI™ shows up in the everyday moments when the team needs answers, clarity, or a second set of eyes. “Response has always been quick, and my team hasn’t hesitated to reach out because we know we’ll get the answers we need,” says Court.
That level of support has a direct impact on how the team works. Instead of slowing down to validate decisions in isolation, they can move forward with confidence, knowing they have access to people who understand their environment. Over time, that consistency has built trust. “It truly feels like a partnership grounded in responsiveness, familiarity, and a shared focus on doing things right,” he concludes.
ABOUT TRENDAI™
TrendAI™, the enterprise business unit of Trend Micro and the global leader in AI security, empowers enterprises, governments, and organisations with proactive solutions designed to inspire innovation and reduce risk.
Ready to transform your cybersecurity approach?