Food manufacturers have always focused on protecting product quality, ensuring traceability, and meeting food safety requirements. But as production environments become more connected, a growing concern is emerging: cybersecurity.

In this episode, we explore how cyber incidents can affect critical manufacturing systems, disrupt traceability, compromise data integrity, and create risks that extend far beyond the IT department. Together, we'll discuss the growing intersection of cybersecurity, operational resilience, compliance, and food safety.

From protecting production records and critical control systems to preparing for evolving regulatory expectations, we'll examine why cybersecurity has become an essential part of modern food manufacturing risk management.

Cybersecurity threats, rising downtime costs, and aging automation systems are forcing manufacturers to rethink their upgrade strategies. But how do you modernize without disrupting operations or overspending?

In this episode of Beyond Tech, Jackie Slaght sits down with Jeff Ballard and Chris Virtue to discuss the practical side of plant modernization. They explore how to identify legacy systems that are creating operational risk, assess the true cost of delaying upgrades, and prioritize investments that deliver measurable ROI.

The conversation covers common indicators that modernization is overdue, including obsolete hardware, unsupported protocols, increasing maintenance challenges, and growing cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Jeff and Chris also share best practices for system assessments, phased migration strategies, and balancing short-term operational needs with long-term modernization goals.

Whether you're planning your first facility upgrade or developing a long-term automation roadmap, this episode provides actionable guidance to help reduce risk, improve reliability, and maximize the value of your modernization efforts.

Not sure where to begin a great place to start is by completing the Manufacturer’s Checklist for OT Network Health, Security & Scalability: https://etechgroup.typeform.com/ITOTAssessment

Want to join our team? View open positions here: https://etechgroup.com/careers/

Automation across laboratories and manufacturing has advanced rapidly, but many organizations still operate critical systems in isolation. Laboratory Automation and Industrial Robotics (LAIR) optimize scientific workflows and equipment, while Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) orchestrate production, people and data across the enterprise.

In this episode, Sura Hadi and Chris Leong discuss why connecting these technologies is essential for scaling automation beyond individual work cells. They explore common integration challenges, data integrity, compliance, digital transformation strategies, and practical approaches for building connected operations that improve productivity, quality, and business outcomes.

AI initiatives are everywhere in manufacturing, but many fail before they get started. This episode continues the conversation from our recent “AI Ready or Not” live session, diving deeper into the hidden IT/OT risks, the barriers to success, and the practical steps to build an AI-ready foundation.

If you missed the webinar, you can watch the full session on demand. https://etechgroup.com/ai-ready-or-not-the-hidden-it-ot-risks-blocking-ai-in-manufacturing/

Join our team and view our open positions: https://etechgroup.com/careers/

Modernization in manufacturing isn’t just a budgeting challenge—it’s an uptime challenge. Most facilities can’t afford to stop production, yet they’re under increasing pressure to improve performance, reduce risk, and prepare for what’s next.

In this episode, we explore how leading manufacturers approach phased modernization to keep production running while making meaningful progress. From prioritizing high-risk systems to aligning upgrades with maintenance windows, we break down how to modernize without disruption.

If you’re balancing aging infrastructure, production demands, and the need to move forward—this episode offers a practical roadmap for evolving without shutting down.

Careers in automation do not follow a straight line, and that is exactly what makes them so powerful.

In this episode of Beyond Tech, we bring together professionals at different stages of their careers, including early career talent, career switchers, and long tenured team members, to explore how they found their way into automation and controls engineering.

From unexpected career pivots to on the job learning, this conversation highlights the many different paths into the industry and why there is no perfect background required to succeed.

If you are considering a career in automation or are simply curious about how people get into this field, this episode offers real perspectives, practical advice, and insight into why so many people discover this career and stay in it.

Cybersecurity strategies are evolving fast, but many OT environments are still operating on outdated assumptions.

In this episode, we explore why exposure, not just exploits, remains one of the biggest cybersecurity risks in industrial environments. We break down how outdated assessments, limited network visibility, and false confidence leave organizations vulnerable, even when they think they’re secure.

If you’re responsible for OT, cybersecurity, or plant operations, this episode offers a practical framework for challenging assumptions, improving visibility, and reducing risk.

Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) remain one of the most misunderstood technologies on the plant floor. Many manufacturers know they need better data, more consistent processes, and improved visibility, but fears and misconceptions often hold them back from exploring MES as a solution.

In this episode, hosts Jennifer Palumbo and Jackie Slaght sit down with Dominique Telfort, Director of MES at E Tech Group, to debunk the biggest myths surrounding MES. From the belief that MES is ‘too big’ or ‘too disruptive,’ to misunderstandings about operator flexibility, downtime, and MES’s role relative to SCADA and PLC systems, we break down what MES actually is — and what it definitely isn’t.

Whether you’re a plant manager, operations director, or digital transformation leader evaluating MES for the first time, this episode will help you see MES clearly, confidently, and with renewed possibility.

Listeners will learn:

• Why MES is not just for large manufacturers
• How MES enhances operator performance rather than restricting it
• How MES can be implemented in phases without major downtime
• Why you don’t need perfect processes before starting
• How MES complements — not replaces — SCADA/PLC systems
• Real examples of MES driving quality, throughput, and visibility

Learn more: https://etechgroup.com/manufacturing-execution-systems/

Join our team, view open positions here: https://etechgroup.com/careers/

In this episode of Beyond Tech, Jackie Slaght and Dave O’Brien sit down with Sura Hadi and Niket Karode from E Tech Group’s Lab Automation and Industrial Robotics team to explore why so many automation initiatives in pharma and biotech fail to scale.

From “islands of automation” to fully connected lab ecosystems, they break down the difference between automating tasks and achieving true digital transformation. The discussion covers data architecture, OT/IT convergence, integration challenges, and the real drivers behind speed to insight.

You will also hear practical strategies for avoiding common pitfalls, the value of upfront design through FEED studies, and how AI and advanced analytics are shaping the next generation of labs.

Company expansion and growth through acquisition bring enormous opportunity, but also enormous complexity. New sites may run on different control platforms, network designs, cybersecurity standards, and operating procedures. This episode explores why site expansion or acquisition creates islands of automation, why standardization becomes so difficult, and how IT/OT assessments help companies unify operations, reduce risk, and scale modernization across every facility. Eric Medecke breaks down what companies discover during due diligence, the hidden risks inside inherited infrastructure, and real examples of organizations that transformed fragmented, multi‑plant operations into cohesive, scalable, secure enterprise architectures.