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PODCAST

Manufacturing Happy Hour

Welcome to Manufacturing Happy Hour, the podcast where we get real about the latest trends and technologies impacting modern manufacturers. Hosted by industry veteran Chris Luecke, each week, we interview makers, founders, and other manufacturing leaders that are at the top of their game and give you the tools, tactics, and strategies you need to take your career and your business to the next level. We go beyond the buzzwords and dissect real-life applications and success stories so that you can

technology careers

All Episodes

36:18

259: Data Centers, Modularity, and Mission Critical...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/10/28

Data centers are popping up all over the country, and for good reason. Capacity is doubling every three to four years, equipment is booked years out, and the race for AI computing power is creating opportunities that didn't exist five years ago.Keith Hutchens from Barry-Wehmiller Design Group joins us to discuss how data centers are driving manufacturing activity across the entire supply chain. He compares this moment to building railroads in the 1800s or the oil boom of the 1970s and how we're

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01:04:37

258: Mentorship, Mid-Career Entrepreneurship, and...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/10/21

Patti Nowak is a business leader in tech with stories so inspiring you’ll want to take notes. In this episode of the Manufacturing Happy Hour, we grab a beer with Patti, Owner of Control+M Solutions, to talk about mid-life entrepreneurship, mentoring women in manufacturing, and what it takes to build a thriving tech business.Patti started her career in accounting but quickly found her passion in IT and software, where she discovered a talent for turning complex technology into real business results

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01:05:42

257: Thinking Differently About Access to Capital in...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/10/14

What does it really take to help manufacturers grow? It’s not just about cutting costs or chasing margins. It’s about understanding how capital really moves through your business. In this episode, we’re sitting down with Erik Skie, Jon Hughes, and Aaron Traut from CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen) for a roundtable chat over beers (in spirit, if not literally).We talk about why profitability is a decision, how to tell your story through your financials, and what manufacturers can do to attract capital and

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53:17

256: Timeless Industrial Marketing Strategies and New...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/10/07

It's been five years since Wendy Covey, CEO and Co-Founder of TREW Marketing, and Joe Sullivan, Founder of Gorilla 76, first joined Manufacturing Happy Hour, back when everyone was scrambling to figure out digital marketing during the pandemic.We sit down with them to explore which marketing fundamentals still deliver results and what new tactics manufacturers can't afford to ignore. The core truth hasn't changed: your best content still comes from extracting knowledge from industry experts. But

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21:39

BONUS: The State of Robotics in 2025: Investing in...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/10/03

This episode is brought to you by RoboBusiness 2025, the preeminent show for learning about the business of robotics and catching up on the latest engineering advancements in the field.Robotics has moved beyond pilots. it’s scaling for real. In this bonus episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, host Chris Luecke sits down with Sanjay Aggarwal, Partner at F-Prime Capital, to explore the State of Robotics from an investor’s perspective.Sanjay shares where venture capital is flowing in robotics and

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43:54

255: How AI is Reshaping Security and OT Network...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/09/30

It’s been over a year since we’ve talked about cybersecurity on Manufacturing Happy Hour, and with AI changing the game completely, we’re overdue for a refresh. Around 80-85% of the global industry doesn’t have basic defense at the edge of their networks; that’s a sobering statistic.Felipe Sabino Costa, Senior Product Manager for Networking and Cybersecurity at Moxa, joins the show to break down why Operational Technology (OT) security matters more than ever. Manufacturers need to transmit massive

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37:42

254: From Steel City to Robotics Powerhouse:...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/09/23

Before Silicon Valley, there was Pittsburgh in the early 1900s. Young entrepreneurs with serious capital flocked to the city, creating industries from the ground up. Plate glass. Oil drilling. Vulcanized rubber. Steel processes that would literally build America's skyline.But today, something incredible is happening in the Steel City again. The same superstructures tower overhead, but below, you’ll find robots solving automation challenges that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.We

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35:48

253: Rapid Execution in Industrial Automation: From...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/09/16

Manufacturers know that automation is table stakes in 2025, and yet it’s still a bit of an afterthought for some. You'd think something that can make or break a facility would be everyone’s number one priority. And as you'll hear in this episode, overlooking automation can sometimes have disastrous consequences. In this episode, we sit down with Cassy Gardner and Chris Schleich from E Tech Group over virtual Pellegrinos to unpack a real-world case study. They were called in to revive a mothballed

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46:18

252: Adaptive Production, Resilient Manufacturing,...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/09/09

Manufacturers (not just the guys on the shop floor, but the C-suite behind them) are on a race to the finish line when it comes to automation. Most of us by now are pretty familiar with how AI and automation can play a role in manufacturing. But it looks like we’re heading to the next stage…In this episode, we hear from Chris Stevens, the SVP & GM of US Automation Business at Siemens Digital Industries. We grab a virtual drink and kick the episode off with an interesting paradox – twenty years

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33:11

251: What is a Corporate Venture Studio? An Interview...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/09/02

We just can’t stay away from Pittsburgh’s robotics scene! So we’re back, this time turning the spotlight on the business and startup angle with Premier Labs. Premier Labs is a corporate venture studio, a relatively new model that changes how technology comes to market.President Joel Reed joins the episode to give real examples and explanations about how a corporate venture studio works. In short, Premier Labs starts with real problems and works backward to create solutions that actually fit.Finding

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51:15

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/08/26

As manufacturers are under pressure to do more with less and somehow fill roles in an increasingly smaller talent pool, unlocking your “hidden factory” could be the solution.To celebrate episode 250, Chris Luecke returns home to St. Louis to meet with some of his early career mentors from Rockwell Automation – now heading up Tri Tech Automation.Ryan Williams, Director of Innovation and Solution Sales, Adam Ruebsam, President, and Luke Manier, Managing Director, sit down at Urban Chestnut Brewing

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28:05

BONUS: How is the Manufacturing Industry Doing...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/08/19

What happens when you put five podcasters in a room together at one of the biggest events of the year for innovative industrial tech? A super broad view of what’s happening in the industry and what we’ve got to look forward to.Recorded live from Hexagon’s 2025 event, we welcomed four friends of Manufacturing Happy Hour, returning to the show to talk about the innovations we were most excited to see at the event. But for the main part of our conversation, we do a mid-year check-in on the industry to

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49:23

249: Why Pittsburgh has been Successful...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/08/12

Pittsburgh’s success in the robotics space didn’t happen overnight. It’s been over 40 years in the making, with education, business, and new innovations all coming together to make the city one of the big robotics hubs alongside Boston and San Francisco.The Pittsburgh Robotics Network has been a key player in that success, giving individuals, companies, and universities the opportunity to collaborate on projects and business opportunities. Executive Director, Jennifer Apicella, joins us on the

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17:49

The State of Robotics in 2025: Live from the Robotics...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/08/05

What will it take to get humanoid robots out of the experimental phase and into our daily lives? A lot of us always dreamed of having our own C-3PO at the ready, but how close are we really?Well, it’s a little more complicated than simply getting them on a production line. If we want robots to make an appearance not just in the manufacturing space, but also in healthcare, construction, public spaces, and even at home, there’s a whole lot more work to do.In this episode, we bring you a two-part

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55:14

248: Reindustrialization and Building in the Midwest...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/07/29

The reindustrialization movement is fully underway, and cities like Detroit are leading the charge. But how do we accelerate the timescale it takes to get America back to the ‘golden days’ of manufacturing?The key, as you’ll hear in this episode, isn’t to keep looking back at the past. It’s to use the tools and resources we have today with a healthy dose of industry collaboration.Joining this episode is Chris Nolte, Co-Founder of Bloom, an operations-as-a-service platform created in Detroit to help

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01:05:19

247: Lessons from a Serial Entrepreneur: Mark...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/07/22

What if accepting failure was the key to entrepreneurial success? Mark DeSantis has built and sold multiple companies over the years and like any entrepreneurial journey, it’s been a mixture of ups and downs, failures and successes. But in this episode, we hear that acknowledging the possibility of failure is what gave him the courage to keep on going.Mark shares his entrepreneurial story – why he began it, how he stays motivated, and some of the best lessons he’s picked up over the years. One of

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01:24:30

246: automatica 2025: Exploring Innovation, Robotics,...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/07/15

You’ll want to grab yourself a pilsner for this episode. Manufacturing Happy Hour heads overseas to sample some fine German beer in the city of Munich…and we also headed to automatica 2025 while we were there.Europe’s biggest AI and automation event is a must-visit if you can get over there. But if not, this episode has you covered.Between event talks, demos, and trips to the beer garden, we met some amazing people behind robotics and AI companies in Germany and beyond. Chris Luecke and Jake Hall

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56:14

245: A Grassroots Approach to Shaping the Future of...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/07/08

You might be surprised to learn what the biggest challenge manufacturers say they’re facing right now. The talent gap comes up a lot on this podcast, but early survey findings from the New American Industrial Alliance (NAIA), show that “access to capital” is really what holds most mid-market manufacturers back.In this episode, we sit down with the CEO and Co-Founder of Sustainment, a software company that helps manufacturers manage supplier data, sourcing, and procurement in one centralized

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42:09

244: Automate LIVE 2025: Warehousing Innovations, AI...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/07/04

“The hardest part of robotics isn't actually doing robotics. It's providing a solution that solves a real customer problem.” Melonee Wise’s quote from this episode is a good summary of what we talk about in this episode – practical, real-world applications of the technology we see hyped.Robotics, AMRs, humanoid robots, automation, AI – all of these things are hot topics in manufacturing. But the truth is that these solutions may not always result in the most exciting or sexiest applications. But

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41:44

243: Inside Automate 2025: Robotics, Automation...

Manufacturing Happy Hour ·

2025/07/01

Welcome to Part 1 of our two-part Automate 2025 recap series. In this episode, we dive into current trends in automation and robotics, including cobots, open operating systems, and more. The interviews were recorded as part of A3's Automate LIVE series of interviews and include insights from the following industry leaders:Jerry Perez, FANUC America CorporationBernd Raithel, Director Product Management & Marketing, Siemens Factory AutomationShawn Donahue and Brian Darling, Raymond CorpKen

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