Manufacturing Happy Hour

When we talk about building a more productive and competitive manufacturing industry, talk of AI, automation, and other new tech usually crops up. But let’s not forget the basics – the way we power, staff, and build sustainable practices. That stuff’s also important.

We’re in an era of transformation right now, but it’s definitely not the first time the US has gone through this. In fact, we get a little history lesson in this episode from Ted Fertik, VP of Manufacturing & Industrial Policy at BlueGreen Alliance. With a PhD in Economic History, we hear how today's manufacturing challenges mirror our history and what we can learn from it.

As we look to the future, Ted talks about today’s greater demands on the electrical grid but also why a low carbon economy and electrification are the future. Ted gives us a breakdown on the work that BlueGreen Alliance is doing to make manufacturing more sustainable and attractive to fresh talent and investors.

In this episode, find out:

• Ted shares his background as a PhD grad in Economic History with a focus on industry
• Some stories from industrial history that inspired Ted to build a career, including the history of Brazil and the UK’s industries
• How industrial strategy has been successfully rolled out in other countries in the past
• What the BlueGreen Alliance does to help build a low carbon economy and a stronger industry
• Why focusing on investment into transformation benefits everyone, not just the economy
• The connection between sustainability and productivity and why they benefit each other and workers
• Why manufacturing is such a critical part of a healthy modern economy, especially in the US
• What a low carbon future could look like and why we can’t overlook the effect on the demand for electricity
• How manufacturing and industry can attract talent and the role of trade unions
• How to attract investment to a capital-intensive industry and the role of the public sector in making it economically viable
• Why we need to make sure that the benefits of careers and investment in manufacturing are widely felt across the population

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 need the benefits of the manufacturing economy to be really widely felt. And we need them to be real.”
• “There's a powerful link between making things with less carbon and the prospect of huge gains in productivity and in material wellbeing for people.”
• “As we're thinking about building out manufacturing, an affordable, stable, and reliable clean grid is an essential ingredient to a thriving, future-facing manufacturing sector in the US.” 

Links & mentions:

• BlueGreen Alliance, an organization that shapes US industrial policy with a focus on good-paying union jobs and environmental progress 
• St. Arnold’s Mussel Bar, serving an extensive variety of mussels, Belgian beers, waffles, and more in a ground-level, brick-lined space near Dupond Circle in Washington, DC  

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.

Get ready for a front-row seat to Europe’s biggest automation event! In this bonus episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, host Chris Luecke and Jake Hall – The Manufacturing Millennial – share their excitement and preview what’s ahead at Automatica 2025, taking place June 24–27 in Munich, Germany.

Chris and Jake discuss:

• What makes German manufacturing a global powerhouse in automation and vocational training
• What to expect from Automatica: major exhibitors, international tech showcases, and epic trade show booths
• Why this event is a must-attend for anyone in robotics, smart manufacturing, and industrial automation

Plus, they crack open a special "Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty" IPA, brewed just for the occasion, and share some of their favorite Munich spots to check out between sessions. Whether you're attending the event or watching from afar, this episode sets the stage for one of the year’s most important industrial showcases.

🎥 Don’t forget: Daily video recaps and a full post-show episode will follow!

We’re seeing a huge leap in potential when it comes to what AI can accomplish in industrial settings. Not only can it catch errors, it can provide intelligent insights to prevent them in the first place, reduce waste, save costs, and improve processes.  

Recorded live from Automate 2025, we sat down with Alvin Clark, Senior AI Engineer at NVIDIA, to discuss AI agents in manufacturing and how they’re reshaping industrial inspections. We hear about all the different use cases of AI agents, including error detection and understanding the root cause of errors, saving costs, and even supplying training data to patch the gaps in “tribal knowledge” of manufacturing processes.  

You’ll hear real examples of how AI agents have saved costs and reduced errors drastically when monitoring SOPs and how they can provide multimodal maintenance assistance. Alvin also takes us through how NVIDIA’s Metropolis works at helping developers create visual AI agents and why the next few years will see visual AI inspections take off in manufacturing.  

In this episode, find out: 

• Alvin shares his background in the AI space and why he saw potential in AI earlier than most  
• Why 2012 was the real AI boom and how we saw a shift from the algorithm being king to data being king 
• Alvin’s explanation for what an AI agent does in four stages  
• How AI agents are evolving beyond capturing data to providing intelligence in industrial settings 
• How vision inspection can perform not only real time error detection but also real time failure analysis 
• Use cases for AI agents and examples of how Alvin has seen them most successful 
• How AI agents could also address the skills gap and replace the multimodal “tribal knowledge” we’ll lose when people start retiring 
• Alvin breaks down how Metropolis works to help developers build visual AI agents 
• How simulation, training and data transform what AI agents can accomplish 
• Alvin’s perspective on where manufacturers are in their industrial AI journeys 
• The role of systems integrators in leading the AI revolution 
• What the next phase of AI agents will look like   

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: 

• “Metropolis is a combination of models and tools that are used to build what we call vision analytics. So anytime you're looking at video images and you want to extract information from that, these are the tools that can help you do that.” - Alvin Clark 
• “It's not really the ability to catch the error, it's the ability to, as quickly as possible understand the genesis that caused the error.” - Alvin Clark 
•  ”If I had to kind of describe an AI agent, it is a collection of one or more models that can perceive, reason, and potentially plan and then execute.” - Alvin Clark 

Links & mentions: 

• NVIDIA Metropolis, automating physical spaces and infrastructure with interactive visual AI agents and services 
• AlexNet, a convolutional neural network architecture developed for image classification tasks, like identifying a cat 

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.

Imagine having a tireless teammate watching your back 24/7, never missing a beat when it comes to keeping you safe. That’s exactly what AI agents in manufacturing are capable of today.  

Spot AI uses cameras and AI agents to spot safety issues, send alerts, and collect data that can improve safety training in the future. Yes, a human could do all that. But who wants to spend 8 hours a day reviewing footage? In this episode, Dunchadhn Lyons, Director of Engineering, shares a real-world example of a safety manager freeing up time and reducing safety incidents by 40%.   

He joins us at Batch Brewing for our Automate afterparty, along with this episode’s co-host, Jake Hall, aka The Manufacturing Millennial.  

We explore how AI agents are transforming ordinary security cameras into intelligent safety monitors that can spot forklift near-misses, missing PPE, and operational bottlenecks before they become costly problems. Plus, we chat about how these "AI teammates" can capture and preserve the invaluable knowledge of experienced workers before they retire – addressing one of manufacturing's biggest challenges. Tune in for the full story and don’t forget to subscribe! 

In this episode, find out: 

• Dunchadhn breaks down the basics of what an AI agent in manufacturing is and how they’re designed to make our lives easier 
• How Spot AI uses cameras as “AI teammates” to monitor for potential safety issues and use data for training   
• How an AI agent could be used to fill in the gaps in knowledge after people start retiring in manufacturing  
• Where Dunchadhn sees the future of AI agents headed and how Spot AI could expand beyond using cameras  
• The best use cases for AI agents and Spot AI’s solution in manufacturing  
• Dunchadhn shares an example of one workplace where they achieved a 40% reduction in safety issues  
• How manufacturers can get started with improving safety with AI and why adopting Spot AI’s solution is simpler than you might think 
• How to get buy-in from a team to use cameras for safety monitoring  
• How Spot AI can also help businesses make operational improvements, with one example of a company avoiding millions in lost revenue 
• Where can AI agents go in the future? Dunchadhn shares his predictions for the future of AI agents in manufacturing 
• The best way to get more people onboard with AI agents  

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: 

• "A 40% reduction in safety incidents means that people are safer. It means you can go to work, get your job done, and you can go to your family without having a fear of ending up in the hospital for a couple of weeks."
•  "AI agents can serve as training mechanisms for other new human employees so that tribal knowledge is not lost."
• "These AI teammates are really about supporting humans, making humans safer, making humans more efficient, and augmenting human abilities. There's definitely no notion of replacement or monitoring." 

Links & mentions: 

• Spot AI, video AI agents for the physical world 
• Batch Brewing, brewery and restaurant located in Corktown, Detroit, MI
• The Manufacturing Millennial, Jake Hall’s website 

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.

Without customer buy-in, even the most innovative robotics automation products can fall flat. But the approach most manufacturers take with new products is to build them first, then get feedback. In this episode, you’ll hear how one company flipped the script and did robotics product development the other way around.   

Joining this episode is Anthony Leo, President of IPR Robotics, a robotics automation company, to explain how a customer advisory board became invaluable for uncovering exactly what customers need – before they even built the product. You’ll also hear Mandy Dwight, Founder of Dwight & Company, a marketing and sales company that works with automation companies to tell and sell their story to customers. 

While they come from different areas of the sales cycle, both Mandy and Anthony share great insights into how products are transformed from ideas to implemented solutions. We hear about how to avoid customer prevention and friction in the sales cycle, how larger companies can act like startups, and the secrets to selling based on value, not just technical specs.  

In this episode, find out: 

• We talk about all the important food places and bars in the Boston and Detroit areas our guests come from   
• How Anthony and Mandy first met and decided to start working together 
• Why companies need to fully support those in R&D to drive product innovation  
• How IPR’s Sawyer robot brought something new to the market at the time as a two-armed humanoid robot  
• The different strengths that Mandy and Anthony bring to the manufacturing and product innovation space   
• The top lessons they’ve learned from their previous experiences in the industry that they still use in their roles today  
• Why the most important lesson Mandy learned as a marketing business founder is to listen to customers  
• The importance of telling a company’s value story and selling beyond the tech spec sheets  
• Why all stakeholders in the sales cycle need to understand the value story and how that can look different for each one  
• Why Anthony built an advisory board of customers to get feedback and insights before starting development 
• How large companies can use startup style tactics to fast-track product innovation 
• What a “customer prevention team” does to remove friction from the buying process  
• Why you sometimes need to build an ecosystem of partners to reduce friction  
• The secrets to a great product innovation team and why silos in a company should be avoided 
• Mandy explains more about what IPR Robotics does from her perspective as a marketer 

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: 

• "Instead of burning a bunch of cash trying to go through development, let's go find three to five customers that we think fit in the wheelhouse of the problem we think we found and ask them if they wouldn't mind being involved in the development of the product." – Anthony 
• "A lot of founders tell the technical story... But a customer wants to hear value. How is this automation going to show up in my facility and really be a game changer." – Mandy 
• "People buy from people at the end of the day. Some people are willing to spend more money with people they trust and solve problems... compared to saving 10, 20% and dealing with headaches the whole way through." – Anthony

Links & mentions: 

• IPR Robotics, robotics solutions provider of peripheries, robot grippers, RTUs and more 
• Dwight & Company, sales and marketing company for automation innovators and industry 
• Detroit “Coney Wars,” decide whether you prefer Lafayette Coney Island or American Coney Island, and don’t miss Mudgie’s Deli while you’re in The D. 
• Beantown Pub, classic American pub based on the famous Freedom Trail in downtown Boston 

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.

How does a startup scale? It all starts with a great product that solves a real problem. And sometimes that means taking the slow and steady road to startup success.

Recorded at Trillium Brewing in Boston, we sit down with Adi Dalvi, the VP of Sales at OSARO, a company that specializes in robot piece-picking and machine learning solutions to automate warehouse tasks. With minimal marketing in the early days, OSARO managed to grow and scale operations to deliver holistic systems to solve real warehouse challenges. 

The secret? Rather than rushing technology and products to market and hoping someone bites, OSARO spent years perfecting products before deploying. We hear about how its founders, with backgrounds in industry, achieved calculated growth and targeted the right customers from the beginning.

Adi shares his view on the four types of people you need on your startup team, how OSARO set 3-step criteria for finding the right customers, and Adi’s approach to getting great case studies from customers.

In this episode, find out:

• Adi gives a breakdown of what OSARO does – developing vision software and machine learning to integrate with articulating arm robots in the warehouse
• What “calculated growth” means at OSARO and the importance of taking the time to develop products before deploying
• Why Adi wouldn’t describe OSARO as a startup anymore and instead a company in early-stage growth
• Why companies shouldn’t rush to get products out when they’re still in the research project stage
• The benefits of having founders come from industry
• The three-step criteria OSARO used to pick the right customers in the beginning
• How startups can extend their runway and keep investors updated with the progress
• Adi’s method for getting customer case studies in the early negotiation stages with customers
• What four types of founder backgrounds bring to a startup and why you benefit from having them all
• How OSARO managed to achieve growth without marketing in the early days by focusing on perfecting the product
• Adi’s advice for startups just trying to get early customers so they can grow and scale successfully
• The best part about running this podcast and how things have changed since going down the entrepreneur route

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:

• "Really testing your product, making sure it's robust with actual products that you're going to pick is very important as you move from very early company to somebody that can scale."
• "They wanted to have a deployable product before they actually deployed to a customer site... You don't want to deploy a research project into your customers’ warehouses where they're actually fulfilling orders for their customers."
• "What [someone with a VC background] brings is they’ve seen a lot of competing technologies and understand what those technologies are doing well and what they're not doing well."

Links & mentions:

• OSARO, manufacturer of robot piece-picking and machine learning solutions to automate warehouse tasks
• Adi’s Pittsburgh brewery crawl, including Grist House, Dancing Gnome, Pittsburgh Brewing Co., and Cinderlands
• Row 34, seafood restaurant found in Boston’s historic Fort Point neighborhood in the renovated Boston Wharf Company’s old warehouse
• Trillium Brewing, brewing company operating across multiple locations around New England
• Joe Fenti, Boston-based standup comedian

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 role does higher ed play in making sure manufacturing thrives? Universities and other higher ed hubs are playing a leading role in shaping the future of this industry. And MIT is a prime example of this, with specialist courses to help graduates and professionals get the skills they need to bring new innovations to life.

We’re joined by the Principal Investigator of MIT’s LEAP Group (Learning Engineering and Practice), Dr. John Liu. As someone deeply involved in building much-needed programs, including the MicroMasters and TechAMP, we asked for his take on manufacturing today, what we can learn from history, and higher ed’s role in revitalizing the industry.

We also talk about the hot topic of globalization and offshoring and what research says about the impact on the U.S. as an innovator economy.

In this episode, find out:

• An introduction to LEAP Group and Dr. John’s role in researching and leading programs to help the future of manufacturing leaders
• How John’s career pivoted to the manufacturing side of tech
• What people should know about MIT’s history in manufacturing, including innovative practices and technologies we still use today
• What can we learn from history that applies to manufacturing in today’s AI-driven world?
• The impact of globalization and the conclusions that an MIT report came to about its impact on an innovator economy
• How manufacturing has changed since the report was published and what John would add that’s relevant today
• What is MIT doing to help educate and drive innovation across manufacturing and tech
• Dr. John explains his involvement in the MicroMasters program as its founder
• The four principles of manufacturing that remain universal and timeless
• How MIT’s programs differ from trade or regular tech schools
• How the TechAMP program differs from MicroMasters as a program for professionals already in the industry
• Dr. John gives an overview of MIT’s collaborations with the DoD and Manufacturing USA
• The important role that higher ed plays in reindustrialization

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 we just continue to set up walls, we'll never learn and innovate. And so how do we, instead of setting up walls, reach across walls and learn from all the innovation that's happening?"
• "We lose our ability to innovate if we produce elsewhere. Why? Because when you actually are forced to go from prototype to make a lot of these things, the design changes in all these sorts of ways... That's a whole type of innovation that is not as celebrated in our country today."
• "No matter what age, what company, you always have to be able to control four things: manufacturing processes, manufacturing systems, the supply, the people and finances. Always these four."

Links & mentions:

• The Machine That Changed the World, a book written by MIT professors about finding success in automotive manufacturing, which led to the popularity of lean manufacturing
• Making in America: From Innovation to Market, a book written by MIT scientists, engineers and social scientists about rebuilding the industrial landscape in the U.S.
• TechAMP, a 12-month program at MIT LEAP Group to bridge the gap between technicians and engineers
• MITx MicroMasters, a program to accelerate your Master’s degree at MIT
• 165: Unlocking the Full Potential of Frontline Operations, Lean Manufacturing, and Industry 4.0 with Natan Linder, a previous episode with Natan Linder of Tulip Interfaces
• Miracle of Science Bar + Grill - Cambridge, situated next to MIT is a longtime local favorite known for its laid-back vibe, standout burgers, and rotating selection of craft beers

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.

Sometimes indecision costs more than a wrong decision. Making decisions is a leader’s bread and butter, but during times of uncertainty or crisis, they often become more cautious and hesitant. The danger here is getting left behind while more confident, proactive leaders charge ahead.

Jason T. Ray, Co-Founder and CEO of Paperless Parts, is a regular on Manufacturing Happy Hour, so we compare some of the insights he made when he was last on the show to what he’s seeing in the industry today.

One of the big ones was on the skills gap – or “leadership gap” as Jason calls it. The good news is that this seems to be closing, with more manufacturing leaders taking advantage of the vast amounts of information and industry insights out there in the form of articles and podcasts. We hear Jason’s approach to great leadership in manufacturing and the positive changes he’s seen in the industry lately.

We also chat about scaling effectively, complying with CMMC, and how to avoid getting lost in the AI hype cycle.

In this episode, find out:

• The four pillars that are leading Paperless Parts to greatness and successful expansion
• Why the leadership gap (which Jason said last time was responsible for the skills gap) seems to be closing
• Positive changes Jason’s seeing when it comes to preparing younger professionals for leadership positions
• How to navigate through uncertain times and the important lesson he learned in the Navy that he still uses today
• The power of decisive leadership and what happens when leaders are overly cautious
• The leading indicators in the industry that Jason watches closely to help him make great long-term decisions
• The gap between data and information and why data alone is not enough to make good decisions
• How small to medium manufacturers can win government contracts and become CMMC compliant
• The common mistake shop leaders make about AI and why leaders should start with the low-hanging fruit that we know AI is great for
• The easiest ways to scale in today’s market and how to get your team onboard with a growth mindset
• Jason’s thoughts on the opportunities of reshoring and why we need to meet the right balance between global collaboration without dependence
• Jason talks about the Cutting Through the Noise videos series and why he aims to highlight the truly important insights in the industry for busy manufacturing leaders

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:

• “I think they're putting young people in their organizations in positions of responsibility. I think more and more they're realizing that these young professionals are ready to take on that responsibility and those folks are bringing new ideas in.”
• “I think it is such an important understanding of what the right level of global collaboration is where you have not fallen into dependence.”
• “When you're leading through a period of uncertainty that tends to lead folks to indecision. And that can waste a lot of people's time and shatter your team's confidence in your ability as a leader. The folks that are most successful at leading through a crisis lead with very decisive action.”

Links & mentions:

• Paperless Parts, quoting software for manufacturers to help part manufacturers streamline the quoting process
• Cutting Through the Noise, a new video series run by Jason that gets straight to the point on manufacturing trends
• The Tip Tap Room, Boston pub that serves a wide range of beers and inventive dishes
• NIST 853, Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations, resources for CMMC compliance

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 take to find the best talent in the manufacturing industry these days? When it comes to automation, you can use location (or lack of location) to your advantage. In this episode, Kyle Mahan of Ohio-based Wauseon Machine takes us through their approach to securing the best automation talent. We'll also hear some history on the organization, learn about Kyle's career, and share strategies for robotics and automation integrators.

It’s not every day that a former NFL player joins the podcast. And it’s not every day you see one make such a dramatic career pivot from pro football to craft brewing and small business ownership.

But that’s exactly what Brandon Fields did. When he was winding down his football career, he found his passion in brewing, starting out with a home brewing kit. He teamed up with his wife Katie and opened up Inside the Five Brewing Co., which has scaled to three locations and 120 team members as a full-service beer manufacturing empire.

Katie and Brandon wear many hats across each area of the manufacturing process – from the crafting itself to the sales side to distribution – even their kids get involved. Today, they run the business with a welcoming, inclusive, family-friendly vibe that keeps loyal beer fans sipping. Hear about their story from NFL to brewing, what it’s like running a small full-service business, their approach to managing talent, and developing their distinct branding. Also learn how beers like “Snap to the Face” and “Big Fat Boss Baby” get their names.

In this episode, find out:

• Brandon gives us the background on his time playing in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, plus the story behind the beer ‘Snap to the Face’
• What made Brandon decide to move from the NFL world into professional brewing
• The biggest lesson learned from Brandon’s NFL days that he applies to his life now as a small business owner
• How Brandon and Katie learned how to grow and scale a brewing business to three locations and 120 team members
• The most rewarding parts of manufacturing craft beers and experimenting with new beer flavors
• How Brandon and Katie’s kids get involved in the craft brewing life and inspired the names of some of their top beers
• The benefits of being a full-service manufacturer, managing the manufacturing, distribution, and sales
• A reality check on what the transition from NFL to brewing was like for Brandon and what he learned from Katie’s people management approach
• The strategy behind developing Inside the Five’s distinct branding and why it’s about more than just the visuals
• Why it’s important not to force a brand style that doesn’t feel natural
• How Inside the Five’s branding has added to their success by being a welcoming, family-friendly ethos that gets people to stick around for another beer
• Katie’s approach to managing the competition and why it’s key to focus on your own success

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 have to have that drive, that perfectionist in you to want to constantly do better... But it's that constant, “how can we improve?” Good is not good enough." – Brandon Fields
• “We're beginning to end in terms of product. So if you see it in a bar, our people sold it, made the sales pitch, got it there, gave it to them. So our hands are on it from beginning to end.” – Brandon Fields
• "Figuring out what does branding mean to me? Not just the logo, the slogan, the colors, the font, but what message do you want to send and how do you want people to feel when they're at your location?” – Katie Fields
• "A lot of people ask me about competitors, like when another craft brewery opens. The more the merrier, because our success is not based on what someone else is doing. If we're not successful, it means we need to change something.” – Katie Fields

Links & mentions:

• Inside the Five Brewing Co., a Northwest Ohio full-service brewpub with unique beers inspired by Brandon’s former NFL career

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.