Manufacturing Talks

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Manufacturing looks like it's turning the corner here in the US, so now is a good time for our domestic producers to look at expanding their businesses. Frank Seidel, Managing Director at Wamser Batra USA, thinks India is a great market to look at, and he joined us to tell us why that is and what companies here need to do about it. He looks at demographics and income growth and says India beats China as a growth market hands down.

Now, to be fair, what Wamser Batra USA does to make their money is to help companies do exactly the above. But Frank didn't join us for a no-hold-barred sales job - he brought practical advice on how to get started, what to do along the way, and how to succeed at what he says has to be a long-term play. Here's a timeline with some highlights:

7:20 - the importance of due diligence
10:40 - why it's critical company leaders actually go to India
14:30 - why you should bring the CEO of any Indian company you're going to partner with here to the US
17:40 - the different production options, like making here and exporting there, making domestically for each separate market, or making there and importing here

There's a whole lot more great advice and concrete steps to take. It boils down to what Frank shared with me separately: "Don't just go to India because it looks like a good opportunity. Make sure it's the right fit for your business."

Tune in and check out the whole thing!

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At one time, when he lived in the shadow of southwest Michigan's Palisades nuclear power plant, former business owner, author, and employee communications guru Shawn Connors opposed nuclear energy. But then he decided to do his own research and discovered that the horror stories in the media that had convinced him nukes were dangerous were just plain wrong.

That's when he founded the Atomic Garage Movement, which uses the arts to help convince people that nuclear energy is safe, clean, and reliable.

He has also written both a nonfiction educational book and a fictional novel that both help tell the real story of nuclear energy (links below!)

He joined us for Episode 96 to tell us all about his conversion, and why he believes we should ditch all the arbitrary deadlines for replacing our electricity generating stations, stop retiring our coal and gas plants, and instead embark on a program to replace them when their production lives end with nuclear plants.

And about Palisades? He's revved up to see it reopened, and thinks it can help make Michigan a nuclear center for the nation.

Here are the links:
Books:
Non-fiction: The Quick Read Nuclear Energy Guide: 21 Easy-to-Understand Q&As - https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Nuclear-Energy-Guide-Understand-ebook/dp/B0CH8MNNH4?ref_=ast_author_dp
Novel: Chain Reaction: A Story About Power in the Age of Climate Change -
https://www.amazon.com/Chain-Reaction-Story-Climate-Change/dp/B0CGLH8M1P/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Article that I read that first flagged Shawn's work for me: https://www.bridgemi.com/guest-commentary/opinion-wind-solar-arent-enough-case-palisades-nuclear-plant

Atomic Garage Movement site: https://atomicgaragemovement.com/

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Modiv is a real estate investment trust (REIT). That's company uses investor money to trade in real estate. For Modiv, it's not just any real estate - the company focuses entirely on manufacturing properties, investing in industrial properties via long-term net leases. Their CEO, Aaron Halfacre, joins us for Episode 95 to tell us why that's a good business proposition for his investors and for the owners of the manufacturing companies alike.

Aaron also discusses how Modiv's corporate values are rooted in the small-town strong-work-ethic background he grew up with.

You can learn more about Modiv here: https://modiv.com/

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Episode 94 once more features our friends from Aprio, a CPA-led advisory firm with over 700 clients in their Manufacturing and Distribution Practice. Simeon Wallis and Michael Lange join us to discuss their latest quarterly "Manufacturing and Distribution Insights" report, which is a great look into the state of business for American industry.

Simeon is Chief Investment Officer and leader of Aprio’s Wealth Management Practice, and Michael is Partner in Assurance Services at Aprio, so they bring a whole lot of expertise to the subject.

The latest issue had more good news for manufacturers, including a slight rise in manufacturing sentiment from the Institute for Supply Managers and a boom in plant construction spending. But there were also indications of weakening demand, and a fresh ISM report came out after we recorded showing a decline in the outlook of industry professionals. Michael and Simeon dive into all the details of their report and give their insights about the current state of things and where they think we're headed.

Tune in and hear the whole expert story!

View the Aprio quarterly insights report here: https://www.aprio.com/6-manufacturing-distribution-insights-from-q1-2024-and-what-they-mean-for-you/

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Fluke Reliability has been a mainstay in manufacturing maintenance for a long, long time. With tools like temperature and vibration monitors and acoustic and thermal imaging, they've helped make true preventive maintenance a reality for industry. So it was extremely informative for Episode 93 to chat with their president, Ankush Malhotra, about their recent acquisition of Azima DLI, which is helping supercharge Fluke's aggressive push into the use of AI for machine failure prevention.

Ankush gives us a deep dive into what Fluke has going on with its new efforts, and how they can help manufacturers of all kinds stay competitive in today's tough business environment.

Tune in and check out the whole thing!

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Doesn't it seem like every single day now brings fresh news of another monstrous dollop of tax money is being given away somewhere in the US to coerce some manufacturer to build and "create jobs?" That's great news, right?

Not so much, and James Hohman, Director of Fiscal Policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy right here in Michigan, is here to tell us why it's not. Here are just a few of the points he covers:

20:00 - a better way: create a better business environment and quality of life
23:45 - job creation and loss under these schemes
26:00 - money spent versus jobs created
30:00 - economic development program spending versus schools and prisons

Check out the whole thing to learn why the better road is to let manufacturers pay their own way while making the business environment and workforce attractive enough that they'll come to your state anyway!

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Starting first with the supply chain and production disruptions of the pandemic, and now being reinforced by the unrest in the Middle East, the idea that outsourcing manufacturing is always a cost savings move has been shown to be wrong.

Harry Moser, founder and president of the Reshoring Initiative, has been saying that for years. In fact, he came up with a calculation tool, the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Estimator, to show businesses that in many cases manufacturing right here in the USA makes the most economic sense. (See the links at the bottom of this page.)

Harry joined us for Episode 91 to dive into all the details. Here are a few of the highlights of our chat:
12:11 - reshoring job figures
22:11 - how reshoring can cut emissions
24:30 - the effect of reshoring on worker education and workforce development
30:18 - the relationship between reshoring and sound Lean principles

Harry rightly points out that for us to convince our younger generations that manufacturing is a good career choice, there have to be manufacturing jobs available. That's why the increasing head of steam reshoring is seeing is so important.

Tune in and check out the whole discussion!

The Reshoring Initiative's home page: https://www.reshorenow.org/
TCO Estimator tool: https://www.reshorenow.org/tco-estimator/

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Grace Stanke spent her reign last year as Miss America promoting nuclear energy. And she knows what she's talking about - in December she graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in nuclear engineering! She joined us for Episode 90 to talk about why nuclear is safer and less expensive than you might think, and why there are even bigger things on the horizon with Small Modular Reactors and, one day, nuclear fusion!

Some highlights:

4:00 - how Grace chose nuclear engineering
19:00 - the nuclear power generation business is safer for its workers than grocery or fast food!
22:30 - nuclear energy is clean energy!
24:20 - we need 70% of our power to be reliable baseload, and Grace thinks 30% to 40% ought to be nuclear

It's well worth your time to check out the whole thing! Grace shares other experiences too, like when she played an AC/DC song on her violin for the talent portion of an earlier pageant, and how she recorded with us just before she jetted off to Africa to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro!

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Appearing on Broadway in Les Misérables... playing a part on General Hospital... and launching an AI-driven industry software services company?

Yep, yep, and yep, if you're Michael Lynch. He joined us for Episode 89 to chat about all of it.

After earning a living singing, dancing, and starring on stage and screen, Michael served as CEO of Right Hemisphere Inc., a provider of small tools for graphics professionals. The company was acquired by SAP, where Michael led the Internet of Things business. The he co-founded Praxie, a business process automation company.

Michael dives into the specific services Praxie brings to manufacturing customers, including making data actionable and making Lean efforts more effective.

This one was fun, entertaining, and educational! Check out the whole thing!

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Episode 88 is another must-listen. Energy economist, entrepreneur, commodities trader, and author Dr. Lars Schernikau joins us to talk about his latest book, *The Unpopular Truth about Electricity and the Future of Energy,* which he co-wrote with Professor William Hayden Smith.

Lars dives into just why our current path of rapid additions of variable renewables is wrong and why battery storage and hydrogen won't help. He introduces his concept of eROI - energy return on investment - and tells us why it's crucial. He tells us why coal is still vital and why nuclear is an absolute must, and how geothermal and even off-planet solar might play a part in our energy future.

And finally, he explains why the situation right now in Germany ought to be educating us all on exactly the wrong way to do things energy-wise.

Do tune in and listen to the whole thing!

Check out Lars's homepage here: https://unpopular-truth.com/

And get a copy of his book (highly recommended!) here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BM3T8BBG?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_JXKGDT67BYEJ37BEAEB3