Manufacturing Happy Hour

Darrin Mitchell is the CEO of Mitchell Industries and the Chief Marketing Officer of Manufacturing Masters, an on-demand video platform featuring the world’s best manufacturing information. But before that, he was the CEO of a manufacturing company of his own for almost 20 years called Trout River Industries. In this episode, Darrin gives us a bit of backstory on how he built the ‘Netflix of manuf...

Tanuj Thapliyal is an IT engineer and academic researcher-turned-entrepreneur. He's the Co-Founder and CEO of Spot AI, a video intelligence company that's helping manufacturers access and leverage video from their facility's cameras to make better business and operational decisions. It’s time to think about video security from a completely different perspective… In this episode, Tanuj breaks down...

Samir Menon, the Founder & CEO of Dexterity, joins us on the show this week to share how his research on “Robots moving in a human-like manner” could contribute to the next phase of robotics. Dexterity is a company that delivers full-stack robot dexterity solutions for logistics, warehousing, and supply chain operations. But even before founding the company, Samir has been on a mission to leve...

Jeff Winter is an Industry Executive for Manufacturing at Microsoft who helps manufacturers across the US digitally transform at scale. Plus, he’s seen a few things over the past 15 years through his involvement in the Industry 4.0 community and Smart Manufacturing-centric leadership within organizations like ISA (International Society of Automation). In this episode, Jeff shares some fascinating...

Justin Sherman grew up in the shadow of one of Boeing’s largest manufacturing facilities in Everett, WA. However, it wasn’t until he started his career that he was exposed to the realities of manufacturing careers, including the lack of diverse talent in this field. Now, as the Founder of Equity Machine Works SPC – a social enterprise committed to creating opportunity through support, training, an...

Nan Li is a Managing Director at Obvious Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in entrepreneurs reimagining every sector of the global economy. Nan leads the firm’s investments in companies harnessing deep tech to transform legacy industries like pharmaceuticals, protein therapy, industrial materials, and manufacturing. In this episode, we learn about what Nan looks for in startups and why it...

We’re back for Part 2 of our 2021 AMRs and Logistics Conference double feature. This time we’ve got 6 more interviews with leaders from across the robotics and logistics world. These conversations were recorded live at A3’s recent show in Memphis, TN, where hundreds of leaders from across the industry converged for a long-awaited reunion full of keynotes, demos, and plenty of hallway conversations...

We’ve got not 1, not 2, but TWELVE interviews for you this week on Manufacturing Happy Hour in a special two-part episode. A3’s 2021 AMRs and Logistics Conference in Memphis, TN brought together robotics and technology leaders from across the industrial world and we had the opportunity to speak to 12 of the individuals that are leading the way in this space. We owe a big thanks to A3 – The Associa...

What’s it like to be in the business of “selling smiles”? Jake Kilcup, Chief Operating Officer at Rocky Mountain Construction, fills us in. Rocky Mountain Construction or RMC is a roller coaster manufacturer based in Hayden, Idaho. If you’ve ever taken a ride on Goliath at Six Flags Great America, the Lightning Rod at Dollywood, or Twisted Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain, you’ve seen their ha...

Dana Mantilia is a cybersecurity expert specializing in security and employee training, as well as identity theft protection. She’s the Founder of Identity Protection Planning, where she assists small to medium-sized businesses through her security products and services. Plus, she’s built a great name for herself in the security space through her viral videos that simplify some of the most importa...

Joachim Hensch is a master tailor and for years dreamed of opening his own shop. In reality, he did that on a much larger scale during his 24+ year career at HUGO BOSS. There, he moved from product development to becoming the Managing Director of their massive Izmir, Turkey facility, where he led a best-in-class digital transformation. Now, he’s helping other manufacturing leaders with their digit...

Willem Sundblad was born into the manufacturing world in Sweden as part of a family with a long history in the pulp & paper industry. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Oden Technologies, he’s continuing that legacy in the US through his company, one that’s leading the charge in the machine learning space. In this episode, Willem digs into the heart of the machine learning discussion in manufacturin...

In the manufacturing industry, the Retro Encabulator needs no introduction. However, there’s a good chance you don’t know the actor behind this infamous technobabble video. His name is Mike Kraft, a long-time actor and voice talent, and today, he shares the whole story behind Allen-Bradley’s viral Retro Encabulator video. In this episode, Mike takes us behind the scenes of how the video came to be...

Julius Valentine Maina believes it’s time for startups to start thinking about industry and not just cool tech. Julius is the Chief of Staff at gener8tor, a startup accelerator for the creative economy that connects founders, investors, corporations, job seekers, universities, and even musicians and artists. In this episode, Julius explains why he wants to make tech fun and why everyone has the po...

Jeff Burnstein is the President of A3, the Association for Advancing Automation. For more than 35 years, he’s been advocating for the use of robotics, machine vision, and motion control across the industrial world. Now more than ever, it seems that many manufacturing leaders are hearing his mission loud and clear. In this episode, Jeff shares some background on how he initially became interested i...

Rob Tiffany needs no introduction in the manufacturing world. His name might as well be synonymous with the Internet of Things, and right now, he’s a VP and IoT Intrapreneur at Ericsson. In this episode, we cover a lot of ground, from submarines and the Navy to IoT, intrapreneurship, and saving the world. We chat about how Rob first got started in the world of IoT and manufacturing after a career...

Mike Kinder is the Co-Founder & CEO of Veryable and has an exceptional track record in the industrial manufacturing and supply chain operations world. He's been building teams, solving complex problems, and driving growth within companies for over 20 years. Now, he's taking on what is one of the most complex problems in manufacturing: finding the right talent to fill roles in manufacturing env...

As trade shows return, it may take a conference or 2 to get back into the swing of things. In this bonus episode, we're giving you 5 strategies for rocking a trade show, whether you're an attendee or an exhibitor. From making the right connections to generating quality leads, you'll walk away from this episode with 5 easy-to-implement tips for making your next conference a success.

Is it time to finally put the spotlight on manufacturing? Traditionally, manufacturing has been a world people outside the industry don’t hear much about. It’s not seen as a flashy industry. People aren’t making TV shows and Hollywood movies about it. Manufacturing has been a bit behind when it comes to marketing, social media, and industry influencers. But things are starting to change. Tony Gunn...

Can data transform the product design world? That’s what Instrumental was created to do. Instrumental is a manufacturing optimization platform that uses data and AI to help companies improve their product lines. It cuts down on time spent diagnosing problems and faults and helps businesses ship out products faster. To tell us all about it, Instrumental’s inspiring CEO and Founder, Anna-Katrina She...

Manufacturing Happy Hour is excited to welcome Dan Voit (Episode 1) back to the podcast! Dan is the CEO of Blentech, a Bay Area-based food technology company specializing in equipment, systems, and software for the safe, nutritious, and consistent preparation of food. Last time Dan was on the show, we talked about what it takes to create a strong culture within a manufacturing company. This time,...

Natalie Birdwell has had an exciting career across the industrial world in both the public and private sectors. After starting her career as a sales engineer, she went on to get an MBA from UNC, worked with the North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, and is now the COO of a cutting-edge industrial IoT, analytics, and optimization company called ndustrial. In this episode...

Çağlayan Arkan is the Vice President of Manufacturing & Supply Chain at Microsoft. This week, he’s here to share how digital transformation impacts so many aspects of manufacturing as well as our daily lives. In this episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, Çağlayan covers a lot of ground. From talking about digital transformation in the industry to the skills gap, automation, and sustainability,...

The Milwaukee Bucks’ run to win the 2021 NBA Championship was nothing short of remarkable. So what do business leaders, marketers, and the Bucks have in common? Find out in this week's special edition of Manufacturing Happy Hour. Last Friday, we sat down with Richie Burke - Founder of GoGeddit Marketing & Media and life-long Bucks fan - to riff about the incredible turnaround the Bucks organiz...

Meaghan Ziemba is THE Maven of Manufacturing! As a writer by trade, she developed an early passion for storytelling and is now empowering women to change the world through manufacturing via her podcast Mavens of Manufacturing. In this episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, Meaghan discusses the role of good storytelling in the manufacturing industry and why many leaders overlook it. She shares the s...