Manufacturing Leaders

Send us Fan Mail After 12 months and 28 guests it was my turn to get the other side of the desk!   FULL LINK TO PODCAST EPISODE IN COMMENTS    Shaun Campbell was the man to step up to the Mic and interview me on the journey so far...   I was a little nervous, but thoroughly enjoyed it. I knew how important it would be for me to be 100% honest and transparent about running a business, and we get pr...

Send us Fan Mail  Kevin Harland, is the Senior Operations Manager at Intelligent Steel Solutions in Peterlee.   He has a brilliant reputation in the industry, having worked for some excellent businesses like Cleveland Bridge and Mechtool.    This was a such an interesting episode, where we really dig into both management and good old British Manufacturing?   How important is culture in a workplace...

Send us Fan Mail Today we interview Atif Syed, on the Manufacturing Leaders Podcast. Atif is the CEO and Founder of Wootzano. A business who make dexterous robots.   This episode literally blew my mind and changed my opinion about how robots will effect the world and workforce.    We talk about his journey and building a business and how important it is to have a vision that the team is on board w...

Send us Fan Mail  Nicky Gallagher is the Head of HR at Zentia in Gateshead, The UK’s market-leader in complete ceiling solutions.   I couldn’t wait to interview Nicky and she did not disappoint!      In this episode, we go into her own journey of working her way up at Nestle, and then later moving to the North East to Join Armstrong Ceiling Solutions, before their acquisition to Zentia in 2020.  ...

Send us Fan Mail Today, I interviewed Adam Childs on the Manufacturing Leaders podcast. Adam is the Ops Director at Daikin Applied in Cramlington.   What an episode this is. Adam is a brilliant example of a passionate and driven leader, who empowers his staff.   We go through his journey in detail. From Apprentice Mechanic, to senior management roles within manufacturing.   We talk about the impor...

Send us Fan Mail “Allow your team to make decisions”   It’s the second BTS takeover on the Manufacturing Leaders Podcast! This time with Operations Director Nigel Freeman     I’ve had a few requests to get him on, and he did not disappoint!!   The world needs more leaders like Nigel. Someone, who gives you a platform and opportunity to have a voice and succeed.     -       Intro -       What does...

Send us Fan Mail  ‘Turning any situation into a positive ‘   Wow, what an episode this is. It was a real privilege to have Russell Richardson on the Manufacturing Leaders podcast.  A true leader in every sense of the word, who worked his way up from an Apprentice Welder to Head of Operations at Caterpillar, before working at Komatsu helping them through an MBO to SE-TEK   Russell is another reason...

Send us Fan Mail   ‘The importance of having high standards in management’   I am over the moon to bring you this episode of the Manufacturing Leaders Podcast, with Patrick Cowan of Birtley Group.   It was a privilege to hear Patrick’s story of how he was thrust into the management world at such a young age.   You will take away real tips and strategies in this episode in exactly how to build effi...

Send us Fan Mail I am delighted to bring this amazing episode to you. Shirley is the Production Manager of AKZO Nobel and one of the key reasons the Ashington site built up the reputation they have, alongside some influential colleagues she mentions as a crucial part of the journey so far   In this episode we initially talk about what led Shirley into the role she is in now, before digging deep in...

Send us Fan Mail  If you only listen to one of our manufacturing leader podcasts, then let it be this one.   Don Murray, is the MD of spincraft in Newcastle.   He has had an unbelievable career, holding extremely senior roles such as the President of Board of Directors, for a rolls Royce marine division   In this episode you will understand what it takes to transfer your skill set from a global co...

Send us Fan Mail Eddie was born in the UK shortly after his parents had arrived here as immigrants In his words, they “started with nothing” How does someone go from stacking shelves in Morrisons to running a successful manufacturing company for almost 25 years which continues to Grow. In the episode we chat to Eddie about what it takes to build a business, the differences in manufacturing now vs...

Send us Fan Mail Alex Stapleton is the sales director at Alexander technologies, a custom battery pack manufacturer in County Durham. With over 16 years experience in battery manufacturing alone, Alex knows more than any about the product he sells! This is a great episode for those interested in sales or manufacturing in general  We chat about working abroad, managing sales staff with targets, and...

Send us Fan Mail Katie Woodward is the Head of Operations at Corrboard, an independent producer of corrugated board based in Scunthorpe. Katie has worked her way up within the industry. Initially starting in the chemistry field as part of her degree, only to progress later within quality and ultimately operations. We discuss the importance  of resilience, how all problems are black and white, and...

Send us Fan Mail Emma Bohan is the General Manager of IMS Heat Pumps.  Emma is driven, passionate and has an infectious personality that you can’t ignore. We talk in detail about what it’s like to manage a team, build a business and exactly what it takes to be successful in the industry. We discuss What does a leader mean to you? What makes a good leader? The early years & the journey so far T...

Send us Fan Mail 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 / 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠   In this week’s episode of the Manufacturing Leaders podcast we are bringing something a little bit different!   Andi Jarvis is a marketing expert who works closely with businesses in this sector. In this episode we talk in detail about how you can improve your marketing strategy to maximise re...

Send us Fan Mail Gary Giles, the Founder of OGEL got investment on the day from the North Easts own manufacturing queen Sara Davies, who also teamed up with Tej Lalvani Ogel are one of the UKs most premium and innovative garden room manufacturers  This is a great podcast for Manufacturing enthusiastis, SME Owners and Dragons Den lovers! We discuss -What does being a leader mean to you? -The Early...

Send us Fan Mail What does it mean to YOU to be a leader?   This is always the first question I put to all my interviewees on the Manufacturing Leaders Podcast.   As I am about to go away for a couple of weeks, and there will be a few weeks break on the podcast, I thought it would be good to recap on some of the lessons learnt so far!   Thank you so much to everyone so far who has participated or...

Send us Fan Mail  Andrew McNally is the Senior Engineering Manager of Thomas Swan, a chemical manufacturer based in Consett    Having gained his Masters qualification in Chemical and Process Engineering, he has since worked his worked his way up rapidly in the sector, and held senior positions with companies like Vertellus, Akzo Nobel and Nissan.   This is a great episode for the core manufacturin...

Send us Fan Mail Back in March, Theo James sponsored the made in North East Awards. Sat behind us were two tables full of people from TMD Friction. They went on to win an award and the roof nearly came off. The togetherness, passion and loyalty was there for all to see. The man lifting the award was Tom Russell, Operations Manager, and I knew I needed to get him on the podcast and dig into how he...

Send us Fan Mail Craig Conway is one of the most genuine people I have met within Manufacturing. He is the Production and Logistics Director of Janus International Europe and one of the reasons for their monumental success over the last few years.   In this podcast we go through his journey, from Apprentice to Director and everything in between.  From humble beginnings in Teesside to travelling ar...

Send us Fan Mail Dan is the Managing Director of Orean Personal Care, a premium skincare and hair care manufacturer, from development to finished product  When I started this podcast I had a number of guests in mind. Dan Williams was top of that list.   In this podcast we go into detail about how took Orean Healthcare from a £3M to a £30M turnover business,    We discuss the the importance of cult...

Send us Fan Mail John Celino is an extremely respected Manager in the world of Manufacturing. He walks the walk and talks the talk Having worked in so many different areas of Manufacturing he is able to talk in detail about culture, process and specifically how to implement change in a workforce This is a great episode for the core manufacturing and engineering listeners. We talk in detail about t...

Send us Fan Mail   Phil Atkinson embodies everything you would want from a leader. Passionate, driven and extremely hard working.   He’s worked his way up in the Industry, from an Apprentice, to owning his own award winning business,    This is a fantastic episode for either a business owner or leader in manufacturing. We talked about the highs and lows of building an organisation, and exactly wha...

Send us Fan Mail Randall Smith is it true leader    This epsiode embodies everything that is involved with management and leadership, and in all honesty the sole reason I started the podcast in the first place    We discussed the in depth, his 20 year forces career and all the lessons from his time there    This is a great episode for anyone who has worked in the forces and transferred into Civvy...

Send us Fan Mail How do you get from Graduating University to Head of HR at board level within 10 years?   In this podcast we find out!   Andy Scott is Head of HR at @darchem engineering and a good client of mine so I jumped at the chance of interviewing him.   In my opinion great companies have great HR professionals and Managers driving best practice from the top, Darchem are a prime example of...