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James DeSmet and Christian Taber of Big Ass Fans: Keeping it Cool While Saving Energy

May 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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Today we had the pleasure of speaking with two individuals that are helping keep America’s work force taborcomfortable. We welcomed to the show James DeSmet and Christian Taber, Director of Engineering and Operations Senior Applications Engineer (respectively) of Big Ass Fans. Big Ass Fans manufactures large fans for both commercial and residential situations providing the latest offerings in thermal comfort. As we learned during today’s conversation, these are not your standard fans and the technology and research that goes into developing these products is simply fascinating.

SHOW NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

  1. We learn about both James and Christian’s backgrounds and what led them to Big Ass Fans.
  2. The ideal commercial applications of using Fans versus Air Conditioning.
  3. Can fans help with heating also?
  4. How can fans be used in conjunction with a forced air system to provide cost savings?
  5. We dig into the research and technology that goes into designing these fans.
  6. Can a fan be both highly efficient and aesthetically pleasing?
  7. We dicuss lighting and additional fan options.
  8. Big Ass Fans is about to hit a major organizational milestone. Listen to find out about it!
  9. Fans with Misting Systems, when and why these are useful.
  10. Company culture and why Big Ass Fans has got it figured out.

This was a fun and informative interview with a unique manufacturer. Listen to hear about their reusable pallets and the fun story about how they are being used. This is a great company that shared some really interesting knowledge with us.

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Mike Anderson and TenCate Protective Fabrics: What it is like to do business focusing on saving lives

April 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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Mike Anderson

Joined in the studio today by Mike Anderson, the Vice President of Operations of TenCate Protective Fabrics. TenCate Protective Fabrics develops and produces the most comprehensive range of proven, high performance fabrics used to make protective clothing. They serve the first responder, military (currently in theater), and industrial markets with protective fabrics.

Some highlights from the show:

1. “The thrill of doing work that saves lives…”
2. Leading the revival of not only Georgia, but the US textile industry!
3. Comfort, durability, and protection – what they look for in the latest, most innovative fibers.
4. TenCate is a 308 year-old company (a new Dreamland Radio Network record), which has survived by adapting and innovating with the times. Why does their culture of research and development and innovation matter?
5. Innovation in the manufacturing process itself…

TenCate

6. The textile industry in Georgia is rebounding strong, and jobs are starting to come back!
7. A discussion around the necessity – and the challenges – of having a global company.
8. The challenge of finding skilled labor…
9. Uses of different technologies in their manufacturing process.
10. A discussion around the benefits of belonging to the Georgia Association of Manufacturers.

This episode is brought to you by:
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Filed Under: Innovation, Technology

Tony Deligio of Plastics Today

April 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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Take a quick moment and where ever you are, look around you.  I would be willing to bet that you see some sort of plastic near by.  Well, today we had the photo-9pleasure of speaking with Tony Deligio, Content Director with Plastics Today.  Plastics Today is a Online Publication focused on everything plastic.  With an online reach of over 50,000 unique vistors per month, and combined trade events such as PLASTEC, PLAST-EX, and Expoplast it is easy to see how Plastics today is a leading network for the Plastics Community.

SHOW NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

1.  Tony takes us deeper into Plastics Today and the online Plastics community that they foster.

2.  We discuss how with shows such as “How it’s made” and others, Manufacturing has become Hip again!

3.  We learn more about UBM Canon, Plastics Today’s parent company.

4.  Tony talks about new technologies within the plastic’s industry.

5.  We discuss just how prevalent plastics are in your every day life.

6.  What are some of the challenges facing the plastics world.

7.  We discuss the backlash in the public view against plastic, such as plastic bag bans.

8.  We learn what makes Plastic’s Today a valuable asset to the common plastics professional.

9.  We dig deeper into PLASTEC and PLAST-EX, two great Plastics Trade Shows coming up in the next few months.

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Jim Hennen of the Braas Company

March 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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“Everybody in the building gives a darn.”

That’s just one of the many comments made by Jim Hennen, Vice President of Sales for the Braas Company that stuck in our heads.  He was referring to the fact that Braas is an ESOP, in other words, a company owned by its employees.  Of course it makes an attitudinal difference when company growth and success is directly tied to the value of your retirement plan!

Jim Hennen

Jim Hennen

Another big differentiator is the Braas business model, in Hennen’s words, “an expensive one.”  They have made big, long term investments in developing and maintaining technical expertise.  Be it application engineering, robotics, vision, 3D vision or high end motion control, Braas customers can depend on them to know more than they do.

That depth of expertise is vital in many situations.  Hennen described how difficult it is, for example, for a medical device manufacturer to get FDA approval for a design change.  If even a single component becomes unavailable, sales of that  device come to a screeching halt.  That manufacturer needs to have LOT of confidence in the tech skills of its supplier!

Our discussion of “the next big disruptive technology” was also fascinating.  Collaborative robots can work in and among human beings with little or no safeguarding.  They can take over boring, repetitive, dangerous, carpal tunnel producing tasks and enable the people to apply their higher value talents.  Break even for an investment in collaborative robots?  Less than a year; maybe as little as three months.  Yeah…  I’d call that disruptive!

And there’s more.  Tune in to hear it all.  Especially the part where Jim describes the process Braas Company uses to pick its supplier partners.  Great stuff.

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Filed Under: Technology

John Sprovieri of Assembly Magazine

February 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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John Sprovieri, Chief Editor of Assembly Magazine

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Whether Assembling One Large Item or 1000’s of Small Ones Assembly Magazine Has You Covered

It’s hard to believe but we may have found somebody who enjoys speaking with Manufacturers as much as we do! MRR is proud to welcome John Sprovieri, Chief Editor of Assembly Magazine. Today we learned that Assembly Magazine has been around for nearly 50 years providing original content to Manufacturers, Distributors, Managers, Engineers, and anyone else who assembles products on a daily basis. By keeping their subscribers informed about the latest assembling technology within wide variety of industries the value that Assembly Magazine provides it readers grows stronger with every issue.

Cross Pollination of Industries Equals More Innovation

John described that by covering a wide range of industries readers are often able to pick and pull the best practices and techniques from areas that they normally would have never considered. John also spoke about emerging trends in manufacturing, specifically the role that automation is going to play looking towards the future. Even more specifically, we discuss the potentially enormous impact that the new Baxter Robot will have on small to medium size manufacturers. Curious what the outlook for capital spending looks like for 2013 and 2014? Take a listen and hear John cover the results of Assembly’s Capital Equipment Spending Survey.

As we usually note, we simply covered too much ground to describe everything here. The only way for you not to miss anything is to take a moment and download the interview. It makes for a great way to unwind after a busy today.

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Butch Rich of Rame-Hart

February 19, 2013 By 1 Comment
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Needle

Rame-Hart manufacturers egg harvesters and inoculators used to develop flu-vaccines that help save lives every year

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If you have ever had a flu shot, then there is a good chance that in a small way you are connected to our next guest. We welcomed to the show Butch Rich, Director of Operations with Rame-Hart. Rame-Hart began as a design and build machine shop and today has evolved into a leading manufacturer of Egg Harvesters and Inoculators. It is these Harvesters and Inoculators that are the backbone of the flu-vaccine industry.

SHOW NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

1.  Why should you care about egg inoculators.

2. How important is precision when handling thousands of eggs a day?

3. Who are Ramé-Hart’s primary customers?

4. Are the inoculators custom built?

5. Butch discusses his journey from the plant floor to his current position.

6. We discuss the need for innovation.

7.  The importance of investing in R&D.

8. Click here to learn more about Rame-Hart

This episode brought to you by:

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Brian Reelitz and Hank Norem of Ramco Innovations

February 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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Brian Reelitz, President of Ramco Innovations

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We had a great time speaking with Brian Reelitz and Hank Norem, President and CFO of Ramco Innovations, respectively. Ramco Innovations is a leading distributor of factory automation products and solutions with a focus on great customer service and innovative product offerings

SHOW HIGHLIGHTS AND NOTES:

1. We learn the history and background of Ramco Innovations.

2. How has the industry changed during Ramco’s 50 years of experience.

3. What’s the best way to serve your market while providing excellent customer service?

4. Using a consultative sales approach to provide solutions.

5. How staying Lean helps organizations become competitive.

6. Maintaining a diverse customer base helps distribute risk in an uncertain economy.

7. What does Ramco see as emerging trends in Manufacturing.

8. The value of being a Association of High Technology Distributors (AHTD) member.

9. Click here to learn more about Brian Reelitz.

10. Click here to learn more about Hank Norem.

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Todd Hockenberry of Top Line Results

January 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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todd hockenberry, top line results, orlando, florida

Todd Hockenberry of Top Line Results

It’s up to you to earn their attention

We are keeping the momentum moving in 2013 and are excited to release the latest episode of Manufacturing Revival Radio.  Today we had the opportunity to gain insight into the mind of Todd Hockenberry, President and owner of Top Line Results.  Top Line Results uses proven marketing and sales strategies to increase revenue.  With a focus on manufacturing, technology, and capital equipment companies Todd was able to provide some valuable advice about beginning a successful inbound marketing strategy.

For those not familiar with the terminology “inbound marketing” Todd provided the perfect analogy, “It’s the difference between magnets and a microphone”.  The days of grabbing a microphone and hoping that somebody happens to be listening is over.  In today’s age companies no longer need to be “pushing” their products, instead they need to be “pulling” the attention of prospective clients.  How do you achieve this pull?  Well as Todd explained, inbound marketing utilizes a combination of tools such as blogs, podcasting, social media to develop a relationship with individuals.  

More sales with less proposals

Throughout the interview Todd provided us with real examples of successful inbound marketing campaigns.  Take a listen to hear Todd explain how one  tlr_logocompany was able to decrease their marketing budget and increase sales, all while putting together less quotes then the previous year.  Talk about a gain in efficiency!

Scared to write a blog?  Take a moment to listen to the entire interview and hear how anyone can write a successful blog.  We really covered a lot of valuable information about why you should be thinking about inbound marketing in 2013.

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Joel Hans of Manufacturing.net

January 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment
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The CNN of Manufacturing news

Joel-Hans

Joel Hans, Managing Editor of Manufacturing.net

We found the perfect guest to help us kick start a new year of Manufacturing Revival Radio.  This week we welcome Joel Hans, Managing Editor for Manufacturing.net.  Manufacturing.net is a leading source for news and information for all things Manufacturing.  Joel shared with us the goals of manufacturing.net and also provided some insight into what to expect in Manufacturing for 2013.

Manufacturing.net

Manufacturing.net is an amazing resource for professionals looking for the latest industry news.  Joel explained to us how his publication utilizes a wide range of sources in order to provide a constant stream of new and insightful content.  We were intrigued to hear about how Manufacturing.net also houses a team of writers who are constantly working on exclusive in-depth articles focused emerging trends and relevant issues that affect today’s Manufacturers.  

What to expect in 2013?

As our conversation turned towards what to expect for 2013 Joel expounded upon some of the trends he expects for 2013.  One common theme that has the potential to be a game-changer to US Manufacturing is the reshoring of many companies foreign operations.  Download the interview to listen to Joel discuss how the possible reshoring of some leading consumer electronics manufacturers could play a significant role in bringing attention to Manufacturing’s Revival in 2013!

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John Weber of Software Toolbox

December 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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A big welcome to John Weber, President of Software Toolbox. Software Toolbox is a one stop shop for industrial automation software for all project stages from conception through completion. Today John discussed how his experience as a field engineer and the Director of Marketing with an automation firm allowed him recognize that there was a need in the industry. Thus, Software Toolbox was born!

Fixing the pain

John Weber, President of Software Toolbox

John Weber, President of Software Toolbox

While working with an automation distributor, John encountered a plethora of mid level software solutions that were needed to fully complete the picture. While all of these products existed, the infrastructure to make the purchasing easy from the customer view did not. Software toolbox provides a one stop source for customers looking for innovative software solutions in an organized and customer friendly format with world class support

What’s the return on investment?

We all love to hear success stories, and today John stunned us with one of his own.  You have to take a moment to listen to the interview to hear John describe how a $2,500 software investment helped save a client over $21 million dollars!  That’s right, I’ll leave it to you to work the numbers out, but needless to say what an incredible story of value and precision solutions.

We also want to take a moment thank our guest host today Mr. Bob Lowe who is the Executive Director of the Control System’s Integrator Association (CSIA).  You can learn more about Mr. Lowe and CSIA by clicking here and here.

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Thanks for listening and Happy Holidays!

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