NEW Manufacturing Insights

Enstrom Helicopter President Todd Tetzlaff joins Kate and Ann on this week's episode, which is sponsored by Wintrust Commercial Banking at Town Bank, N.A. Tetzlaff says he's had "aviation on the brain" since he was a little kid. ("Airplanes are cool, but helicopters are cooler," he says.) While Tetzlaff says helicopters make up a small percentage of aviation in general, you might be surprised at t...

Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry CEO Sachin Shivaram started down a path to becoming a lawyer, but he fell in love with metals manufacturing and hasn't looked back. Today, he leads Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry in Manitowoc, where he has helped expand the firm through acquisitions, expansions and product development. In fact, Shivaram shares on this week's episode that WAF is currently in the process of ac...

This week Appleton International Airport announced that it logged its busiest month ever in March 2024, welcoming 100,800 total passengers (enplaned and deplaned). Business development manager Jesse Funk joins the podcast this week to talk about milestones and momentum, the airport's current expansion project, and the history and vision of a high-quality, community-minded airport as it strives to...

One of the largest, most heavy-duty companies in Northeast Wisconsin is also one of its most sustainable. In celebration of Earth Week, Waupaca Foundry Corporate Sustainability Manager Bryant Esch joins the podcast to talk about three decades of green innovation at the foundry. His work has led the American Foundry Society to call Bryant "the leading voice for green manufacturing," and he shares w...

Dr. Bryan Schwebke, founder and CEO of Paramount Performance Physical Therapy in Suamico, joins Kate Bruns and Ann Franz on this week's episode to talk about his work in the Northeast Wisconsin manufacturing community. Bryan shares how he has used his athletics training background to help train "industrial athletes" in the workplace -- focusing on early intervention, building a supportive team and...

Menasha Corporation, which was recently honored as Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year, is celebrating its 175th anniversary in 2024. Christopher Drees, who became Menasha Corporation's CEO last year after previously leading Mercury Marine, joins co-hosts Kate Bruns and Ann Franz on this week's episode to talk about the history and future of the storied company. Despite its deep roots and a longevi...

Bill Ritcey of Farm to Plate and Jim Dobinski of StellarBlue.ai are part of a dedicated group of Web 3.0 evangelists working to push the New North region forward in the adoption of technologies like A.I. and blockchain, the latter of which is the subject of the latest technology feature in IOM, "Building Blocks," which can be read here: https://www.insightonbusiness.com/insightonmanufacturing/arti...

Learn more about the NEW Manufacturing Alliance's newest and very popular task force, which is focused on safety, with co-chairs Mark Callow and Mike Winkler of Samuel Pressure Vessel Systems in Marinette. This week's podcast dives deeper into the March "back office" feature of IOM magazine, "Priority One," which can be read online at https://www.insightonbusiness.com/insightonmanufacturing/articl...

March Madness has arrived, and so has the March issue of Insight on Manufacturing magazine. Dive deeper into this month's cover story with author Amelia Compton-Wolff and with Lisa Johnson, CEO of BioForward Wisconsin, who recently led the successful bid to designate Wisconsin as a Biohealth Tech Hub through the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration. The history, future...

Adam Rupp, CEO of Wisconsin Lighting Lab in Fond du Lac, joins Kate and Ann this week to talk about the important intersection of manufacturing and technology -- in ways that both can and can't be seen by the customer. WiLL also boasts one of the New North region's youngest workforces, and Rupp talks about some of the values that help make his company an employer of choice for young talent. Thank...

Kate and Ann welcome Neveah Krueger, a welder with Walker Forge's youth apprenticeship program in Clintonville, along with her mentor, Troy Miller. Neveah and Troy discuss why hands-on learning has been the best option for the high-school student and how to make sure youth apprenticeship students can be successful in the workplace. Thank you to Wintrust Commercial Banking at Town Bank, N.A. for sp...

Pat McGettigan, executive vice president of Excellerate -- a division of Faith Technologies Incorporated, joins Kate and Ann to talk about the company's new smart manufacturing facility in Little Chute and how the company is poised on the cutting edge when it comes to technology, modular construction, sustainability and employee wellness.

Jan Allman, vice president and general manager of Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, joins NEW Manufacturing Insights to talk about her manufacturing career and how her decade with Fincantieri has perhaps been the most exciting period of all, building products that serve and protect the nation and move essential goods through the Great Lakes.

The 16th episode of NEW Manufacturing Insights features technology leader and inclusion advocate Michelle Schuler, who serves as U.S. program manager for Microsoft TechSpark after successfully building the now-nationwide program starting in Appleton and Green Bay. Schuler is also the founder of Women in Technology Wisconsin and a tireless community volunteer. Also on this episode: Today is the dea...

Jeff Van Zeeland, president of Fox Valley Wood Products, joins Ann and Kate to talk more about the company, which will be honored Feb. 29 at Lambeau Field as one of Insight's Fastest Growing Companies in the New North Region for 2024. Fox Valley Wood Products is one of many manufacturing companies that will be honored at the event. Learn more at www.insightonbusiness.com/fastest. Also on this epis...

Zach Roisum, a controls engineer at Appleton-based Sure Controls, joins Ann and Kate to help dymystify the topic of Industry 4.0 and understand the reasons to "dream bigger" when it comes to automation and plant modernization in the manufacturing industry. Also on this episode: The deadline is coming up Feb. 15 to nominate young professionals for Insight's second annual 40 Under 40 Awards. Learn m...

2024 NEWMA All Star Carlos Martinez of Hart Design and Manufacturing joins Kate and Ann, along with Hart HR Director Heather Marconi, on a special episode highlighting Carlos' unique journey from Mexico to Green Bay to be a manufacturing leader. Read the full 2024 All Stars magazine, featuring Carlos' cover story, here: All Stars - 2024 All Stars (insightdigital.biz)

New North, Inc. Vice President Renee Torzala joins Ann and Kate to talk about the January 2024 Insight on Manufacturing cover story about "cool stuff" made in Northeast Wisconsin. New North's "Cool Stuff" campaign celebrates not only the cool products made in our region, but also people and places that make Northeast Wisconsin, well, cool. Learn more about New North's plans to increasingly market...

On this first episode of 2024, the NEW Manufacturing Alliance's Ann Franz and Insight on Manufacturing's Kate Bruns talk to Kathy Zuckweiler of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Center for Customized Research and Services about the results of the 2024 NEWMA Manufacturing Vitality Index, recently released for the 16th year. View the complete study results on NEWMA's website at https://newmfgallia...

Aspiro's Pete Falk and Scott Baker join NEW Manufacturing Insights to talk about the nonprofit organization's unique and powerful workforce programs for adults with disabilities. To learn more about Aspiro's work or engage with their services, visit www.aspiroinc.org or call Scott and Pete at (920) 498-2599. NEW Manufacturing Insights is taking a break for the holidays, but we will be back on Thur...

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Dean of Trades and Engineering Technologies Amy Kox stops by NEW Manufacturing Insights to talk about the latest happenings in her department, including unprecedented gifts and investments in manufacturing education and the college's efforts to train the next generation manufacturing workforce Also on this episode: Insight is gearing up to present "Wisconsin's...

AriensCo CEO Dan Ariens visits NEW Manufacturing Insights to talk snow business with Ann and Kate -- including a new year's forecast for the company, excitement around the Ariens Nordic Center earning USA Biathlon Training Center designation and more. Also on this episode: Register today for next week's NEWMA Quarterly Membership Meeting at Fox Valley Technical College. You won't want to miss it!...

On this episode, the NEW Manufacturing Alliance's Ann Franz and Insight on Manufacturing's Kate Bruns talk to Tonya Dittman and Holly Hampton of The Village Companies about the company's diverse growth and commitment to fostering family fun. This includes Maverick Hunting, an arm of The Village Companies that was featured in the November issue of IOM. Read here: Coming together | Plant News | insi...

On this episode, the NEW Manufacturing Alliance's Ann Franz and Insight on Manufacturing's Kate Bruns talk to Greg Kleinheinz of UW Oshkosh about how the university has grown and adapted its burgeoning engineering program over the last decade, including its newest addition of an automation engineering technology program. Kleinheinz's comments expand on what he shared in Insight on Manufacturing's...

NEW Manufacturing Insights, the official podcast for Northeast Wisconsin manufacturers hosted by the NEW Manufacturing Alliance's Ann Franz and Insight on Manufacturing's Kate Bruns, talks to Roxanne Baumann, director of global engagement for WMEP Manufacturing Solutions, about how Wisconsin manufacturers can grow their businesses by reaching the 95% of their customers who live outside the U.S. Ba...