The Manufacturing Executive

Innovative organizations have figured out that employee engagement highly depends on the employer-employee experience you provide inside your organization. The changes that covid has brought to the workplace over the last two years have affected the experience businesses can provide to their employees.  Julie Jeannotte is the Employee Engagement Expert & Senior Researcher at OfficeVibe. With over...

Ongoing learning and professional development are necessary for anyone who wants to stay ahead of the curve. And this episode’s guest has constructed his business around this exact idea.  Tim Wilborne is the owner of TW Controls with his wife, Amber. Tim began working in a machine shop at the age of 12 and eventually found his way into industrial controls. While his wife was eight months pregnant,...

MJ Peters joins us two years after her first appearance on our show to talk about the evolution of workforce collaboration among engineers in manufacturing.   Currently the VP of Marketing at CoLab Software, MJ brings a mix of industrial and SaaS experience to her role. Before CoLab, MJ worked with 50+ venture-backed b2b software companies on their demand generation strategies at Refine Labs. And...

Our guest today sheds light on what future warehouses will look like as robots become more intelligent.   Michael Perry is the Vice President of Marketing at Dexterity, Inc. Michael's main objective is to help customers and partners understand how AI-enabled robots can grow their operations. Before Micahel's time with Dexterity, he was Boston Dynamics VP of business development, where he led the g...

In any manufacturing operation, quality matters. Andrew Steele, the founder of FactoryQA, is an expert in quality management systems. After starting on the manufacturing floor and years of experience auditing, Andrew brings excellent insights into what quality management systems mean inside a manufacturer's operations.  Join us as we discuss:  What does quality mean in manufacturing?   How to know...

Over the years, I’ve talked to a lot of manufacturers as a marketing advisor. When I ask them what their ideal customer looks like, I usually get a response saying that they deal with many types of customers in many different industries.   While there’s nothing wrong with targeting different customers, channeling your marketing energy into lanes where you have the best chances of winning will assu...

Harnessing the power of technology allows you to do more with less. Mobile industrial apps enable manufacturers to get more done with fewer people by streamlining processes, improving the capture and sharing of data.   Greg Bohling, the Vice President of Sales and Customer Success at Alpha Software, brings over 15 years of experience in providing digital transformation leadership to manufacturing...

Fran Brunelle is President of Accelerated Manufacturing Brokers, Inc., a company specializing in the sale of lower middle-market manufacturing companies. Fran was named one of the most influential women in M&A (mergers and acquisitions) in 2020. She is also the host of the Women and Manufacturing Podcast. Fran helps manufacturing business owners prepare their companies for sale and navigate the sa...

In the manufacturing sector, the person who’s writing the check often isn’t the same person whose attention and trust you need to earn. Instead, the most important buying process influencers tend to be the technical professionals who are trying to solve a problem or achieve an outcome. And in many cases, those technical professionals are engineers.  Wendy Covey, CEO, and Co-Founder of TREW Marketi...

It appears that we’re heading into a recession. So what does that mean for manufacturers? And how can you deploy (or redeploy) your marketing team to make sure you come out in one piece on the other end of it?  Today John McTigue, a Freelance Writer and B2B Marketing Advisor at The Customer Journey Maestro, joins us to talk about how marketing can help you recession-proof your business. John bring...

The days of posting a job and watching candidates line up around the corner are now in the past. We’ve quickly shifted into a candidate-driven market and many employers are being affected by it, but most don’t know how to handle it. `  Today we talk to Ann Wyatt, founder and agency owner of Ann Wyatt Recruiting. An expert recruiter in the manufacturing sector, Ann shares her insights on what you c...

The way our customers collect information and look for products has changed, and in order to keep up with demand, manufacturers have to change the way that they approach sales and marketing.   Today’s episode is very unique. This is a conversation that was originally recorded on Chris Grainger’s podcast: EECO Ask’s Why.     Chris Grainger joins us from EECO, an industrial automation and power solu...

Marty Groover, Partner and CTO at C5MI, spent over two decades as a Surface Warfare Officer in the US Navy. He didn’t know it at the time, but this time in the Navy helped him see into the future – of manufacturing.  Marty offers insight into the unmatched benefits of using live data to enhance your processes, product and bottom line, and how pairing people processes with technology will position...

People often worry that technology and automation will replace human workers.   But what if the most powerful path forward is empowering workers with technology for better effectiveness and efficiency, instead of replacing them?  In this episode, Dr. Prasad Akella, the Founder and CEO of Drishti, shares his view on the future of manufacturing. A future where video data not only improves the qualit...

Are trade shows worth it? That seems to be a divisive question these days. But here's the truth: Like with many forms of marketing or sales activities, it comes down to execution.  Today’s guest, Jake Hall, Keynote Speaker and Content Creator of The Manufacturing Millennial, details how to connect the physical world of a trade show with the digital world that exists before, during and after that e...

Our workforce has changed drastically over the decades. The highly desirable and stable manufacturing industry of the past has struggled to retain workers in our modern times. But there is a way to revitalize the manufacturing industry in the US to keep up with the manufacturing powerhouses around the world.   Today’s guest, Jason Azevedo, Chief Strategy Officer at MRCA, shares his views on the im...

On this milestone 100th episode, the hosting tables are turned. Joe Sullivan is interviewed by Logan Lyles of Sweet Fish Media about his learnings from 100 consecutive weeks of podcasting and six ways it’s impacted his business.  Joe Sullivan, Founder of Gorilla76, opens up about why he originally wanted to start a podcast and how he made the transition from creating mostly written content to fuel...

The manufacturing industry has been slow to adopt new technology. But with the continued improvements in technology, updating your systems has become more cost effective, faster to implement, and more flexible for your manufacturing needs.  Today’s guest, Barry Johnson, President of Digital Manufacturing at Symphony Industrial AI, talks about how to take advantage of digitization, AI, and emerging...

Are you making the right decisions to optimize productivity?   Most organizations don’t. Most get distracted by efficiency and ultimately fail to meet their goals.   Today’s guest, Pavel Kuviarzin, Business Growth Expert at Future State Engineering, talks about the problem solving steps to make a true impact on productivity, profitability, and the success of your business.  Join us as we discuss:...

Internal marketing employee or marketing agency? Entry level hire or seasoned marketer? Broad range of skill sets or deep specialist in a few core skills?  Today’s guest, Mary Keough, Senior Marketing Strategist, Gorilla76, breaks down the questions that any manufacturing leader will need to answer for themselves before building a marketing team. Or even before making that first marketing hire.  J...

Today’s guest, Tony Lopez, Vice President, Manufacturing & Logistics Services, Pride Industries, provides insight about delivering business excellence with a positive social impact.  Join us as we discuss: The hiring and employment hurdles that face the disabled population How education bridges the gap between employers and the disabled workforce What the benefits are to hiring disabled workers  ...

It's never been more costly to watch your people walk out the door. Today’s guest is Dan Johnston, Co-Founder and CEO, WorkStep WorkStep is a software platform that empowers companies to find and keep frontline employees for the long run. Dan has seen first hand how workforce retention can make or break a company and I’m thrilled to have him on the show. Join us as we discuss: How supply chain dis...

What are the best manufacturing executives doing to combat labor shortages and supply chain issues and thrive in this industry?   Today’s guest is Dan Burgos, President and CEO, Alphanova Consulting, knows the answer.  Dan and his team have over 15 years of experience helping manufacturers in various industries, including aerospace injection molding, construction projects, chemicals, fiberglass, f...

What if your engineering bonuses were tied to blog post writing?  Today’s guest, Chris Grainger, Podcast Host and Engineering and Services Manager, Electrical Equipment Company (EECO) believes that content marketing is so important he gives bonuses based on how many blog posts and how- to videos each employee produces. Chris is passionate about content marketing because he knows that it works.  Jo...

When most people hear “influencer,” it might conjure up images of YouTube icons and Reality TV stars… Influencers don’t matter in manufacturing, right? Well, today’s guest, Eddie Saunders, General of Demand Generation at Flex Machine Tools, thinks that statement couldn’t be any more wrong. He joins the show to share the secrets to shoring up your influencer strategies Join us as we discuss: Why in...