Manufacturing Happy Hour

Our guest this week is Jose Palomino, the CEO of Value Prop. Jose works with B2B business owners to unlock new growth by helping them ensure their value proposition actually aligns with the biggest challenge their ideal customers are facing and making sure there's a sales process and delivery to support that. He's also the author of a book also called Value Prop, host of The Revenue Throughput Podcast, and teaches MBA courses at Villanova focused on Management and Entrepreneurial Marketing.

In this episode, Jose discusses the importance of creating a value proposition, especially for companies in the sub $10 million range. He also highlights the top mistakes manufacturing leaders make with their marketing strategy and why you should hone in on value creation.

Jose explains various ways industry leaders can capitalize on their marginal advantage. He also touches on what’s wrong with the way most businesses approach trade fairs and throws in a few practical ways to get the most out of them.

In this episode, find out:

• Jose’s transition from back-office accounting to marketing
• Why overly customer-concentrated marketing is risky for businesses
• Why it’s important to find out who your best customer is
• How industry leaders can discover their value proposition
• Why you should take a look at your sales process
• How an overemphasis on technical knowledge can kill sales
• How to approach tradeshows from a value standpoint
• The role of value in the workplace

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing

All-Stars like you that keeps us going!

Tweetable Quotes:

• “If your business is more than 40% concentrated on one account, it’s time to think about diversifying that account and delivering more value.”
• “Fix the number one customer complaint, the stuff that vexes customers.”
• “At tradeshows, don't just expect the booth to do the work for you, you have to do your homework.”

Links & mentions:

• ValueProp.com, a strategy consultancy focused on helping B2B business owners grow their revenue
• Value Prop, by Jose Palomino, Jose’s book on how to build razor-sharp marketing messages
• The Revenue Throughput Podcast, a podcast for B2B owners who are hungry for growth
• Teikoku, a Japanese and Thai cuisine place in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Ashleigh Walters is the President of Onex and author of the book Leading with Grit and Grace. Onex is a more than half-century-old industrial furnace manufacturing and service company based in Pennsylvania.

When Ashleigh became the leader of the company, she truly changed the company's culture for the better. Hence the title of her book and the main theme for this episode.

In this episode, Ashleigh discusses the many perils of a command-and-control leadership style as well as how she aided Onex’s steady transition to a more flexible work environment. She also shares a few handy pointers on how to build trust in the workplace and help employees with problem-solving.

Ashleigh also shares the inspiration behind her book and some important lessons she learned during the publishing process.

Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

In this episode, find out:

• What it means to lead with both grit and grace
• Ashleigh shares a little insight into what her company does
• How Ashleigh created a more inclusive work environment
• How to make change more fun
• Ashleigh explains what freedom to fail is
• Ashleigh talks about Onex’s Employee Stock Option Program (ESOP)
• How Ashleigh is preparing Onex for the future

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!

Tweetable Quotes:

• “You need to go to the plant floor and interact with the people closest to the problem.”
• “Once you get used to changing things, it gets addictive.”
• “We realized that we had to teach problem-solving skills — we had a command-and-control leadership, so people's problem-solving skills weren't as sharp as they once were.”

Links & mentions:

• Leading with Grit and Grace, A Journey of Organizational Culture Change, by Ashleigh Walters
• Onex, Inc., here to help with your refractory, combustion, raw materials, and precast needs; designing and manufacturing custom equipment for heat-intensive industries - including forge, heat-treat, aluminum, and zinc furnaces

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Want a taste of one of the best events in manufacturing? This week, we're giving you an inside look at the A3 Business Forum.

This is the Association for Advancing Automation’s premier leadership and networking event that takes place at the beginning of every year, but really, it’s a community, and not just any community. The people in this association easily make up the single strongest group of manufacturing and automation leaders in the industry.

Much like the A3 Business Forum, this compilation episode covers a variety of topics including robotics, education, hiring and talent retention, as well as cybersecurity. We've got 6 interviews for you and we're also bringing back Jake Hall, the Manufacturing Millennial, to help host these discussions. Here are the leaders you’ll hear from in this episode:

·      Jeremy Dodson and Jay Korpi of NextLink Labs

·      Fady Saad, Co-Founder of MassRobotics

·      Suzy Teele, VP of Strategic Partnerships at the ARM Institute

·      Greg Smith, President, Industrial Automation Group at Teradyne

·      Jim Devaprasad, Professor and Director of Robotics at Lake Superior State University

·      Michael “Sully” Sullivan of Miller Resource Group

Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Eddie Saunders Jr. is a guy who wears a bunch of hats.

He’s the Creative Director and Brand Collaborator at Flex Machine Tools. He's got a background in theater. He runs an MMA gym. But – since this is a manufacturing podcast – you're most likely to know him as the host of the Flex & Friends, a web series where Eddie chats with influential and passionate leaders in the manufacturing industry.

While Eddie’s only been running this series for just over six months at the time of this episode in February 2022, he's made quite a name for himself in a short period of time.

In this episode, Eddie shares a little bit of everything from his multifaceted background and how it’s contributed to the success of Flex & Friends. He discusses the groundwork he did before starting the podcast and how the first six months have panned out for him.

Eddie also offers actionable tips for manufacturing leaders looking to create content for their brands.

In this episode, find out:

• How Eddie went from theater to manufacturing
• How Flex & Friends began
• What Eddie considered before starting Flex & Friends
• Marketing tips that work across industries
• Lessons Eddie has learned from running an MMA gym
• Actionable tips for manufacturing leaders creating content

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!

Tweetable Quotes:

• “It’s impossible to ignore the stigmas in manufacturing, but there are also a lot of amazing human beings in our broad and dynamic world, and my number one intention is to tell their stories.”
• “I would highly recommend that if you don't have the confidence to reach out to other individuals doing what you want to do, then I would say keep your eyes and ears open and watch what's being done.”
• “If you go into it just to make cool content, you're setting yourself up to fail, and not only will you fail to achieve an ROI, you’ll fail to achieve an ROE, which is a return on the effort.”

Links & mentions:

• Flex Machine Tools, an industrial machine tools company with a growing set of product lines and applications, including FlexCNC Vertical Machining Center, FlexJet Waterjet, FlexArm tapping, FlexBeam Drill Line, and FlexErgo
• Flex & Friends, a link to Eddie’s web series through Flex Machine Tools’ YouTube page
• Great Lakes Brewing Company, an iconic microbrewery located in Cleveland, OH with house suds, an updated American menu, free tours, and a patio

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

What’s the role of investment banking in manufacturing and logistics? Our guest this week is here to answer that question.

Firdaus Pohowalla is Managing Director at Cascadia Capital, where he leads investment banking coverage for robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence, or if we're talking in acronyms, RAAI.

In this episode, Firdaus gives us a little backstory on how he got to where he is now and why he’s always had an interest in tech and robotics. He explains why there’s such a big focus on RAAI in the investment world and what he thinks are the most exciting areas of these growing industries.

Firdaus goes on to explore the idea of robotics as a service (RaaS) and why that business model is so attractive to companies, customers, and investors. Firdaus also highlights the biggest challenges in the RaaS space and his advice for new companies looking to get involved in robotics. Finally, Firdaus breaks down the confusing alphabet soup that is Series A, B, and C funding rounds.

In this episode, find out:

• How he got involved in investing and robotics
• Why Cascadia Capital focuses on the RAAI space
• The most exciting areas of RAAI
• How robotics as a service works and why it’s attracting so much interest
• The challenges of RaaS and why the markets are slow to move on it
• Advice for new companies looking to get involved in RAAI
• How the Series A, B, C funding rounds work
• The effects of robotics and automation on the job market

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!

Tweetable Quotes:

• "B round is critical. If I think about all the rounds out there, the B round is where you really make or break your company.”
• “If you look at the development of the technology, and you see the sophistication of the software that's complementing all of the earlier stage solutions that have been coming out, the market is really poised for significant growth.”
• “I'd say the most important thing, and this is emotional, is make sure that you have real passion and conviction around your business idea. That's kind of entrepreneurship 101.”

Links & mentions:

• Cascadia Capital, leading middle market investment bank with a focus on applications for robotics, automation, and AI for food, beverage, and agribusiness applications
• RAAI Supply Chain Quarterly Marketing Report from Cascadia Capital (Fall 2021)
• 2021 AMR & Logistics Conference Takeaways from Cascadia Capital
• Queen Anne Beerhall, cool beer hall focusing on European & local brews plus eats, with an industrial look & ample seats in Seattle, WA

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Laura Timbrook is a national board-certified health and wellness coach who is focused specifically on the manufacturing industry, particularly on shift workers. She's also a speaker on the topic and runs her own podcast Outspoken Nutrition. We haven't really approached this topic on the show before, but it's one that Laura is uniquely qualified to cover.

Health and wellness isn’t a topic that’s discussed much in the manufacturing industry. But that doesn’t mean it’s not been an important issue since the inception of the sector. In this episode, Laura discusses the evolving nature of occupational health and wellness, especially as it stretches to accommodate the needs of workers in the manufacturing industry.

She also shares her thoughts on what she believes health and wellness will look like in the near future. She then goes on to share some words of advice for industry leaders looking to embrace the notion of a healthier workforce.

In this episode, find out:

• What being healthy looks like from a broader perspective
• How to reframe the health and wellness conversation for a shift worker in manufacturing
• How wellness contributes to retention and productivity in the workplace
• The evolution of wellness in the manufacturing industry
• What companies that have a thriving health and wellness culture are doing right
• How COVID has changed the general attitude towards health
• Common mistakes organizations make when implementing health and wellness initiatives
• Advice for manufacturing leaders looking to adopt a health-conscious culture

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!

Tweetable Quotes:

• "If you start small, you’ll make bigger changes.”
• “When we talk about what encompasses health and wellness, it’s not just sleep, nutrition, movement, it also covers relationships and an overall sense of purpose.”
• “Give your employees access to their “numbers,” once they start to see specifics on their health it suddenly hits home.”

Links & mentions:

• Outspoken Nutrition, a podcast that focuses on simple and doable ways to lead a healthy lifestyle and make better health-related choices.

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Erik Nieves is a robotics expert and an individual who believes technology should be used to elevate human existence and well-being. Erik has a very long history in the robotics world and is the CEO and Co-Founder of Plus One Robotics, a company that makes vision software for logistics robots. More than that, they deliver a novel approach that allows industrial robots and humans to work together. If you're trying to figure out what all this means, you'll want to listen to this interview…

In this episode, Erik breaks down the problem of technology hesitancy, what that means for companies’ bottom lines, and the overall labor shortage in this industry. He explains how robots can help, but also where humans need to step in and lend a helping hand.

Erik explains why we need to be empathetic to those who are a little technology hesitant and try to understand why that is. He also shares some stories of how he first got started in robotics, what it’s done for his career, and why he’s never looked back since.

In this episode, find out:

• How Erik first got started in robotics
• What the phrase “robots work, people rule” means
• Why technology hesitancy is a bad thing for manufacturing
• Why we need to understand why people are hesitant
• The mindset shift that needs to happen for people to embrace robotics
• Why keeping technology exclusive to remain competitive as a brand is bad for everyone

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!

Tweetable Quotes:

• “Robots are pretty good, but they're not going to be all the way. So when they need help, they raise their hand and go, can you give me a leg up on this? And that's when the human intervenes.”
• “If you are hesitant to bring in technologies that will get the work done a different way, well guess what, you're just going to run your people ragged.”
• “Robots work, people rule is first off an admission that technology can only take you so far.”

Links & mentions:

• Plus One Robotics, providing vision software for logistics robots that delivers an unparalleled approach to human-robot collaboration to tackle the challenges of variability and workforce shortages
• Señor Veggie, a low-key, colorful eatery featuring an eclectic menu of organic, locally-sourced vegan eats in San Antonio, TX

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

James Novak is the CEO of Fiix Software, a company that provides an industry-leading cloud-based CMMS that helps manufacturers plan, track, and optimize maintenance. It's also worth noting that just over one year ago, they were acquired by Rockwell Automation, which brings us back to the premise of today's show…leading through an acquisition!

Managing a company acquisition is a tough job, and keeping your team happy through it can be even more challenging. In this episode, James explains the steps leading up to Rockwell Automation’s acquisition and what he did to make the transition as smooth as possible.

He explains what the role of a CEO should be in this scenario and some tips for keeping employees reassured and happy with the process. James also gives some insights into how Fiix Software helps manufacturers better plan, track, and optimize maintenance programs.

In this episode, find out:

• What led James to become the CEO of Fiix Software
• Important lessons learned from his previous experiences at Blackberry
• Why you should always be innovating if you want to grow a company
• The kind of company James wanted to build
• How the Rockwell Automation acquisition happened
• How to lead a team through an acquisition
• Why a CEO should try to keep as many options open as possible
• Advice for other manufacturing leaders looking to be acquired
• The top surprises James faced when Fiix Software was being acquired

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!

Tweetable Quotes:

• “We believe that proper maintenance leads to sustainable outcomes in the world.”
• “So as long as everyone's focused on the customer, regardless of if you have differences of opinions, nobody's right, nobody's wrong. There are different paths to get there, and I felt like Rockwell was going to get the right thing done.”
• “If I'm a manufacturing company, and I'm going through an acquisition, or I'm thinking about acquiring, you have to be very, very deliberate about every single move that happens.”

Links & mentions:

• Fiix Software, a cloud-based CMMS software that helps manufacturers plan, track, and optimize maintenance with powerful integrations, reports, and embedded AI tools
• 2Cats Cocktail Lounge, a relaxed, cozy nightclub with a makeshift dance floor serving up music alongside cocktails & wine in Toronto, Canada

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Darrin Mitchell is the CEO of Mitchell Industries and the Chief Marketing Officer of Manufacturing Masters, an on-demand video platform featuring the world’s best manufacturing information. But before that, he was the CEO of a manufacturing company of his own for almost 20 years called Trout River Industries.

In this episode, Darrin gives us a bit of backstory on how he built the ‘Netflix of manufacturing’ after selling Trout River Industries. He shares the challenges of parting ways with his company and the important lessons he learned throughout his career.

Darrin doesn’t hold back and gives some solid tips for business owners in the manufacturing space about dealing with competition, finding balance in your life, and making better decisions going forward. He explains how Manufacturing Masters works and how it can help others in their quest to build better manufacturing businesses.

Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

In this episode, find out:

• Why Darrin built the ‘Netflix of manufacturing‘
• Why sometimes it’s better to collaborate than compete
• The importance of building healthy partnerships in manufacturing
• Why you shouldn’t try to be everything to everyone
• How to find a balance between work and home life
• What it’s like to sell a business that’s become part of your identity
• How Manufacturing Masters works

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here.

Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!

Tweetable Quotes:

• “It's very important to occupy the mind space of your current and unknown future customers.”
• “If your mindset is to compete, you're just using energy that inevitably is just for a completely lost cause. Because ultimately, your customers want to see you as a problem solver, not someone who just beat up their competitor.”
• “If you're thinking about the future of manufacturing, everything is in partnerships. And you have to make sure they're healthy partnerships.”

Links & mentions:

• Manufacturing Masters, training and content developed just for manufacturers from over 80 industry experts
• Mitchell Industries, offering a range of coaching and resource services

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Tanuj Thapliyal is an IT engineer and academic researcher-turned-entrepreneur. He's the Co-Founder and CEO of Spot AI, a video intelligence company that's helping manufacturers access and leverage video from their facility's cameras to make better business and operational decisions. It’s time to think about video security from a completely different perspective…

In this episode, Tanuj breaks down the main differences between video security and video intelligence and explains the different use cases for the latter. He gives us a bit of backstory into Spot AI and some examples of customers they have helped avert disaster with their fantastic service.

Tanuj explains why video intelligence should be about empowering workers with knowledge not Big Brother-style surveillance. He also explains Spot AI’s approach to cyber security and why customers always have full access to their own video to do with as they wish. Tanuj also shares some exciting news about Spot AI’s future.

In this episode, find out:

• What video intelligence is and how it’s different from video security
• Spot AI’s early beginnings to where it is now
• The different use cases for video intelligence
• Why video surveillance should empower the whole workforce, not watch them
• How Spot AI remains cyber-secure
• Spot AI’s plans for the future

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!

Tweetable Quotes:

• “The more people you give access to video to, the more it transforms that organization.”
• “From a company culture perspective, you need there to be a belief in education, a belief in learning, a belief in sharing knowledge with other people.”
• “You have to empower customers to keep the data where they want to keep the data, but enable them to solve the workflow and then enable a switch so they can revoke access.”

Links & mentions:

• Spot AI, a company that’s helping manufacturers access video footage to make faster, smarter decisions
• The Brass Monkey, an energetic stop offering steaks, ribs, burgers, and British-Indian curries plus beer & cocktails in Taipei, Taiwan

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.