U.S. Manufacturing Today

In this episode of U.S. Manufacturing Today (powered by Veryable), host Matt Horine speaks with David A. Craig, founder and CEO of ProdigyIQ Technologies, about closing the gap between AI identifying a problem and manufacturers taking corrective action. Drawing on his Army maintenance background and manufacturing experience, Craig explains why clear ownership, decision-making authority, cross-functional coordination, and verification are essential to turning AI alerts into resolved issues. They discuss leadership visibility and sign-off, along with Craig’s “reversible AI rollout” concept: planning how work continues when AI becomes unavailable or unreliable and verifying operational readiness before restoring it. Craig also outlines a practical 30-day approach to documenting, testing, and improving one AI-assisted workflow and shares the thinking behind his podcast, The Operating Code.

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and Setup

00:51 Meet David Craig

01:40 Army Lessons on Accountability

02:50 Pandemic Launch Failures

04:59 Why AI Alerts Stall

07:29 Where AI Pilots Die

09:50 Defect Ownership Breakdown

13:10 Readiness Mindset Transfer

15:03 Leadership Visibility and Signoff

16:25 Reversible AI Rollouts

19:30 Hybrid Fallback Design

23:44 Building Prodigy IQ MVP

25:50 The Operating Code Framework

29:11 30 Day Execution Playbook

31:41 Where to Find David

33:23 Closing and Subscribe

Links

David on LinkedIn

David’s Website

ProdigyIQ Website

Matt on LinkedIn

Revitalizing US Manufacturing

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In this episode of US Manufacturing Today (powered by Veryable), host Matt Horine explains the Army’s planned “manufacturing rodeo” to stress-test the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) and Organic Industrial Base (OIB) supply chain to find where it breaks, noting most affected firms are small manufacturers. He defines the DIB and the Army’s OIB depots and describes the Army’s OIB transformation toward manufacturing, emphasizing both form one integrated supply chain. Horine outlines new federal tools and capital, including the Smaller War Plants Commission prioritizing 10 defense-critical NAICS codes and a priority processing for eligible 8(a) program applicants in those industries, plus a Pentagon Economic Defense Unit process to connect small manufacturers to SBA financing and potential equity investments. Matt also outlines a 30-day action plan to assess defense-market readiness, identify operational bottlenecks before demand surges, and build a flexible Labor Pool that can scale with production needs. 

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome to the Show

00:41 Army Supply Chain Stress Test

01:22 DIB vs OIB Explained

02:32 Manufacturing Rodeo Preview

03:20 Where Operations Break

03:48 New SBA and Pentagon Tools

05:31 Platforms and Support Resources

06:47 Your 30 Day Action Plan

07:33 Flexible Labor for Surges

08:18 Final Takeaways and Wrap Up

Links

Matt on LinkedIn

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In this episode of US Manufacturing Today (powered by Veryable), Matt Horine speaks with critical-minerals investor and Mineral War author Tomasz Nadrowski about how manufacturers are entering an era of conflict in which security of supply overtakes lowest-cost sourcing. They discuss China’s dominance across many critical minerals, how export controls and selective restrictions can weaponize a monopoly, and why rebuilding Western midstream processing is difficult after decades of decline in US smelting and refining capacity. Tomasz explains the “car crash vs. cancer” analogy for slow-moving supply-chain dependence, highlights a byproduct pricing failure using gallium in the aluminum/bauxite supply chain, and warns against assuming suspensions of controls mean “problem solved.” He urges manufacturers to diversify away from PRC inputs, treat procurement strategically, and adopt AI on the factory floor for productivity and flexibility.

Timestamps

00:00 Podcast Welcome

00:41 Critical Minerals Threat

01:07 Meet Tomasz

02:17 Conflict Changes Manufacturing

03:49 Ten Year Planning Window

05:33 Monopoly Versus Weapon

08:41 America Midstream Gap

11:21 Car Crash Versus Cancer

14:08 Scrolling Mineral Addiction

15:48 Byproduct Pricing Failure

18:34 Reprieve And January Deadline

22:04 Sourcing Map Playbook

24:02 Capex And Cold War Opportunity

26:31 Friendshoring In Americas

27:53 One Takeaway For Leaders

29:29 Book And Where To Follow

30:42 Final Wrap And Subscribe

Links

Tomasz on LinkedIn

Mineral War on Amazon

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In this episode of US Manufacturing Today powered by Veryable, host Matt Horine talks with former shop-floor leader and executive coach Marilyn Rosa-Green about the “pressure paradox” in manufacturing leadership—how high performers can swing between overdrive and avoidance, often leading to burnout. Green shares how her curiosity on the production floor shaped her career and explains how lack of formal leadership training (citing 82% of managers) contributes to unhealthy pressure patterns, procrastination, perfectionism, and imposter syndrome, including avoidance of difficult feedback conversations. They discuss why AI and automation can optimize output but cannot replace human judgment and psychological safety, using an emergency stop-button example. Green offers practical first steps: slow down, get curious about resistant behaviors, consider long-term consequences, and use her Pressure Paradox assessment available on her website. 

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome to the Podcast

01:23 Meet Marilyn Rosa-Green

01:47 From HR to Shop Floor

04:32 Defining Pressure Paradox

05:44 Burnout and Sustainability

08:14 Overdrive Versus Avoidance

10:52 Imposter Syndrome Explained

12:07 Feedback and Mentoring Gaps

15:58 AI and Human Judgment

18:17 Psychological Safety on Line

22:04 Spotting It in Yourself

26:00 Helping a Team Member

28:41 Pressure Paradox Assessment

30:23 Where to Learn More

30:55 Closing and Resources

Links

Marilyn’s website

Marilyn on LinkedIn 

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In this episode of US Manufacturing Today (powered by Veryable), Matt Horine interviews Shlomo Assa, chairman, president, and co-founder of Acclaro Medical, a serial founder in the laser industry with 20+ patents whose operations ship to 60 countries. Assa explains how COVID-era supply chain disruptions showed that IP alone isn’t enough; companies that outsource turnkey manufacturing lose control of delivery, pricing, quality, and the ability to redesign around component end-of-life issues, making them “fake” companies dependent on offshore partners. He argues the recurring lesson across his ventures is urgency: when customers pay, you must be able to ship immediately or risk losing the deal. Assa distinguishes healthy, cost-neutral subcontracting of qualified subassemblies from full turnkey outsourcing, and discusses the global pricing premium and trust associated with “Made in the USA,” plus leadership and respect as keys to building strong manufacturing teams. 

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:10 Real vs Fake Companies

01:55 COVID Supply Chain Wake Up

05:21 Ship Fast or Lose Deals

08:10 Fear of Manufacturing

10:08 Smart Outsourcing Rules

12:54 Turnkey Outsourcing Trap

16:17 Field Failures Cost More

18:07 Made in USA Premium

23:36 Quality Details That Matter

29:44 Workforce and Leadership

34:39 30 Day Fix and CI

40:35 Contact and Closing

41:15 Final Takeaways and CTA

Links

Acclaro Website

Acclaro on LinkedIn

Shlomo on LinkedIn

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In this episode of US Manufacturing Today (powered by Veryable), Matt Horine interviews Josh Waldron, who describes how a car accident at 15 left him paralyzed and how he chose to remove the “comfortable retreat” by destroying his wheelchair to commit to walking, shaping his approach to challenges. Josh recounts building a precision manufacturing company from a garage during the 2008 recession, learning CNC operations from scratch, driving growth through vertical integration, and turning in-house anodizing into a profit center. He explains misconceptions about needing all answers upfront, critiques “best practices,” and shares his Productive Difficulty framework and a 2x2 tool for prioritizing work. The conversation covers AI as bandwidth expansion, retention through pay, recognition, and autonomy, navigating firearms regulation, lobbying to change laws, and his book “On Choosing Hard Things,” plus a recommendation to run a cultural audit. 

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome to the Podcast

00:41 Josh Waldron Intro

01:26 Accident and Resolve

05:00 Starting from Scratch

08:06 Vertical Integration Wins

11:03 Ditching Best Practices

13:27 Productive Difficulty Framework

19:56 Two by Two Priorities

22:52 AI and Bandwidth

25:56 Retention and Culture

33:50 Hard Corners Manufacturing

37:57 Changing Laws Long Game

43:25 30 Day Action Step

44:26 Book and Closing

Links

Josh’s Website

Josh on LinkedIn

Hard is Fun

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In this episode of US Manufacturing Today (powered by Veryable), host Matt Horine speaks with Brian Fielkow, author of Making Safety Happen, about leading safety as a leadership discipline and enterprise risk issue. Fielkow lays out why safety must function as a non‑negotiable core value that never competes with production pressure, and how boards and executives ultimately shape safety outcomes through the behaviors they reward, tolerate, or ignore. The conversation explores how fast‑growing operations can scale without sacrificing stability by balancing offense and defense, how frontline leaders drive real cultural change, and how applying Just Culture helps organizations distinguish honest mistakes from reckless choices while preserving accountability and trust.

Timestamps

00:00 Podcast Intro

02:03 Safety as Core Value

04:39 Retiring the Word Accident

06:43 Boards Own Safety

11:51 Scaling Without Breaking

15:39 New Leader First 90 Days

18:33 Gold Letter Engagement

21:49 Safety Committees Done Right

23:45 Psychological Safety on Floor

26:48 Process Over Paperwork

30:56 Just Culture Accountability

35:14 Protecting Everyone On Site

38:37 30 Day First Step

41:56 Podcast Outro

Links

Brian’s Website

Brian on linkedin

Making Safety Happen on Amazon

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In this episode of U.S. Manufacturing Today (powered by Veryable), host Matt Horine interviews Chris Hale, founder and CEO of Klear, about how reshoring and rapid scaling compress timelines and expose a mismatch between fast-moving factory operations and slow, backward-looking traditional banking. Hale explains that step-change growth driven by aerospace, defense, energy, and other demand can break order-to-cash cycles, stressing suppliers, buyers, and internal coordination, and argues this is an operational risk shared by plant managers and finance. 

Timestamps

00:00 Podcast Intro

00:41 Reshoring Speed Crunch

01:52 What Breaks First

04:05 Banks Versus Step Change

05:58 Relay Race Capital Flow

08:52 Origins In Global Supply

12:07 Building Klear Platform

13:33 Critical Minerals Finance

17:14 Geopolitics And Small Suppliers

22:58 Right Sized Capital

27:58 Back Office Fix

31:38 Series A Update

32:53 30 Day Action Advice

34:24 Where To Find Klear

35:00 Podcast Outro

Links

Klear Website

Klear on LinkedIn

Chris on LinkedIn

Forbes Article

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In this episode of U.S. Manufacturing Today (powered by Veryable), host Matt Horine interviews Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Alitheon, about the trillion-dollar global problem of counterfeiting and gray-market fraud and why it is a safety and national security issue in industries like aerospace, automotive, and healthcare. Ganzarski shares examples including end-of-life aircraft engine parts sold as new and fake titanium used in aircraft, and explains Alitheon’s FeaturePrint technology, which authenticates individual items using standard cameras by capturing unique, random manufacturing “tolerance” features to create a digital fingerprint with zero false positives.

Timestamps

00:00 Podcast Intro

00:41 Counterfeit Crisis

01:44 Fraud and Gray Market

04:21 Career Path to Alitheon

09:11 Aerospace Scandals

11:44 FeaturePrint Explained

18:15 Why Labels Fail

23:48 Wear and Tear Handling

28:03 New Manufacturer Promises

28:59 Camera Based Traceability

29:17 Warranty Return Fraud

32:15 Fingerprinting Against Fakes

35:29 Supply Chain Risk Trends

38:13 Supplier Competitive Edge

40:04 EV Battery Safety Risks

43:10 Compliance Beyond QR Codes

44:30 Blockchain Physical Gap

47:28 Proxy On Proxy Failures

51:10 30 Day Action Plan

52:56 Pilot And Production Setup

55:19 Traceability For QA Recalls

57:44 Podcast Outro

Links

Alitheon Website

Alitheon on LinkedIn

Roei on LinkedIn

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In this episode of U.S. Manufacturing Today (powered by Veryable), host Matt Horine challenges the common claim that America has a labor shortage, arguing instead that the real problem is a shortage of incentives, reward, and ownership in tackling productivity. He says true labor scarcity would force wages up, yet manufacturing wages have barely risen in real terms for decades, while only genuinely scarce skilled trades show meaningful wage acceleration. Horine also questions the credibility of jobs data, citing large downward revisions to non-farm payrolls, and argues many “unfilled roles” are actually utilization and demand-forecasting issues on the shop floor. He proposes measuring labor by output rather than headcount, building more flexible labor capacity and output-based pay, and contends that relying on imported labor or visa programs suppresses wage signals. He points to new SNAP work requirements reducing benefit rolls by 5.3 million as evidence that participation responds to incentives.

Timestamps

00:00 Podcast Intro

00:41 Labor Shortage Myth

02:52 Meritocracy Reframed

04:11 Jobs Data Reality Check

05:06 Wages and Skill Signals

06:14 Headcount vs Output

07:31 Flex Labor Playbook

08:18 Cheap Labor Hypocrisy

09:54 SNAP Experiment Evidence

11:13 Real Fix and Wrap-Up

13:25 Outro and Resources

Links 

Matt on LinkedIn

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