The Manufacturing Executive
Episodes
Removing Buyer Friction With a Digital Commerce Environment w/ Kris Harrington
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
All the interactions that happen from first touch with a prospect through the signed purchase order, and in the future as your customer buys from you ...
Building a Digital Backbone for Your Manufacturing Business w/ Paul Van Metre
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When you make the investment in a sturdy digital backbone for running your manufacturing operation – your ERP, your QMS, your MES.... – You pro...
7 Central Themes from 200 Episodes of The Manufacturing Executive w/ Joe Sullivan
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For 200 consecutive weeks without missing a single Tuesday morning, I've published interviews with manufacturing leaders (and professionals influencin...
Building a Service Culture w/ Fred Reggie
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When I hear the word "service" in a business setting, my mind goes straight to CUSTOMER service. But the concept of serving becomes so much more power...
E-Commerce for CapEx Equipment and Contract Manufacturers w/ Curt Anderson
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you sell big-ticket, heavily-engineered, CapEx equipment through a long, consultative sales processes, e-commerce couldn't possibly be for you. Rig...
On-Demand Labor for a Fluctuating Demand Curve w/ Adam Rubatt
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Managing fixed labor costs is hard enough in a complex manufacturing environment. Then you throw a pandemic on top of it that only deepens an alre...
How Curiosity Drives Smart Business Decisions w/ Jim Vaselopulos
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There's nothing easy about being a leader, whether you're leading a marketing agency like me or a manufacturing organization like many of you. Foun...
The Real Reason Manufacturers Are Missing with Gen Z w/ Jacob Sanchez
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The more manufacturing leaders you talk to, the more opinions and perspectives you'll hear about why we're struggling to pull young Millennials and Ge...
5 Key Principles for Creating a Culture of Initiative w/ Jason Riley
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you were to interview a variety of successful manufacturing leaders and analyze their respective approaches to effective leadership, I think you'd ...
Reengineering the Design Review w/ Adam Keating
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
New product development today is more complex than ever before. With teams spread out across the country (or the globe), decentralized product data, s...
How to Be a Leader of Significance w/ Mosongo Moukwa
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When people talk about you years down the road, what will they say? "Oh yeah, he (or she) was a good manager or employee?" Or will there be somethi...
Cultivating Veteran Champions in Manufacturing w/ Lt Col Kathy Lowrey Gallowitz
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From skills to work ethic to understanding chain of command, veterans bring so much potential to the manufacturing workforce. In this episode, Lt ...
An Outcome-Based Solution for Deploying Robots w/ Saman Farid
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Automation can be intimidating. What if the sizable CapEx investment we make doesn't generate the return we expected? What if our people struggle with...
5 Things Stopping Manufacturers From Making Great Content w/ Rose Hansen and James Boeckmann
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this conversation, Gorilla 76 Content Director James Boeckmann and Gorilla 76 Senior Writer Rose Hansen go deep on content marketing for manufactur...
Clarifying AI Terminology and Applications in Manufacturing w/ Alex Sandoval
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When ChatGPT took the world by storm in 2022, terminology like "generative AI" became a regular part of our vocabulary overnight. Just a little more t...
Growing a Manufacturing Business Across Three Generations w/ Greg Hartwig
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's hard enough to get a business of the ground and sustain it across one generation. But it's another to grow and evolve a business across three gen...
A New Era of Design Engineering Productivity w/ Hugo Nordell
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, CEO of Encube, Hugo Nordell, will tell you that it's a labor of love to go from design intent to what the actual manufactured outcome...
Aligning the Sales and Marketing Tech Stack for Manufacturers w/ John Joyce
26 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I've consulted well over 200 B2B manufacturing organizations throughout my career on marketing strategy. And without question, one of the biggest prob...
Building an On-Demand Supply Chain in America's Urban Core w/ Elias Stahl
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In a post-COVID world, a few forces have been converging to set the stage for what Elias Stahl envisions as an on-demand supply chain, rooted in Ameri...
Three Pillars of Impact for Manufacturing Leaders w/ Tom Brown
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
More often than not, great leaders don't have all the answers. And in fact, a big part of what makes them great is their willingness to embrace that s...
Getting Started with Robotics When You're Not the Expert w/ Malachi Greb
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There's nothing worst than making a big investment in technology, just to learn that you're not sufficiently equipped to deploy it. From the many c...
Digitizing Institutional Knowledge w/ Yushiro Kato
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's no secret that the Boomer generation is pouring out of the manufacturing workforce. And as they go, we're not only losing their hands, but also t...
Accessible Robotics Solutions for Niche Applications w/ Colin Riggs and Dianne Abruzzini Riggs
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The past decade or so in the manufacturing sector has brought lots of hype about robotics along with it. But sometimes the flexible systems that many...
How Internal Culture Drives Customer Success w/ Doug Eisenhart
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lots of business like to talk about things like "work culture" and "core values". But for many of those businesses, these are just aspirational concep...
SOPs , Kaizen Events and Other Keys to Operational Excellence w/ Dave Crysler
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To quote Dave Chrysler, Founder and Principal Consultant at The Crysler Club, "In the fast-paced world of operations, leaders are often looking for th...
The Role of IIoT Tech in Employee Training and Retention w/ Arjun Chandar
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Large amounts of data are only helpful if you can make it all actionable. In today's conversation, Founder and CEO at IndustrialML, Arjun Chandar,...
Customer Outsight: Learning What Actually Matters to Your Customers w/ Dave Loomis
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Customer research. Customer interviews. Voice of customer. Whatever you choose to call it, this is something that many companies THINK they're doing. ...
A Plan for Every Part: Strategic Inventory Optimization w/ Harrison Wells
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine not having a home owner's insurance policy when you live in tornado alley. This is the analogy today's guest makes to a manufacturer without a...
A Digital Backbone for Factories of the Future w/ Ryan Kuhlenbeck
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
More than half of all revenue from goods produced in the US come from factories with 500 people or less. But so many small factories operate without a...
Digitizing Human Touch and Feel w/ Youssef Benmokhtar
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past few decades, we've seen two of the five human senses digitized: With sound, we've witnessed music go from analog to digital, and tech...
Change How American Manufacturing’s Perceived In Our Nation w/ Terry Iverson
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Change. How. American. Manufacturing's. Perceived. In. Our. Nation. Put the first letters of those eight words together and you have the word "CHAMPIO...
A Renewable Energy Future for Manufacturing w/ Gareth Evans
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Advancing sustainability. Reducing downtime risk. Creating a more profitable future through energy efficiency. These are positive side effects of impl...
Tax Credits and Incentives for Manufacturing Workforce Development w/ Leslie Boyd
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are a number of talent pools – from veterans to disabled to ex-felon that not only present opportunities for finding talent, but can also come...
The AI-Empowered, Superhuman Design Engineer w/ Milan Kocic
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine an engineering design environment where AI does 60 to 70% of the work, and humans finish the rest. Tasks get automated. Things happen faster....
Building for Long-Term Success w/ Ron Speicher and David Craft
29 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How does a small mechanical contractor grow into one the top industrial oven manufacturers in the country – all while maintaining a partnership over...
Product Design in the Era of Industry 4.0 w/ Kevin Bailey
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Whether you're thinking about bringing a brand new product to market or your feeling the pressure to modernize your existing product line to remain co...
Why It's Time to Formalize Innovation w/ Jeff Winter
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here we are in a decade when technology is advancing at a faster rate than ever before. The pressure to innovate is all around us. But from an inn...
The Great Depression of the 2030s and How to Prepare w/ Jackie Green
08 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When you hear "Great Depression", what comes to mind? Mobs of frantic people outside of banks? Dried out farmland and dust storms across the Great Pla...
Why Engineering Can't Exist in a Silo w/ Anthony Rodriguez
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever worked in a business where everyone seems to be working in their own silos? Product development is doing their thing. Production is doin...
Foundation First: Products, Systems, Process & People w/ Bill Kaewert
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Foundation comes first. This is something our team at Gorilla talks about often in the context of a marketing program. But in today's conversation...
Dynamics of the Family-Owned Manufacturing Business w/ Ryan Margolin
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I've always been a believer in creating the right seats on the bus, and THEN filling those seats with the right people. But when you're a family ow...
What "Brand" Means and Why it Matters for Manufacturers w/ Paul Kiesche
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What does the word "brand" mean to you as a manufacturing leader? A logo and a tagline? A color palette and collection of images or graphics you use o...
Drones, AI and the Future of Inventory Monitoring w/ Sean Mitchell
04 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Improved inventory accuracy. Higher productivity in your facility. Less required labor. This is what can happen when you put drones and AI together in...
Rise of the Automation Workforce w/ Ale Walker
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"My goodness, let's let a robot do that". These few words Ale Walker, Director of Business Development at Gray Solutions, summarize the general feelin...
Introducing The Manufacturing Employer Podcast w/ Jon Franko
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
158 weeks and 158 episodes ago we launched this podcast, The Manufacturing Executive, as a resource for CEOs, Presidents and owners. Last year, we int...
From Lifestyle to Growth Business: 5 Key Transformations w/ Jason Pace
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Any business owner has his or her own unique vision for the trajectory of the company. There are lifestyle businesses, high-growth businesses, and ple...
Combating the Decline of Productivity in American Manufacturing w/ John Abplanalp
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past few years, we've all seen and experienced the effects of rising labor and material costs. But as John Abplanalp, President & Principal C...
What Today's Manufacturing Workforce Wants w/ Michael Sullivan
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The motivation for today's manufacturing workforce goes much deeper than salary and benefits alone. Individuals want to know that they matter, that th...
Speed: The Missing Industrial Marketing Ingredient w/ Julian Schaaf
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lack of trust. Lack of goals. Lack of skill. Lack of risk tolerance. In this episode, industrial marketing consultant Julian Schaaf explains why these...
Designing Manufacturing Career Paths w/ Patrick Curry
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
More than ever before, it's not just a stable job plus a paycheck that motivate people, but also the opportunity for growth and career advancement. In...
Advocating for Women in Manufacturing w/ Alicia Gilpin
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you're looking into the manufacturing sector from the outside, the numbers will show you how underrepresented women are in this sector. And if you ...
The Changing Landscape for Manufacturing Ownership Transitions w/ Keith Butcher
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What options do I have for transitioning the ownership of my business? How has the market for selling my business changed over a wild few years of pan...
The Human Driver of Sustainable Manufacturing w/ Mark Remmert
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On the surface, there are many forces driving the sustainable manufacturing movement in our world today – from government initiatives to consumers t...
Adapting to New Manufacturing Technology w/ Matthew Wright
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Every day we use a wide range of digital technology in our personal lives. But in our work lives here in the manufacturing sector, there tends to be m...
Cyber Security in Manufacturing w/ Jason Ray
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cyber security is a very real problem. Unfortunately, it's a very real problem that's not understood or properly addressed by many manufacturing organ...
Distribution and Repurposing: Two Overlooked Keys to Content Marketing w/ Justin Simon
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A very small percentage of manufacturing organizations ever get to the point where they're consistently publishing truly exceptional resources for the...
AI in Manufacturing: Fusing Human Knowledge and IIoT Data w/ Christopher Nguyen
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Christopher Nguyen, CEO & Co-Founder of Aitomatic, explains why we need both the IIoT data coming off the assembly line and the knowledge of our fron...
From Employee-Focused to Employee-Owned w/ Ashleigh Walters
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ashleigh Walters tells her story of transformation inside of the manufacturing organization she recently led – as they went from a command-and-conqu...
The Shared Responsibility of Upskilling the Workforce w/ Bill Berrien
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This ex-Navy Seal, turned manufacturing CEO believes the future of workforce development and training falls not only on the shoulders of the trade sch...
Live Video Demos From the Shop Floor w/ Chip Royce
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine the power of standing next to a piece of machinery and answering a prospect's questions on a sales call. Or leading a product training session...
8 Silent Business Killers For Manufacturers w/ Steve Blue
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you want to run a killer manufacturing business, you need to avoid the silent business killers that can keep you from the success you’ve worked h...
Building A Talent Pipeline
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Most organizations spend more time and resources on new customer acquisition rather than talent acquisition, but why is that? Our guest today joins us...
Leading by Empowering Your People
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Some of the best conversations we have on this show are with Presidents and CEOs leading midsize American manufacturing companies. Listen in as our gu...
How Sustainable American Manufacturing Can Flourish at Scale
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The term “sustainability” is used loosely among manufacturing leaders today. Most will say sustainability matters, but how many run their organiza...
Pushing manufacturing boundaries with additive molding
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We've all heard of Injection Molding and Additive Manufacturing, but what about Additive Molding? Our guest today is pioneering a business for high-vo...
Introducing The Manufacturing Marketer
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rather than our typical interview, in this episode, we syndicated an episode from our second podcast, The Manufacturing Marketer, a show focused on ma...
Navigating Entrepreneurship and the Stigma of Autism
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Some of the most famous and successful entrepreneurs fall on the autism spectrum. Autism is a highly stigmatized disorder, but our guest today will sh...
Reimagining industry: From inevitable decline to vibrant opportunity
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest today has his eyes set on how we can pull together our resources to revitalize American manufacturing and take steps towards creating vibran...
Cloud-based hardware: The next data revolution
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re at the threshold of an information revolution around cloud-based hardware, and our guest today will explain why moving to the cloud can save y...
Future proofing the family-owned manufacturing business
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes it's easier to follow the status quo than switch things up, especially when running a second or third-generation family-owned business. List...
A Step-by-Step Manufacturing Marketing Playbook for 2023
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What do manufacturing organizations need to consider on the marketing front as we head into the new year? In this solo episode, I’ll take you throug...
What the Gig Economy Can (and Can't) Teach Us About Staffing
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
During a time when finding labor is challenging, there are some things the manufacturing sector can learn from the “gig economy.” Our guest today ...
Transforming Procurement into a Highly Strategic Role
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the business realm, the encompassing term ‘supply chain’ is relatively new, and the roles within it, including procurement, are even more conte...
Post print: The dirty little secret of additive manufacturing
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What was once a manufacturing process reserved for low-volume prototyping has found its home in various production applications. Our guest today break...
Treasure Hunting for Used Machinery
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest today thinks of himself as a treasure hunter not for gold and silver but for used machinery parts, and in this episode discusses how one man...
Ally shoring: Expanding manufacturing operations into Mexico
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest in this episode knows both sides of the US/Mexico border very well and provides insights into a term he calls “ally shoring” – the opp...
The Great Equalizer: How Digitalization is Changing Manufacturing
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In its earliest stages, most technological innovations are reserved for those with the most capital. In manufacturing, when you add the scalability of...
The Augmented Workforce: Enabling Humans with Technology
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes it feels like technology and humans are at odds with each other, but our guest today will tell you that the future of manufacturing will inv...
The Future of Automated Vision Inspection
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Technology has brought us to a place where mobile phones have better cameras than the most advanced manufacturing lines had ten years ago. Vision insp...
Aligning Sustainability and Profitability in Manufacturing
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For years sustainable business practices have been a plus in manufacturing organizations. But when forced to make a decision between profitability and...
How Online Communities Can Foster Growth
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Creating an online community can be challenging and far-fetched for many. When it’s done correctly, it can foster communication in a way that create...
Brains Over Brawn: How to Keep Boomers in the Workforce
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Although the physical labor Boomers can provide in the manufacturing workforce has diminished, we cannot ignore the expertise and knowledge they bring...
Lowering the Barrier to Robot Deployment
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The narrative around robotics, automation, and industry 4.0 technology are that these technologies are out of reach and require overwhelming investmen...
Breaking Out of the Manufacturing Echo Chamber
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It is easy to do the same thing repeatedly, but there is no better time than now to start thinking differently as a manufacturing leader. Nikki Gon...
What Does “Made in America” Mean to You?
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When someone says “made in America,” it has always been said with a sense of pride. It is a term that has traditionally been associated with quali...
Creating a Better World of Work
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Innovative organizations have figured out that employee engagement highly depends on the employer-employee experience you provide inside your organiza...
Training the Technician of the Future
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ongoing learning and professional development are necessary for anyone who wants to stay ahead of the curve. And this episode’s guest has constructe...
The Future of Design Collaboration for Engineers
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
MJ Peters joins us two years after her first appearance on our show to talk about the evolution of workforce collaboration among engineers in manufact...
Intelligent Robots and the Warehouse of the Future
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest today sheds light on what future warehouses will look like as robots become more intelligent. Michael Perry is the Vice President of Mark...
Digitizing Quality Management
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In any manufacturing operation, quality matters.Andrew Steele, the founder of FactoryQA, is an expert in quality management systems. After starting on...
How to Craft Messaging that Resonates with the Right Customers
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Over the years, I’ve talked to a lot of manufacturers as a marketing advisor. When I ask them what their ideal customer looks like, I usually get a ...
It’s Time for a Digital Transformation of Analog Data Entry
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Harnessing the power of technology allows you to do more with less. Mobile industrial apps enable manufacturers to get more done with fewer people by ...
Optimizing the Value of your Manufacturing Business
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Fran Brunelle is President of Accelerated Manufacturing Brokers, Inc., a company specializing in the sale of lower middle-market manufacturing compani...
How technical professionals influence purchase decisions
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the manufacturing sector, the person who’s writing the check often isn’t the same person whose attention and trust you need to earn. Instead, t...
Recession proofing your business with marketing
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It appears that we’re heading into a recession. So what does that mean for manufacturers? And how can you deploy (or redeploy) your marketing team t...
How to recruit talent in a candidate-driven market
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The days of posting a job and watching candidates line up around the corner are now in the past. We’ve quickly shifted into a candidate-driven marke...
It's Time for a Go-to-Market Strategy Transformation in Manufacturing
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The way our customers collect information and look for products has changed, and in order to keep up with demand, manufacturers have to change the way...
Back to the Future: The Manufacturing Edition
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Marty Groover, Partner and CTO at C5MI, spent over two decades as a Surface Warfare Officer in the US Navy. He didn’t know it at the time, but this ...
Empowering Workers and Improving Workflow Through Video Data
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
People often worry that technology and automation will replace human workers. But what if the most powerful path forward is empowering workers with...
Connecting Physical and Digital Worlds Through Trade Shows
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Are trade shows worth it? That seems to be a divisive question these days. But here's the truth: Like with many forms of marketing or sales activities...