The Manufacturing Executive

Robots have been around since Mamie Eisenhower presided over the White House. But recent advancements in robotics have helped bring automated workers out of big automotive companies and into mainstream manufacturing. Are the robots coming for your team's jobs? How should manufacturers determine whether or not to add a robot? In this episode, Ryan Lillibridge, director of business development at Mi...

Don't think. Just make parts. Ever had a manager tell you that when you offered a suggestion for process improvement? Leaders' words carry weight and affect people. They can affect how you think about your employer and even change your career forever. In today's episode, Joe Molesky, vice president of operations at MultiSource Manufacturing LLC, discusses why people feel the way they do about your...

If you have a defined sales process, you're ahead of 50% of the manufacturing companies out there. But without one, you can't measure efficacy or deliver maximum value to your customers. Your organization will suffer. Why is it so hard for manufacturers to draft a sales playbook? And what's the right solution to this problem? In today's episode, I discuss creating a sales playbook for manufacturer...

The younger workforce in manufacturing is looking for more out of leadership. In particular, millennials want to know why the organization is doing what it's doing. And they want a voice in their company's continuous improvement. How can we embrace the energy, curiosity, and brain power that younger members of the workforce are bringing with them? In today's episode, I talk about the generational...

Audio is huge right now. Podcasts are part of that, of course, but so are webinars. The unique magic of the webinar lies in its interaction. Your viewers can ask questions or offer ideas during the event. Most companies just use webinars to sell products. But if you create a webinar with no agenda other than helping your audience do their jobs better, you can win big in the long term. In today's e...

Risk management isn't an accident. If we're going to survive, then we have to plan for unforeseen events. Like 2020… and 2021. But you can't insure everything, and rate increases seem to be hardening. What can manufacturers do to manage risk more effectively? In today's episode, I talk with Van Carlson, founder and CEO at Strategic Risk Alternatives. Van brings to the conversation more than 25 yea...

Manufacturers love trade shows. But for a year, we've had to do without them. Plus, shows may never come back the way they once were. How can manufacturers create content, build relationships, and generate leads without shows? In today's episode, I talk with Chris Luecke, podcast host and community builder at Manufacturing Happy Hour. Chris offers a full plate of both strategic advice and down-and...

Every company has an operating system that determines how people solve problems, plan, prioritize, communicate, and measure success. Often, an operating system is inconsistent, though, leading to employee frustration and burnout. In today's episode, I talk with Joel Wittenbraker and Luke Wittenbraker. This father-son duo leads Mactech On-Site, one of the world’s foremost providers of on-site machi...

Does technology have to be all or nothing? Is it possible that in our increasingly data-driven manufacturing environment, we're losing sight of the value provided by human input? In today's episode, I talk about those questions with Martin Cloake, CEO at Raven.ai. Martin is an experienced executive and award-winning technology entrepreneur with a background in manufacturing, data science, IT, and...

Video- and- audio-based content humanizes the people behind the information. You can see someone's face in a video or hear their voice in a podcast. They suddenly become a real person to you. Yet, manufacturing marketers are slow to embrace content that moves outside of print. We're missing out on a lot! In today's episode, I talk with James Carbary, founder of Sweet Fish Media, about why podcasti...

The industrial sector's labor market has shifted over the past decade. From the emergence and adoption of recruiting technologies by Indeed and LinkedIn to the widening manufacturing skills gap, most manufacturers face stiff challenges on the recruiting and hiring front. On today's episode, I talk about solving the problems in hiring with Patrick O'Rahilly, Founder at FactoryFix.com. Here's what w...

Think about the experience of walking into an Apple store. Or the ease and simplicity of making a purchase on Amazon — 30 seconds, one click, and you're done. More and more, B2B buyers expect B2C buying experiences. In light of that, what does “customer experience” mean to you? On today's episode, I talk about customer experience with Sultana Mangal and Annie Dohle, both Account Executives at Gori...

In today's podcast, I break down a simple three-step framework for what a mid-sized B2B manufacturer should be doing to fill the sales funnel in 2021. This year, we still can't rely on trade shows or other in-person meetings. Here's what I recommend you do instead: Focus on the right people from the right companies Create amazing content specifically for them Distribute that content consistently t...

Artificial intelligence...machine learning...blockchain...digital transformation. All buzzwords marking the transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 4.5.   In this episode of the podcast, I talk with someone who's right in the middle of it all. Justin Goldston, PhD is a professor of project and supply chain management at Penn State University. He works closely with the Penn State Sustainability In...

What is Voice of Customer? How can Voice of Customer be used to curate tailored content across your industry? Why is this important? These are a few of the many questions answered on today’s show with industry expert, Dave Loomis. In this episode, Joe Sullivan of Gorilla 76 speaks with Dave Loomis, President of Loomis Marketing on episode 28 of The Manufacturing Executive podcast. Our dynamic conv...

Somewhere along the way, we all run into that guy... The customer's procurement guy... The buyer. And with supply chain disruption fresh in all our minds, it's time we talked to that guy. In this episode of the podcast, I spoke with Aaron Brimer, a supply chain leader and founder of the Manufacturing Procurement Guy podcast. We talked about mitigating risk through smart procurement practices. Aaro...

I asked listeners what topic they wanted to learn more about on the podcast.  You said "expanding into international markets." So I put the word out among my network and discovered today's guest. He founded a gas company in 2002 that now does business in many foreign countries. My guest on this episode is Ashley Madray, executive vice president of Gas Innovations, a producer, purifier, and package...

The workplace is experiencing a massive transformation. I thought we should start at a high level and talk about that. So we did. In this episode of the podcast, I spoke with Jon Franko (I just call him "Franko"), my co-founder here at Gorilla76, about how to grow a great team rooted in relationships. Franko and I discussed: What employees value most in an employer right now A little thing we do c...

If we create an environment where people on the production floor can help the company be better, they're more than happy to use their knowledge to do it. Unfortunately, many supervisors and managers have not been given the training, development, and coaching to do the job on their own or to help the company grow. On this episode of the podcast, Gayle Noakes, a 20+ year veteran of the manufacturing...

It's time to face reality about sales channels, technology, and how people buy. E-commerce is going to dominate sales. Business was moving in that direction pre-COVID, but the pandemic dramatically accelerated those trends. You can fight this reality, or you can grow with it. On this episode of the podcast, I talked with Kevin Haar, chief operating officer at Super Bright LEDs, about the transitio...

We'd all love to create content and then sit back and wait for the phones to start ringing. But that doesn't work. You have to be proactive. Learn how and where your prospects and customers go to consume content online and deliver it to them in those channels. The only content that works is the content that's actually consumed. On this episode of the podcast, I invited Matt Sciannella, Senior Stra...

You know the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But do you practice that philosophy as a manufacturing leader? Does it influence who you hire? How you manage your team? The way you interact with your stakeholders?  On this episode of the podcast, I invited Dan Erschen, the owner of Wisconsin Metal Parts, a contract manufacturer of metal parts and assemblies, to talk ab...

When the mandated industry shut down in Michigan happened, one Millennial sought new ways to engage his current customers and share the benefits of automation while working from home. He turned to LinkedIn. Seven months later, his content has reached over 1.5 million views, and he's amassed more than 10,000 followers. On this episode of the podcast, I invited Jacob Hall, the Manufacturing Millenni...

The term thought leadership has gotten tossed around a lot the last few years. But what exactly does thought leadership mean? Does it simply imply that you write a blog or that you spoke at a local Chamber of Commerce event? Or is thought leadership something more than that? How did you become a thought leader anyway? On this episode of the podcast, I invited Bill Sherman, COO and thought leadersh...

Twenty years ago, we barely had enough info to measure our impact. Today, manufacturing marketers are overwhelmed with data, and everyone wants to sell us software to find, store, clean, surface, and use that data. Why is data such a big buzzword in business, especially manufacturing? On this episode of the podcast, I invited Jon Thompson, co-founder and senior partner at Blue Margin Inc, a compan...