Leadership coach and Women in Manufacturing Hall of Fame inductee Kathy Miller, author of the books "MORE is Better: Leading Operations with Meaning, Optimism and Relationships for Excellence" and "Steel Toes and Stilettos," joins Ann and Kate on this week's episode of the podcast, sponsored by Stoke RGA.

Kathy will be the keynote speaker at the NEW Manufacturing Alliance's Future of Work Summit on April 14, which will focus on the topic of employee retention. Her "MORE" framework has proven to be a guide for exactly that: focusing on meaning, optimism and relationships for excellence. She also recently launched an AI companion to "MORE is Better."

Learn more at more4leaders.com and contact NEWMA to register for this spring's Future of Work event.

Steve King, author of multiple leadership books including "The Manager's Dillemma" and "Brag Worry Wonder Bet," joins Ann and Kate on this week's episode of the podcast, sponsored as always by Stoke RGA.

Steve, who is semi-retired after a celebrated HR career, leads the University of Wisconsin Center for Professional and Executive Development's management boot camp, which is coming to Northeast Wisconsin in April for the first time and will be hosted by Schreiber Foods in Green Bay.

On this week's show, Steve joins the co-hosts virtually from Madison to share some of his best management wisdom from the books and boot camp. He says the ideal candidates for attending the boot camp are first-year managers. 

NEWMA members will receive a discount on April's boot camp registration, so watch your email for this opportunity or contact Ann at [email protected] if you want to join the alliance.

Learn more about the Center for Professional and Executive Development (CPED) at uwcped.org.

Brandon Beard, president of DuxxBak Composite Decking in Green Bay, says he never planned on working in manufacturing. His first dream was to be like Robin Williams' character in "Good Morning, Vietnam" -- focused on military service and broadcasting. Brandon finally gets his turn behind the microphone today, but we promise he doesn't yell into the microphone on this week's episode of NEW Manufacturing Insights. 

He joins this week's show to talk about his career in manufacturing in Northeast Wisconsin, his long history with the NEW Manufacturing Alliance, and why he was honored to serve as this year's chair of the NEWMA board.

NEW Manufacturing Insights is a joint production of Insight and NEWMA, produced by Woodward Community Media.

Thank you to Stoke RGA for sponsoring this episode! stokerga.com 

Learn more about DuxxBak Composite Decking here: duxxbakdecking.com

Learn more about the NEW Manufacturing Alliance here: newmfgalliance.org

Ryan Rogers, director of operations for 1000 Island Airboats in Marion, Wisconsin, joins Kate and Ann on this week's show to talk about the 2025 "Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin," as determined by an online vote this past fall: the 1000 Island 24-Foot Search and Rescue Airboat.

The lifesaving product is also the subject of this month's Insight on Business magazine "Home Made" feature, which you can read online here: www.insightonbusiness.com/features/homemade/cool-as-ice/article_e2f7ec0b-d6a1-48c1-a046-8106817d09c5.html

Rogers tells the co-hosts about the company's history, why his family was moved to purchase the business and bring it to Wisconsin in 2017, and what it was like winning WMC's "Coolest Thing" competition, all on this week's episode sponsored by Stoke RGA (stokerga.com). 

Learn more about 1000 Island Airboats online here: 1000islandairboats.com

The Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance, led by podcast co-host Ann Franz, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and makes a big change by moving to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. In that spirit, Dr. Michael Alexander, chancellor of UWGB since May 2020, joins Ann and special guest co-host Jen Fietz of Stoke RGA on this week's episode to talk about his five-plus years leading the institution, the challenges and revelations of COVID, how higher education is evolving, UWGB's exceptional enrolllment growth in the face of demographic challenges, and why UWGB is a good fit to the new host institution of NEWMA. 

Thank you to Stoke RGA for sponsoring this episode, and all of our 2026 episodes of NEW Manufacturing Insights.

Kiley Eck Hayon is president of Eck Industries in Manitowoc, which was recently announced as a finalist for the 2026 Wisconsin Manufacturer of the Year Awards, which will be presented Feb. 19. On this week's episode she joins Ann Franz and guest co-host Jen Fietz of Stoke RGA to talk about the rewards and challenges of working in a family business, why Eck Industries is committed to its capital investments in technology and more.

Learn more about Eck Industries at eckindustries.com.

This podcast episode, like all 2026 episodes, is sponsored by Stoke RGA. Learn more about stokerga.com.

Jen Fietz, owner and CEO of the firm Stoke RGA, joins co-host Ann Franz of the Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance on this week's episode of the NEW Manufacturing Insights podcast to discuss studies and trends that paint a picture of the manufacturing industry heading into 2026. Regular co-host Kate Bruns, Insight's manufacturing editor, was under the weather for this week's recording but will return for future episodes.


Ann opens the show by thanking Jen for committing to a new yearlong sponsorship of the podcast (thank you, Stoke RGA, for sponsoring NEW Manufacturing Insights throughout 2026!), and by reviewing some of the results of NEWMA's 2026 Manufacturing Vitality Index that was published last month. Jen goes on to ring in the new year by sharing some of Stoke RGA's 2026 manufacturing trends to watch, including technology helping run tighter operations, continued rising costs, and marketing (though Fietz shares she likes to avoid that term). 

Learn more at stokerga.com.

Melissa Samuels of ErgoFactor and Emily Tietjen of NEW Water are Kate's and Ann's last guests of 2025, joining the podcast this week to talk about their volunteer work with Brown County FIRST Robotics, which teaches K-12 students skills including collaborative problem solving, Gracious Professionalism™ and Coopertition™, as well as technical fluency for future careers in fields like engineering and manufacturing.  

You can learn more about the program, which board members Samuels and Tietjen say is always in need of volunteer technical mentors and business support, at browncountyfirstrobotics.org. 

NEW Manufacturing Insights will return for season 4 on Thursday, Jan. 8. Happy Holidays!

EDL Packaging, a Massman Company's Kathryn Rowen, vice president and general manager, and Lynn Caruso-Stueck, director of operations, join Ann and Kate on this week's episode to talk about the company's 60-year tradition of making equipment for shrink wrapping and shrink bundling in Greater Green Bay.


EDL recently constructed and moved into a new facility in De Pere that expands the company's capabilities with enhanced efficiency and a total 25% space increase. On the episode, Rowen and Caruso-Stueck detail how the new facility is having a positive impact on their business and helping attract talent, as well as why it is important for them to be located in Northeast Wisconsin, what it's like being a successful woman in the manufacturing industry, and how technology will contribute to EDL's growth in the new year.
 

Julia Herlache, sustainability manager for Masters Gallery Foods, joins Kate and Ann on this week's episode to talk about how the company has been intentionally and methodically building its sustainability efforts over the past dozen or so years since two employees first approached Masters Gallery's leadership about taking steps to reduce waste in the plant. 

Today, Masters Gallery is an example in the food manufacturing industry, and in Wisconsin's New North region, of integrating and promoting sustainable practices. Today the company diverts 86% of its waste, and its newest facility in Oostburg was constructed to maximize environmental friendliness. 

Herlache, who studied environmental science and has spent her entire career in the field, joined Masters Gallery in 2023, marking her first foray into manufacturing. Listen this week for her insights on making the transition from local government to private industry as well as how other companies can learn and take inspiration from Masters Gallery's many successes, which include being named a 2025 WMC 2025 Business Friend of the Environment Award recipient.