Manufacturing Happy Hour

As a manufacturing company, how is social media currently playing a role in helping your business grow? Is it generating leads? Is it engaging your existing customer base? Are you regularly participating in conversations on LinkedIn, or are you just posting from time-to-time, usually in the form of some arbitrary holiday post?Whether you answered yes or no to any of these questions, you’ll want to tune into this episode as Chris walks through 6 strategies that you as a manufacturing leader can use to build your brand, community, and funnel while strengthening your overall business. From advanced tactics to actions that any employee can take to start using social media more effectively, Chris covers the specific tools and habits you need to increase your online presence and keep your brand at the front of your customers’ minds at all times.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

With 2019 coming quickly to a close, we have a short episode for you this week to help you jumpstart the new year. In this first ever bonus edition of “3 Quick Things,” Chris takes lessons from the first round of Manufacturing Happy Hour interviews and distills those into easy actions you can take in 2020. From creating & communicating a vision for new manufacturing technologies to leveraging a community of mentors that can help you take your business to the next level, tune in for this quickie of an episode, and make sure to come back next week for another full-length edition of the show.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Anastasia Kraft loved her engineering career in project management but hated the bulky, made-for-men work boots she had to wear on job sites. Realizing that she wasn’t alone in this feeling, she created a company that would solve this problem for her and all other women in the industry…Ana is the Co-Founder & CEO of Xena Workwear, a new Milwaukee-based industrial apparel company that’s leveling the playing field for women in engineering, manufacturing, and construction thanks to their stylish steel-toe shoes. She believes that what you wear impacts your confidence at work, but more importantly, she’s on a mission to make STEM-related fields more accessible to women.In this episode, Ana shares her entrepreneurial journey of starting Xena Workwear, why female role models in industry are critical for getting girls interested in STEM, and how male allies can take an active role in supporting women in these industries. There are plenty of startup stories, travel tales, and Wisconsin beers to go along with these topics, so grab a cold one and join us for the conversation.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty. 

Have you been hearing about “Digital Transformation” and “Smart Manufacturing” but want to know if these are anything more than buzzwords? Are you wondering how to start taking advantage of the Industrial Internet of Things in your manufacturing operation? Wouldn’t it be nice if someone just simplified and explained these topics in a way that you could understand them while hanging out at a bar? Well, our panelists answered all of these questions and more during our first ever LIVE episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, recorded at the unofficial Automation Fair 2019 Kick-Off Party in Chicago.We were joined by 3 experts in Digital Transformation for this episode – including Tom Gaudet from PTC, Beth Parkinson from Rockwell Automation, and Ryan Wasmund from Concept Systems – who shared their insights and examples of successful Industrial Internet of Things implementations throughout this beer-fueled discussion. And, in an effort to avoid excessive industry jargon, we kicked the conversation up a notch by playing “The Digital Transformation Drinking Game” from start to finish. Curious how that turned out? Then tune in to this week’s episode for actionable advice, starter tips, and a little bit of fun around Digital Transformation.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty. 

Like many entrepreneurs, Joe Carson was leading a successful career at a large company. After spending his first 5 years out of college at Rockwell Automation, he didn’t want to risk living with regret and couldn’t resist the startup urge any longer. Joe is the Founder of Pacific Blue Engineering, a Long Beach-based control systems integrator that’s been growing across California and beyond for over 4 years.In this episode, Joe walks us through his own journey of building Pacific Blue Engineering and the investments he makes in himself and his team to stay on top of their game – both technically and physiologically. We even get his perceptions on the future of automation, and why the opportunity to migrate legacy control systems and enable the Connected Enterprise have Joe excited for what’s ahead.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty. 

SteamChain.io is fundamentally changing the way that equipment manufacturers and end-users collaborate with one another. Their new “Machine-as-a-Service” solutions not only improve machine productivity and performance, but allow businesses to accelerate toward mutual desired outcomes.Co-Founder Michael Cromheecke jumps on the show to dissect this new business model and illustrate where it’s already seeing success in the manufacturing sector. He shares the story of his own corporate-turned-entrepreneurial journey before taking a technical deep-dive as to how SteamChain is leveraging blockchain to ensure secure agreements and transactions between OEMs and end-users. After hearing the financial, technological, and relationship impacts outlined in this episode, every manufacturing executive will want to start exploring this as-a-service business model.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Dr. Kris Ropella is Dean of the Opus College of Engineering at Marquette University, and a true enabler of the engineer of the future. In this episode, Dr. Ropella meets up with us at Caffrey’s Pub on Marquette’s campus to discuss how engineering education is evolving to incorporate more creativity, diversity, and leadership while better preparing engineers for the manufacturing industry and beyond. From ballroom dancing to learning through failure to the changing face of engineering, this episode is packed with stories you won’t want to miss.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty. 

How do you turn areas that were once manufacturing powerhouses back into regions with thriving economies? Brandon Cornuke & Michael Goldberg believe developing strong manufacturing ecosystems is a big part of the answer.Brandon Cornuke is the Vice President of Startup Services at MAGNET, a Cleveland-based organization that helps manufacturers in Northeast Ohio grow their operations, workforces, and startups. Michael Goldberg is a Professor of Design & Innovation at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management and leader of the successful Coursera MOOC “Beyond Silicon Valley.” These two individuals are on a mission to help budding entrepreneurs in Cleveland and other transitioning economies get the education and resources they need to build successful companies.In this episode, we discuss how the future of manufacturing is technology-driven, the type of support ecosystems that are necessary to help manufacturing companies grow and prosper, and the role that education will continue to play in enabling the manufacturing workforce, all the way down to the trade level. Michael and Brandon have plenty of examples to share about manufacturers that are taking advantage of the resources they have available, regardless of whether they’re in Bosnia, Indonesia, or Cleveland.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty. 

Krisztina “Z” Holly has had quite the illustrious career in tech and manufacturing. Her list of accomplishments includes creating the first ever TEDx events, working for multiple successful tech startups, spearheading innovation centers at USC and MIT, and currently, serving as the Founder & “Chief Instigator” for MAKE IT IN LA – LA Mayor Garcetti’s regional maker-focused non-profit – and her own podcast “The Art of Manufacturing.”Z joins us on the show today to tell us how manufacturing is “sexy” while covering a range of topics – from iterative design processes to sustainable manufacturing. We focus on the importance of manufacturing ecosystems, exercising that entrepreneurial mindset, and why manufacturers need to dream big.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty. 

Dan Voit is the CEO of Blentech, an industrial equipment manufacturer specializing in advanced cooking and mixing technologies based in Santa Rosa, CA. It’s no simple task to run a profitable manufacturing company in the middle of Sonoma County, but with cutting-edge technologies like their CookerCloud coupled with an ultra-strong company culture, Dan and the team at Blentech continue to find ways to win and grow.In our conversation, Dan walks us through his journey into the food sciences world and why he chose to step up as a leader at the company. As both a Chief Executive Officer and a seasoned CrossFit athlete, Dan shares several his key habits for setting and maintaining goals, and how he still carves out time to make culture-building at Blentech a top priority.Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.