The Chemical Show: Where Leaders Talk Business Inside Carpenter Company’s Evolution: CEO Brad Beauchamp Discusses Acquisitions, Company Culture, and European Strategy - Ep. 231
How does a 75-year-old manufacturing company successfully transform through bold acquisitions and shifting market conditions? Brad Beauchamp, President and CEO of Carpenter Company, sits down with Victoria Meyer to share Carpenter’s journey from “old-school” chemical company to global leader in comfort cushioning and consumer bedding. Brad offers a behind-the-scenes look at how Carpenter navigated the integration of major acquisitions—including Recticel, NCFI Polyurethanes, and the iconic Casper mattress brand—amid supply chain turbulence, economic uncertainty, and evolving industry demands.
Victoria and Brad also tackle the changing culture in manufacturing, Carpenter’s approach to digital transformation and AI, and how leaders can balance people-first values with the drive for profit and growth. With practical leadership advice and candid stories from the front lines, this episode is a must-listen for chemical industry professionals interested in business transformation, growth strategies, and the future of manufacturing.
Victoria and Brad discuss the following:
- How to keep a company growing during unpredictable times.
- How bold acquisitions are reshaping Carpenter’s future.
- Maintaining a people-first culture through major change.
- Evolving the chemical value chain
- Leadership, digital transformation, and Carpenter’s formula for resilience.
Killer Quote: "Sales is vanity, profit is sanity, but cash is reality." — Brad Beauchamp, President and CEO of Carpenter Company
00:00 "Carpenter Company Insights with CEO"
03:42 Guest Appreciates Podcast's Positive Impact
06:55 Journey from R&D to Chemical Sales
11:45 Growth Strategy Over Coasting
15:53 Flexible Foam Acquisition Discussion
17:28 "Understanding the Casper Story"
21:37 Changing Mattress Market Dynamics
26:17 Brand-Driven Billion-Dollar Businesses
30:18 "Understanding Organizational Talent Variability"
31:17 Balancing Growth and Pace
34:48 Investing in Europe's Consumer Market
39:22 Carpenter's Transformative Profit Sharing Plan
41:16 AI's Role in Evolving Work Practices
44:53 Navigating Information in New Industries
49:51 "Curiosity Fuels Lifelong Learning"
51:05 Uncontrollable Career Advancement Factors
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