Patti Nowak is a business leader in tech with stories so inspiring you’ll want to take notes. In this episode of the Manufacturing Happy Hour, we grab a beer with Patti, Owner of Control+M Solutions, to talk about mid-life entrepreneurship, mentoring women in manufacturing, and what it takes to build a thriving tech business. 

Patti started her career in accounting but quickly found her passion in IT and software, where she discovered a talent for turning complex technology into real business results. That blend of business acumen and tech know-how eventually led her to launch multiple successful companies - all at the age of 50.  

Through it all, Patti’s built her career on empathy, mentorship, and level-headed leadership. Whether she’s guiding a client through digital transformation or helping the next generation of women find their voice in manufacturing, Patti shares her advice on how to handle any situation with equal parts confidence, compassion, and common sense.

In this episode, find out:

• How the path to entrepreneurship is not a destination but a journey that, in Patti’s case, started a decade before she opened the door to her first business 
• Why starting a business later in life is an advantage
• Why Patti sees ERP as one of the most powerful tools manufacturers can adopt today
• Why mentoring women in the industry matters more now than ever, and why young women need to see other women in leadership positions
• The leadership lessons behind how Patti handles tough conversations
• How the smallest process change can sometimes make the biggest difference on the shop floor

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 start your business ten years before you open it.”
• “Technology is just a tool no different than a hammer for a carpenter. Used right, it can build your business. Used wrong, it can cost you a lot of anxiety and money.”
• “You can never really give anything away. That anything you give to the community, it will give back to you.”
• “Younger women really need to see older women in a successful position so they know that route exists.”
• “Great leadership is about trust. If you hired someone for their expertise, let them use it.”

Links & mentions: 

• Connect with Patti on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-nowak-mba-pmp-45311511/
• Control+M Solutions, project management, configuration, testing and data conversation assistance for Plex users: https://www.controlm.solutions/
• Plex by Rockwell Automation, the smart manufacturing platform that connects your people, systems, machines, and supply chains: https://plex.rockwellautomation.com/?utm_source=show+notes&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=manufacturing+happy+hour 

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 does it really take to help manufacturers grow? It’s not just about cutting costs or chasing margins. It’s about understanding how capital really moves through your business. In this episode, we’re sitting down with Erik Skie, Jon Hughes, and Aaron Traut from CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) for a roundtable chat over beers (in spirit, if not literally).

We talk about why profitability is a decision, how to tell your story through your financials, and what manufacturers can do to attract capital and fuel real growth.

We also discuss opportunities like bonus depreciation and the Made in America initiative, giving manufacturers timely insights they can act on right now.

In this episode, find out:

• Why most manufacturers focus on price and cost but overlook capacity, and how filling unused capacity can unlock new profit.
• How profitability is a decision, not just an outcome, and how daily choices around people, machines, and space shape your results.
• Why you don’t manage financial statements; you manage the shop floor activities that create strong financials.
• How staying financially organized builds lender confidence through accurate books and clear storytelling.
• Why looking inside your business before seeking outside funding can uncover hidden capital in cash flow and working capital.
• How telling a clear, confident financial story helps your company stand out to banks and investors.
• And why when you get the fundamentals right, opportunity finds you. Capital naturally flows to disciplined, efficient manufacturers.

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 not just about having the numbers, it’s about understanding the story behind them.” - Jon Hughes
• “Capital may come just because somebody loves what you’re doing and wants to help you do it for that next expansion.” - Aaron Traut
• “We don’t manage financial statements. We manage activities on the floor that create good financial results.” – Erik Skie 

Links & mentions:

• Connect with Erik Skie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-skie-9599814/
• Connect with Aaron Traut: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-traut-manufacturing-distribution/
• Connect with Jon Hughes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonhughescpa/
• CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen), a professional services firm delivering integrated wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, outsourcing, and consulting services.
• Made in America (madeinamerica.gov), a U.S. government initiative led by the Office of Management and Budget that supports American manufacturing by promoting domestic production, strengthening supply chains, and ensuring federal investments prioritize U.S.-made goods. 

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. 

It's been five years since Wendy Covey, CEO and Co-Founder of TREW Marketing, and Joe Sullivan, Founder of Gorilla 76, first joined Manufacturing Happy Hour, back when everyone was scrambling to figure out digital marketing during the pandemic.

We sit down with them to explore which marketing fundamentals still deliver results and what new tactics manufacturers can't afford to ignore. The core truth hasn't changed: your best content still comes from extracting knowledge from industry experts. But where that content needs to live? That's completely different.

PR is making a comeback, or as Wendy calls it, “the second coming of PR” while Joe shares how manufacturers can build knowledge bases from existing content to feed AI tools the right way.

Both agree that becoming the best resource for your audience beats trying to game the system every time. And with showing up in ChatGPT becoming both more important and more challenging, manufacturers need to think beyond their own websites to build credibility across digital platforms.

In this episode, find out:

• Why the best content still comes from extracting knowledge from industry experts
• Which timeless marketing strategies still deliver results
• The surprising resurgence of PR and why engineers are starting to trust it more than ever
• How showing up in ChatGPT is getting harder, and what actually works
• The patience problem among industrial marketers and why ROI questions after 3 months miss the point
• How manufacturers are successfully using community-driven marketing
• What to look forward to at the Industrial Marketing Summit 2026 and why attendees keep coming back

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:

• “With generative search, they’re placing more value in third-party placements. So it’s still the idea of being a topical authority, but you can’t just do it on your website. You need to be a topical authority in industry publications, Reddit, YouTube, and all these other sources.” - Wendy Covey
• “Whether it’s Google or ChatGPT, they’re trying to display the best information and the most helpful possible information. It’s just getting packaged up differently. And how do you make sure you’re part of what shows up? You build credibility for yourself.” - Joe Sullivan
• “A lot of digital strategies have evolved but are still tried and true. So that’s educating your audience, and publishing content on a regular cadence. Knowing your audience and building a strong value proposition that speaks to their pain points.” - Wendy Covey

Links & mentions:

• Industrial Marketing Summit 2026, an annual three-day gathering where manufacturing and industrial marketers connect to share practical insights, learn emerging strategies, and build community with peers facing similar challenges
• TREW Marketing, partners with B2B technical companies to establish strong marketing foundations, create engaging content strategies, and accelerate growth through research-backed campaigns tailored for engineering audiences
• Gorilla 76, an industrial marketing agency that helps B2B companies in the manufacturing ecosystem grow through outcome-focused marketing programs built specifically for industrial markets 

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.

This episode is brought to you by RoboBusiness 2025, the preeminent show for learning about the business of robotics and catching up on the latest engineering advancements in the field.

Robotics has moved beyond pilots. it’s scaling for real. In this bonus episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, host Chris Luecke sits down with Sanjay Aggarwal, Partner at F-Prime Capital, to explore the State of Robotics from an investor’s perspective.

Sanjay shares where venture capital is flowing in robotics and automation, which technologies are market-ready today, and what’s still on the horizon. He also breaks down what manufacturers can learn from early adopters and what investors look for in robotics founders.

If you want to understand where robotics and manufacturing innovation are headed in 2025 - and why now is the time to act - this conversation is for you.

Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

It’s been over a year since we’ve talked about cybersecurity on Manufacturing Happy Hour, and with AI changing the game completely, we’re overdue for a refresh. Around 80-85% of the global industry doesn’t have basic defense at the edge of their networks; that’s a sobering statistic.

Felipe Sabino Costa, Senior Product Manager for Networking and Cybersecurity at Moxa, joins the show to break down why Operational Technology (OT) security matters more than ever.

Manufacturers need to transmit massive amounts of data for AI and predictive analytics, but they’re working with 15–20-year-old infrastructure that wasn’t built for this.

The good news is, Felipe shares practical frameworks like NIST and IEC 62443 (which he compares to nutrition labels) that help manufacturers build security into their operations.

The key takeaway? There's no silver bullet; it's about building layers of defense and finding the right partners.

In this episode, find out:

• Why OT data has shifted from historical logging to real-time predictive power
• The bandwidth issue hitting intelligent transportation systems and semiconductor manufacturing
• How AI enables attackers to adapt their attacks in real-time
• Why 80-85% of global industry lacks protection
• Felipe's nutrition label analogy for understanding security certifications
• The difference between thinking your air-gapped and actually being air-gapped
• Why defense requires multiple layers of security
• Felipe's outlook on the future of OT networks

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 used to be air-gapped or isolated. And many of the companies, they still think that they are, but they are not anymore. To be really air-gapped, I shouldn't have any way to send data.”
• “Give and take, 80% of the global industry, including the US, does not have these specific layers of defense. They have some defense, but they have nearly zero protection close to the process itself.”
• “There is no silver bullet. We are seeing this shift right from how we used to do security. A strategy should be way more sophisticated.”

Links & mentions:

• OT Network Security: Investment & Segmentation Strategies, a webinar that addresses the financial and operational risks posed by cyber threats while offering hands-on guidance for OT network security 
• Futureproof Industrial Networks, a website shares how to design and implement a robust, secure, and efficient network infrastructure that can meet the demands of modern industrial environments and optimize operational processes
• Moxa, delivering the reliable and secure connectivity foundation that advanced analytics and AI depend on, with solutions in edge connectivity, industrial computing, and network infrastructure  

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.

Before Silicon Valley, there was Pittsburgh in the early 1900s. Young entrepreneurs with serious capital flocked to the city, creating industries from the ground up. Plate glass. Oil drilling. Vulcanized rubber. Steel processes that would literally build America's skyline. 

But today, something incredible is happening in the Steel City again. The same superstructures tower overhead, but below, you’ll find robots solving automation challenges that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. 

We sit down with Jay Douglass, COO of the ARM Institute, inside the historic Mill 19 facility. The epic building sits beneath a 1,400-foot steel framework that once stored World War II ammunition. Only now, it houses one of our country’s most advanced robotics labs, and it’s all powered by the largest slope solar array in North America. 

This story is personal to Jay, too. We learn that his great uncle was the first head of workforce at the steel company that operated on this exact site back in 1883. Four generations later, Jay's tackling a problem as old as time: how do you help American manufacturers scale and stay competitive? 

In this episode, find out: 

• How 450+ Pittsburgh companies are working together instead of against each other 
• The truth behind America's manufacturing dependence (and why we'd be lost buying only US-made products) 
• Why robotics seems like building the "Starship Enterprise" to small manufacturers, and the practical solutions that overcome this 
• A compelling family story spanning 140 years at the same industrial site, from steel workforce supervisor to robotics leader 
• How proper robotics risk assessments save expensive automation mistakes later down the line 
• His formula for the future of domestic manufacturing: Robots + people = Scalability + skillset 
• The history of the Mill 19 building from 1940, when it was constructed, to now 

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 created the industrial world 130 years ago, and now we're really pushing the robotics industry.” - Jay Douglass 
• “We're not going to buy you a robot. We're gonna help you make a better decision.” - Jay Douglass 
• “Another thing about small businesses; if they're not focused on cost, quality, and time to market, by definition they're going out of business.” - Jay Douglass 

Links & mentions:  

• Connect with Jay Douglass, Chief Operating Officer, ARM Institute on LinkedIn. 
• ARM Institute operates as America's manufacturing robotics consortium, where 450+ companies from start-ups to Fortune 500 giants collaborate on automation projects. 

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. 

Manufacturers know that automation is table stakes in 2025, and yet it’s still a bit of an afterthought for some. You'd think something that can make or break a facility would be everyone’s number one priority. And as you'll hear in this episode, overlooking automation can sometimes have disastrous consequences.  

In this episode, we sit down with Cassy Gardner and Chris Schleich from E Tech Group over virtual Pellegrinos to unpack a real-world case study. They were called in to revive a mothballed solar facility where the owners had accidentally destroyed critical automation infrastructure during demolition. Cut wiring, severed connections, damaged systems... all the stuff they didn't realize was essential until it was gone. 

The two walk us through everything from why Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) studies matter (even when you're racing against the clock) to how “humble confidence” became their project philosophy. You'll hear about oversized electrical panels, “pit bull” project managers, and why sometimes the best sales strategy is just showing up when you say you will. 

In this episode, find out: 

• Why automation often becomes an afterthought in capital projects, and the surprising impact that has 
• How automation may be a small slice of the spend, but determines how the plant runs 
• The most common pitfall manufacturers face when it comes to automation planning 
• What a FEED study is, and why it's essential in fast-paced projects 
• How "humble confidence" and "tenacious politeness" became guiding principles for E Tech 
• What happens when demolition destroys critical wiring and IO connections and how a hazardous monitoring partner failed mid-project 
• Lessons any manufacturer can apply whether that's running a project with 45 people or just five 

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: 

• “Typically, in a large capital project, the automation budget is around 10%. But it's a really critical 10% that you need to invest to have the manufacturing work the way you want to work.” – Cassy Gardner  
• “Automation relative to mechanical, electrical process, etc. has an outsized impact.”– Chris Schleich  
• “Always start earlier than you think you need to start. If you can engage a partner who is an expert in automation, you will set yourself up for a foundation of success.” – Cassy Gardner  

Links & mentions: 

• E Tech Group, one of the largest engineering and systems integration companies in the US, providing automation, control and information systems 

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. 

Manufacturers (not just the guys on the shop floor, but the C-suite behind them) are on a race to the finish line when it comes to automation. Most of us by now are pretty familiar with how AI and automation can play a role in manufacturing. But it looks like we’re heading to the next stage…

In this episode, we hear from Chris Stevens, the SVP & GM of US Automation Business at Siemens Digital Industries. We grab a virtual drink and kick the episode off with an interesting paradox – twenty years ago, the push was to automate humans out of processes. But today, we’re figuring out how to bring them back.

Chris talks about where we’re heading now with AI – from reactive tools to proactive partners with the rise of agentic AI. He talks about how the new and improved era of AI can make adaptive manufacturing a reality – imagine having one line but with multiple configurations.

Digital transformation is a big theme in this episode, but it’s not just about tools and technology. Chris highlights the role of people in the new age of manufacturing too.

In this episode, find out:

• Chris explains the biggest changes since he’s been in the industry and why the focus has moved on from just ‘lean manufacturing’
• A breakdown of what adaptive manufacturing is and how it ties into automation and AI
• How the lines are blurring between IT and manufacturing roles
• How AI could help to bring humans back into the loop – internal and external use cases
• Agentic AI vs. reactive tools like Copilot and how manufacturers can use AI agents in real examples
• The top lightbulb moments around AI and why data contextualization is how we move one step forward as an industry
• Different ways adaptive production methods are changing manufacturing processes
• How adaptive production ties into the trends around reshoring
• Why more manufacturers need to use digital twin technology
• Current digital transformation trends and why it’s not just about the technology

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 contextualization of data is extremely important. That's where the work's got to happen.”
• “Two decades ago, it was 'how can I take humans out of the loop?' Today it's 'how do I bring humans back in the loop?'”
• “There's a lot of digital transformation projects that fail, and it has nothing to do with the technology. It has everything to do with usability. Making sure that people like it and then how we implement it.”

Links & mentions:

• Siemens Digital Industries, business platform that helps organizations digitally transform using software and hardware like digital twin technology

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.

We just can’t stay away from Pittsburgh’s robotics scene! So we’re back, this time turning the spotlight on the business and startup angle with Premier Labs. Premier Labs is a corporate venture studio, a relatively new model that changes how technology comes to market.

President Joel Reed joins the episode to give real examples and explanations about how a corporate venture studio works. In short, Premier Labs starts with real problems and works backward to create solutions that actually fit.

Finding product-market fit is usually the biggest hump for new product companies to get over. But that’s only an issue if you start with the product first. Premier Labs’ approach starts with the problem first and then builds a solution and a company around that. Joel explains how this pretty much guarantees product-market fit, plus how businesses are already succeeding through Premier Labs. 

In this episode, find out:

• Why Pittsburgh is the capital of robotics in the US
• How Premier Labs is solving startup problems with its corporate venture studio model
• The product-market fit challenge and why the studio model basically eliminates it
• Differences between service vs product-based companies and why Premier Labs decided to stay separate from the robotics company
• Real examples of companies the studio has helped to support and grow
• Why Premier Labs is looking out for operational leaders rather than just tech founders to head up the new companies
• How Pittsburgh has been crucial to Premier’s success
• Joel tells us why he chose Premier Labs for the next stage of his career

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:

• “There's this mentality called break-fix, which is when things break, we'll fix them. But we really can get ahead of that."
• “You get to learn a customer's problem before you actually start designing the solution.”
• “We validate that product-market fit, and then we look for people with credibility with the customers who might have some execution or operational experience to be able to build those companies.” 

Links & mentions:

• Premier Automation, an industry leading engineered solutions company focused on providing best-in-class automation, drive, robotics, electrical control, and more
• Premier Labs, a corporate venture studio that creates purpose-built companies to solve business problems using automation, robotics and artificial intelligence
• The Abbey on Butler Street, a trendy, spacious cafe serving espresso, craft beer and cocktails, plus new American cuisine in Pittsburgh, PA’s Lawrenceville neighborhood

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.

As manufacturers are under pressure to do more with less and somehow fill roles in an increasingly smaller talent pool, unlocking your “hidden factory” could be the solution.

To celebrate episode 250, Chris Luecke returns home to St. Louis to meet with some of his early career mentors from Rockwell Automation – now heading up Tri Tech Automation.

Ryan Williams, Director of Innovation and Solution Sales, Adam Ruebsam, President, and Luke Manier, Managing Director, sit down at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company for a trip down memory lane and a look forward to the future of manufacturing.

The hidden factory concept is simple – how do we uncover the untapped potential in our existing resources? We talk about what that looks like for Tri Tech Automation and how they help customers find those new opportunities. Mentorship is a big theme in this conversation, so we discuss the importance of reaching out to the right people, whether you’re new in your career or want to try something different.

Plus, we look at what we can learn from the Savannah Bananas baseball team (believe it or not, we could learn a thing or two from their customer-first approach).

Cheers to 250 episodes and counting!

In this episode, find out:

• We start with the most important question – what beer did everyone pick?
• Ryan, Adam, and Luke introduce themselves and Tri Tech Automation, and Chris reminisces with his mentors from his Rockwell Automation days
• How Tri Tech Automation focuses on helping customers right-size their tech and find new solutions from their existing resources
• What is a hidden factory and how do you unlock more potential from what you already have?
• The most common issues that manufacturers struggle with
• Real stories about what unlocking a hidden factory really looks like
• How Tri Tech Automation is focused on a three-year plan to unlock its own hidden factories within the workforce, tech, and processes 
• How they’ve unlocked potential across two different locations
• What manufacturers can learn from the Savannah Bananas
• Advice for young people getting into the industry and for those already in manufacturing
• Why mentors are the biggest bonus to your manufacturing career

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 “hidden factory” represents the untapped potential to do more in their operations with the resources that they have. It represents the invisible inefficiencies and unutilized capacity." - Luke
• "It's business value first and technology second. We have to right-size the technology... but we really need to start with the business outcomes." - Adam
• “Customers know they've got inefficiencies, but they can't quantify it without the data. So it starts with gathering on the front end and then analyzing the low-hanging fruit, where the biggest improvements are.” - Ryan

Links & mentions:

• Tri Tech Automation, a full-service control systems integrator providing R&D, controls design, programming, fabrication, start-up, and commissioning based in St. Louis and Tulsa
• EOS - Entrepreneurial Operating System, a complete set of real-world tools that help entrepreneurs get what they want from their business
• Urban Chestnut Brewing Company, a St. Louis brew pub specializing in German beer and lagers with a variety of beer styles from IPAs to weissbiers

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.