Manufacturing has a lot to gain from AI, and a lot to lose by waiting.

Recorded at mHUB in Chicago’s West Loop during IMTS (International Manufacturing Technology Show), Chris sits down with Sanjay Brahmawar, CEO of QAD Redzone, to talk about what AI could mean for an industry facing 500,000 open manufacturing jobs and a growing need to do more with the people it already has.

They also look at what happens when systems of record become systems of action, and how that changes the way manufacturers respond to problems on the shop floor.

In this episode, find out:

• How a career that started on a Honda engine line shaped Sanjay's view of manufacturing as managing constraints
• Why manufacturers don't need to replace their existing technology before putting AI to work
• How AI can turn a system of record into a system of action on the factory floor
• What QAD Redzone learned after giving line leads an AI agent before bringing their supervisors into the conversation
• Why some manufacturers are willing to set aside 5-7% of their IT budget for AI
• How a month of 24/7 bug fixing, complete with its own t-shirts, helped QAD Redzone rebuild customer trust

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 role of AI is not to replace the human being. The role of AI is to make that human being, that talent, 3 to 4x more powerful." - Sanjay Brahmawar, CEO of QAD Redzone
• "Manufacturing is a show-me world. It is not a tell-me world." - Sanjay Brahmawar, CEO of QAD Redzone
• "Nobody in manufacturing is sitting there waiting for somebody to give them AI. They only want it if it impacts their outcomes." - Sanjay Brahmawar, CEO of QAD Redzone

Links & mentions:

• STÄUBLI is a leading manufacturer of quick connector systems, covering connection needs for all types of fluids, gases, and electrical power.
• QAD Redzone is the manufacturing AI platform built for the mid-market, bringing AI into the ERP and the workflow where decisions get made.
• mHUB is a Chicago hard tech platform that brings young companies together with networks of entrepreneurs, advisors, and capital.

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.

RVs are homes that go 60 miles an hour. That changes everything about what goes inside them.

Chris sits down with Sean Petterson, CEO of Supersede, a company combining recycling and manufacturing in an unexpected way - turning recycled plastic into structural building materials. Supersede started with boats, where wood has an obvious problem - boats get wet!

From there, the company moved into RVs, where the materials face constant movement and thermal cycling, on a production line that can build an entire RV in a couple of hours.

Sean also explains the thinking behind Supersede's manufacturing model, including why he'd rather build 10 smaller plants than one big one.

In this episode, find out:

• How running production lines in mirrored pairs cuts the distance operators walk across the floor
• Why an RV, built to go 60 miles an hour, is a harder test for a material than a house that never moves
• How Supersede built its own ERP with zero software developers, piecing it together through Slack, Jira, and GitHub instead
• How a pre-sold capacity threshold - already dropping fast - decides when Supersede builds its next plant
• How embedding machine vision and LiDAR on the line replaces a QA machine that would otherwise cost far more
• Why Sean thinks manufacturers who didn't start using AI a year ago are already a decade behind

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 you hadn't gotten on the AI bus 12 months ago, you're a decade behind." - Sean Petterson, CEO of Supersede
• “A big contributor to those inefficiencies is, frankly, just legacy that gets embedded.” - Sean Petterson, CEO of Supersede
• “In manufacturing, things can move slow, and we just have the unique benefit of making sure that we're investing effectively, but very efficiently.” - Sean Petterson, CEO of Supersede

Links & mentions:

• Supersede is a manufacturing company turning recycled plastic into structural building materials, starting with its Marine Board product for the marine and RV industries.
• Harmoni is a factory orchestration platform that connects what's happening on your shop floor with the systems you already use, from your machines and operators to your ERP, giving your team one real-time view of production.
• PTC's Industrial Newsletter - a quick hit of clarity on how design, manufacturing, and service data can work together for manufacturing leaders looking to modernize.

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.

There's a lot more coming out of Iowa than corn.

Chris heads to Des Moines for a live conversation with four guests who each know Iowa manufacturing a little differently.

Dominique Hain and Cami Schaefer share how Women in Manufacturing Iowa grew to over 900 members in three years. Denny Williams and Denise Hill take it from there, discussing automation, hiring, and just how deep Iowa's farm roots run through its factories.

The conversation also uncovers some of the products many people may not know are made in Iowa, including Winnebago RVs.

In this episode, find out:

• What makes a state better known for agriculture become one of the country's stronger manufacturing bases
• How Iowa's farming communities are shaping who gets hired at companies like Weiler
• Which surprising products are actually made in Iowa, from butter braids to basketball hoops
• Why so many Iowa manufacturers trace back to a farmer solving a problem for himself, then his neighbors
• How Co-Line is using robots and cobots to boost throughput without cutting its workforce
• Why finding qualified operators is harder than finding corn in rural Iowa

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 love Des Moines because it's almost like a well-kept secret of Iowa, or of the US." - Cami Schaefer, Executive Operations Assistant at BrownWinick
• "We launched our chapter only three years ago, and we're already over 900 members strong, which is absolutely incredible." - Dominique Hain, Industry Account Manager at Rockwell Automation
• "With that strong work ethic and farming background, we like to hire young farm kids who know how to work on equipment. They're not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get dirty." - Denise Hill, Senior Human Resources Manager at Weiler

Links & mentions:

• Dominique Hain - Industry Account Manager at Rockwell Automation
• Denny Williams - Sales/Estimating at Co-Line Manufacturing
• Denise Hill - Senior Human Resources Manager at Weiler
• Cami Schaefer - Executive Operations Assistant at BrownWinick
• Fathom Digital Manufacturing, offering more than 25 advanced manufacturing technologies under one roof, from CNC machining to injection molding.
• PTC's Industrial Newsletter, a quick hit of clarity on how design, manufacturing, and service data can work together for manufacturing leaders looking to modernize.

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.