Manufacturing Talks

Send us Fan Mail Ian Peterman founded his own design firm out in Los Angeles to demonstrate his philosophy of designing products and systems for sustainability (a.k.a., The Peterman Method). He joined us for Episode 128 to tell us all about that and more. Ian is not just the CEO of Peterman Design Firm - he's also host of the Conscious Design Podcast, has a book he wrote with his wife Jessica...

Send us Fan Mail Semiconductor manufacturing is its own little special corner in the vast manufacturing edifice. It was definitely informative to hear from Gloria Kee, VP of product management at Model N, part of Vista Equity Partners and a revenue optimization and compliance advisory firm serving pharmaceutical, medtech, and high-tech innovators. She brought us the latest and greatest of the hist...

Send us Fan Mail Mark is one of the manufacturing executives our host interviewed for his recent Forbes article on hiring the formerly incarcerated. Mark's company, specialty butter producer Butterball Farms in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has been doing second chance hiring for almost three decades now, and Mark had lots of lessons to share about that. He also shared his broader philosophy on how...

Send us Fan Mail It should come as no surprise that manufacturers are struggling to get the workers they need, especially when it comes to skilled trades. Taylor Evans, President of Rust Belt Recruiting in Cleveland, Ohio, is right in the thick of things. He's now using the methods recruiters have previously reserved for the professional classes to got after these highly sought-after workers....

Send us Fan Mail There are two distinct stories in this episode featuring the CEO of Sticker Mule. The first one is about how Anthony and his business partners built a successful business making and selling stickers (and now a whole lot more!) It's a great tale of launching an Internet business on a wing and prayer, and lots of hard work. The second one is about how Anthony sent an email to h...

Send us Fan Mail There are a lot of stories out there about the companies that have blessedly tackled the desperate need for a pathway back to gainful employment and a meaningful career for those who've served time in prison. But you don't hear too many stories from the other side, from the people who have successfully made the transition back from the world of incarceration. So it was a...

Send us Fan Mail You may have heard a bit about AI, am I right? But have you heard about how to whether a specific AI business is a good economic opportunity? Mikhail Taver is here to help. He founded his own investment company, Taver Capital Partners, that was focused on AI back before the big hype took off, and he joined us to talk about how he tells a good bet from a bad one. Now he's laun...

Send us Fan Mail We don't often delve into the world of advertising here, but how can you succeed as a manufacturer without it? Fortunately for Episode 121 we connected with one of the best ever, Adman Emeritus John Bowman from Admeritus. John's now mostly retired, but he regaled us with absolutely fascinating stories from his career working with great consumer products companies like Fo...

Send us Fan Mail Too many emissions reduction-driven or otherwise environmentally friendly new methods of manufacturing simply cost too much and require too much new equipment and plant disruption, so they rarely fly without big dollops of government pork. That's why it was such a great time chatting with Ryan Gilliam for Episode 120. His company, Fortera Corporation, has a modified way to ma...

Send us Fan Mail We don't talk about the steel industry near enough around here. Yet it's the fundamental form of manufacturing, a precursor to so much other production! So it was a true pleasure to be joined for Episode 119 by Anna Frounfelker. She's cut her teeth in the industry with several different companies over her nearly ten years of experience. She's currently the Insi...

Send us Fan Mail Polymath Mark Mills joins us again for a rousing discussion of what's ailing America when it comes to ensuring affordable and reliable energy. Mark is putting the finishing touches on his new outfit - he's now the  Executive Director of the National Center for Energy Analytics. He joined us for Episode 118 to tell us about their first paper coming out about the deleterio...

Send us Fan Mail Adam Gluck was a founding engineer on Uber's engineering strategy team, where got an early education in development and operations (DevOps). He quickly learned how industrial coding errors and cybersecurity breaches are increasingly a very costly Achilles heel for manufacturers. He founded Copia Automation to help tackle the problem, so it was extremely educational to have hi...

Send us Fan Mail Model No. produces high-end light fixtures and furniture with a new end in mind: elevating the experience while eliminating the waste. They collaborate with architects and designers along with industry partners to use regenerative and biodegradable materials. It was a treat to have Phillip Raub, CEO of Model No., and Rahul Kasat, VP at 3D Systems, to talk about the methods the com...

Send us Fan Mail There have been countless breathless reports about the ongoing "boom" in American manufacturing. After all, look at the countless billions of dollars being spent to build plants! Good times are back! Except they aren't. Actual manufacturing activity is down, and has been in contraction mode for a long time. Tune in and learn from your host why pork-fueled spending l...

Send us Fan Mail It was fascinating speaking with Nick Haase, who co-founded MaintainX to bring modern tech solutions to manufacturing maintenance. You'd think that's a pretty niche application, and yet almost every central element of his platform he brought up also proved to be a fundamental good business practice. Here are the highlights: 2:40 - the MaintainX story 7:00 - the importanc...

Send us Fan Mail Matt Guse started in machining as a teenager and eventually took over the machine shop his dad founded. Along the way he became a fierce advocate for his team members and for new ways to develop the workforce of the future. Oh, and a committed bicyclist just like your host, so be ready for some serious bike talk toward the end. Here are some highlights: 4:00 - making the business...

Send us Fan Mail Calling off work is the easiest thing to do, right? Maybe not, and maybe that breakdown in communications is costing you a lot more than you think. Sheila Stafford, co-founder and CEO of TeamSense, joined us for Episode 112 to explain how her company's platform to facilitate offtime call-ins for your team members can actually reduce absenteeism and improve productivity. Sheil...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Krüger is the co-founder and CEO of United Manufacturing Hub (UMH), our subject company, and Frank Thelen is co-founder and CEO of Freigeist, a venture capital fund that's backing them. They joined us for Episode 111 to explain all about why digitalization is now a must for manufacturing companies, and how you can best go about it. Here are some of the highlights: 5:30 -...

Send us Fan Mail Bruce Bigelow joins us for Episode 110 to share the latest and greatest in one of the biggest coming pieces of science technology ever. The Giant Magellan telescope, which is being constructed in Chile, will open up vistas of our universe we couldn't even have dreamed about a few years ago. This instrument features some extraordinary designs and manufacturing methods that ena...

Send us Fan Mail Multiple generations of ownership of a family business make for a great story - but they also historically make for increasing difficulties in making the business work. Matthew Nix. President and CEO of Nix Companies, took the industrial company that his ancestors originally started as a blacksmith shop over 120 years ago and with the help of his wife and brother and others, grew...

Send us Fan Mail Who knew the fast-growing car wash smash hit company Tommy's Express is also into manufacturing? When you learn why, it makes perfect sense. Ed Ouellette, the company's National Franchise Development Manager, joined us for Episode 108 to explain how so many of the cool and user-friendly features you see at Tommy's are there because they make them for themselves! Lis...

Send us Fan Mail It should be job one for everyone, but especially for manufacturers, to ensure the people who work for us go home every night in at least as good condition as they were in when they showed up for the job. Among other offeringss, Vector Solutions focuses on providing training that helps make that happen every single day. Clare Epstein, Vector's General Manager, Commercial Busi...

Send us Fan Mail Nothing like throwing yourself a challenge! Los Angeles Brands has its production of skin care and beauty products right there in the LA area, just to make things interesting. Then they launch their products against some of the biggest, best-known, and best-funded brands there are! Lori Waiser and Brad Hollowaty joined us to tell us how they do all that successfully. There are a c...

Send us Fan Mail This is the most important episode we've done so far. That's because, if we don't heed the call to action from author Paul Tice in his book, *The Race to Zero: How ESG Investing Will Crater the Global Financial System,* our economy and our way of life are doomed. He joined us for Episode 105 to tell us why. According to Tice, ESG - standing for environmental, social...

Send us Fan Mail The terrible headlines of recalls and foodborne illnesses can have people thinking our food supply is a disaster. But the fact is that while it's safer now than at almost any time in the past, there are always places where our producers can improve. Michelle Brydalski, VP of Food Safety, Quality, and Regulatory at Charcuterie Artisans, joined us to tell us all the latest when...