EECO Asks Why Podcast

We brought in Michael Manzi to hit head on the topic of IT/OT convergence.  He brought a ton of wisdom and insight around this ever growing area that is impacting manufacturers everywhere.  Michael explains the general structure of these systems and how the priority of the system owners differ.  He unpacks how OT networks have an insistent need to always be available and how the massive amounts of...

"I like helping people, learning and leaving things a little better than I found it."  That sums up our hero Chester Burke and he shared his inspirational journey in this hero conversation. At the core he loves to create new things and he provided great insight to how the world of engineering and manufacturing provides so many opportunities for that to happen.  When he is faced with an o...

In this Straight Talk With Chris episode he unpacks his internship journey at EECO that was 20 years ago.   The three areas that he remembered the most were the opportunity he had to explore and learn about distribution.  He also recalled how open everyone was and willing to teach him about the industry.  He concludes with the importance he had with his mentor and how he guided him and truly cared...

So Chris got on a roll with this one and spoke to how features and benefit days are over. He stresses the importance of understanding the problems that are trying to be solved.  Another area he suggests is to be succinct in your solution.  The quickest to the answer these days is the one that provides the most value.  Finally he speaks to the power of listening with intent to understand instead of...

Our heroes always stress the importance of networking.  Chris wanted to provide some tips he's learned as you work on building your professional network in your career.  He discusses areas such as social media, the importance of sharing ideas and how impactful groups can be.  Networking has shifted in many ways and there are some nuggets of wisdom here that can help you break past the wall an...

With a new year comes a new opportunity to build good habits that will help you bring the best version of you at work.  Chris talks about the importance of starting your day off right, the importance of boundaries and how using PTO is in place to help everyone rest and recharge.  Here's to a fresh new year of ideas and heroes that make industry great!  Host: Chris Grainger Executive Producer:...

In the first "Straight talk with Chris" episode he breaks down some of the craziness of 2021 that he saw.  No doubt the supply chain issues hit everyone hard and made it a challenging year.  His points of communication, patience and the need for more manufacturing in America are areas that will bring us together moving forward. Happy New Year from the EECO family and many blessings for y...

In this special hero episode we are flipping it around on Chris.  In true EECO Asks Why fashion we are staying true to our love of families and Chris has his daughters lead the interview.  They have a blast talking about his past and learned some new things about their dad along the way.   Listeners know that Chris is a proud girl dad and it was fun to see him light up when sharing stories with Ch...

95 guests strong and each season gets better on EECO Asks Why!  We had a blast with our Holiday's with our Heroes and have some new plans for 2022.  You will start to see some "Straight Talk with Chris" episodes dropping over the next few weeks and be sure to check out the special Hero conversation is episode 177. Thank you for staying with us for another amazing season and remember...

Our hero Amos Purdy is leading the way and helping many in industry reach their new goals when it comes to technology and data! He holds master degrees in both electrical engineering and business and they help him connect the dots for many on both sides of the aisles.  He loves helping others realize the insight that is available with the latest IOT and IIOT devices and how better data driven deci...

"Give me a complex problem, let me own it and let me try to solve it."  That sums up our hero Sandy D'Souza and how he is leading the way at Fiix Software.  Sandy's journey starts at his roots in Toronto and he has many lessons learned along the way that is sure to help others in the pursuit of their personal best.  He gives great insight to what change management looks like fo...

Our hero Hussain Al-Khalaf has an amazing journey and his passion for life is incredible.  His path has included time in Iraq, Beirut, Abu Dhabi, Canada , Washington and Georgia.  Going from Abu Dhabi to Canada was quite the culture and temperature shock which he embraced.  He shares amazing advice for the next generation of engineers and how manufacturers could act to showcase the multitude of op...

Richie Fortenberry is leading the way in helping industrial end users enhance their safety and security as a consulting engineer at Prism Systems.  His journey through engineering actually started with his love of music.  As an avid musician he had an interest in audio engineering and that has led him down a fantastic journey in learning.  He has a passion for security systems and provides insight...

Buckle up for this hero episode where Daniel Herrington shares his amazing journey.  He is a proud NC State Wolfpack alum and the first professional race car driver to be on EECO Asks Why.  Daniel completed his graduate work at Duke University and is now the CEO of Voxel Innovations which is located on Tarheel Street in Raleigh - he's all over the place and having a blast!  Daniel shares abou...

Claire Stevens summed it up with her "why" when she said she loves finding solutions to problems. From her early childhood days where she analyzed the angles on her smore's around the campfire to her collegiate studies at Duke University she loves challenging her thinking and learning how items work.  You did read that right - Duke University - and she works at NC State so that can...

Paul Van Metre learned at an early age that he has a passion for building things and that led him down an amazing journey.  His love for cars grew exponentially when he entered a program that let him design, build and even race open wheel cars.  He actually owns the car he designed and it was through all of that where he fell in love with machining.  With six partners, 2000 square feet and one mac...

From her roots in Eastern Tennessee to leading the team at Onex Ashleigh Walters has an amazing journey! She shares about how she has been able to lead her team through two major crisis at Onex and the lessons learned along the way.  As the author of "Leading with Grit and Grace" she opens up about the process she put in place to complete the book and how she learned so much along the wa...

Graham Staples is making an impact in industry everyday and shares about his amazing journey as our hero! From his time at NC State to the many roles he's held at RoviSys he's been at the forefront of industry and helps people achieve their automation and modernization goals on a daily basis.  He shares how it is so important to focus on how we all learn as individuals.  Learning how to...

Knowing the difference between breakers and fuses can be tricky.  This is a common question we get asked and thought Jonathan Fuller would be just the guy to break down those two technologies.  Jonathan walks through items to consider such as time to react and how different conditions can be protected with each device.  Understanding overload conditions is important and he does a great job of demy...

From the heart of Texas our hero Wendy Covey is leading the way by helping engineering companies evangelize their messages to the audiences they want to serve.  Being a Texas Aggie herself Wendy has a passion for her craft and her journey is full of inspiration.  She offers great advice to the next generation of industry leaders and believes in the power of putting yourself out there to learn from...

Culture in a successful manufacturing operation is key.  Jon Meighan unpacks the ideas of lean manufacturing and 5S by highlighting by the effectiveness of these initiatives comes back to culture every time.  For those new to these topics he explains that the essence of what you are trying to accomplish is remove those items that do not add value to your customer from your process.  Jon gives mean...

Joe Frank has a passion for learning and technology.  He turned that passion into an outstanding career and shares about his journey and lessons learned along the way in this hero episode.   The speed at which technology moves can be mind boggling and Joe highlights how that is the most fulfilling part of his career.  If you have a personality that likes to be challenged and constantly evolving he...

The best way to learn about a career path is directly from the expert themselves.  Chester Burke is a phenomenal controls engineer and unpacks what to expect from this fun and challenging role.  He digs deep behind the curtains of how controls engineers automate production equipment by utilizing the latest technology on the market.  No two days are the same and the constant challenge is something...

Thomas Domitrovich is making a huge impact on industry and is leading the way at Eaton by educating so many people on the wonderful world of power.  He shares how his journey started in Pennsylvania and one of the first projects he ever did where he had to do short circuit calculations.  Now when most people do these they use software but Tom performed this by hand and absolutely nailed it!  He le...

Get ready for an in depth opportunity to learn about a type of machining that is cutting edge "no pun intended".  Pulsed Electrochemical Machining (PECM) is a highly specialized type of solution for industry and in this episode Daniel Herrington from Voxel Innovations breaks down the origins of PECM and how it is growing to serve industry in the future. He explains how this is a non-cont...