Episodios

  • Ep. 80 (6/12/25): Sure Controls works to keep Midwest manufacturers running, growing & smiling

    Ep. 80 (6/12/25): Sure Controls works to keep Midwest manufacturers running, growing & smiling
    Jun 12 2025
    Terry Brei, president and owner of Sure Controls in Greenville, joins Kate and Ann on this week's podcast to talk about digital manufacturing, Industry 4.0 and the future of manufacturing technology.

    Automation and artificial intelligence are hot topics in the manufacturing world, and Sure Controls' work is at the forefront of these technologies. Terry says the mission at Sure Controls is to "keep manufacturers running, growing and smiling in the Midwest." This includes helping to understand the impact, necessity and residual effects of the technologies -- not just the seemingly limitless possibilities, but the solutions that match your business and the time and effort it takes to implement them.

    "You have to understand that you're improving operations -- it doesn't always mean that you're simplifying," Terry tells the co-hosts on episode 80. "You can fully automate something, but there's a lot of work involved when you make changes to a fully automated process or if you're automating something that's not fully understood how the process is done."

    Listen to all of Terry Brei's insights, including what's next for Industry 4.0 and what he considers his best leadership insight, by listening to the full episode.
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    28 m
  • Ep. 79 (6/5/25): Harnessing the power of presence with Mike Lee

    Ep. 79 (6/5/25): Harnessing the power of presence with Mike Lee
    Jun 5 2025
    Get a preview of Thursday's NEW Manufacturing Alliance quarterly meeting keynote when you listen to this week's conversation with Mike Lee of Mindshift Labs, who shares his insights about living in the present moment and how it connects to leadership in today's distracted world.

    A Wisconsin native, Mike spent a significant portion of his career playing and coaching basketball, even working one-on-one with NBA legends like Steph Curry and Joel Embiid, but he shares that in the last 10 years his life transformation has taken him somewhat away from basketball as he has developed his business as a motivational speaker, mindfulness coach and author of the book "New Rules for the Future of Leadership."

    Learn more about Mike's work online at mindshiftlabs.com.
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    12 m
  • Ep. 78 (5/29/25): 2025 NEWMA All Star Jennifer Rome of Burger Boat Co.

    Ep. 78 (5/29/25): 2025 NEWMA All Star Jennifer Rome of Burger Boat Co.
    May 29 2025
    Jennifer Rome, who graces the cover of the 2025 NEW Manufacturing Alliance All Stars magazine, is Kate's and Ann's guest this week on NEW Manufacturing Insights. Find out more about Jennifer's career journey and why learning a trade and working in the manufacturing sector has been the right career move for her.

    Jennifer took the wood manufacturing course at Fox Valley Technical College and worked for a historical floor manufacturer before coming to Burger Boat four years ago. As an "art kid" growing up, Jennifer says wood manufacturing was a natural fit. She hasn't regretted the decision a bit, and she tells us why on this week's episode.

    Read this year's All Stars magazine featuring Jennifer Rome online: 2025 NEW Manufacturing Alliance – All Stars
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    12 m
  • Ep. 77 (5/22/25): The benefits of youth apprenticeship, with David Gordon of CESA 7

    Ep. 77 (5/22/25): The benefits of youth apprenticeship, with David Gordon of CESA 7
    May 22 2025
    David Gordon, director of career and technical education with Wisconsin's Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) 7, joins Kate and Ann on this week's episode to talk about youth apprenticeship and connecting the Northeast Wisconsin business community with young talent and our region's school districts.

    David was honored as NEWMA's Career Pathmaker Award recipient at last year's Excellence in Manufacturing K-12 Partnership Awards. He says he sees his role as helping students have a-ha moments around the relevance of their education in the real world, as well as helping companies connect to the talent pipeline in meaningful ways.
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    17 m
  • Ep. 76 (5/15/25): Jen Fietz re-imagines Imaginasium as Stoke RGA

    Ep. 76 (5/15/25): Jen Fietz re-imagines Imaginasium as Stoke RGA
    May 15 2025
    Stoke RGA (Revenue Growth Accelerator), formerly known as Imaginasium, has officially launched its new brand with a sharp focus on helping manufacturers drive double-digit, scalable revenue growth. Built on years of hands-on experience with Midwest manufacturing companies, Stoke RGA partners with $75M+ manufacturers to align strategy, sales, marketing and operations and execute with precision.


    Jen Fietz, a Wisconsin-born manufacturing leader, leads Stoke RGA, and she joins co-hosts Kate Bruns of Insight on Manufacturing and Ann Franz of the NEW Manufacturing Alliance on today's new episode of the NEW Manufacturing Insights podcast to share more about Imaginasium's evolution to Stoke RGA, as well as her latest insights on the industry.

    Learn more at www.stokerga.com.
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    16 m
  • Ep. 75 (5/8/25): Buckley Brinkman on the future of MEPs, Wisconsin's manufacturing landscape

    Ep. 75 (5/8/25): Buckley Brinkman on the future of MEPs, Wisconsin's manufacturing landscape
    May 8 2025
    Buckley Brinkman, executive director and CEO of the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing Productivity, joins Kate and Ann on this week's episode to help unpack the 2024-2025 Wisconsin Manufacturing Report, which WCMP has produced for the past four years in order to take the pulse of manufacturers across the state. He also notes how some of the results (including supply chain falling off respondents' list of top worries) may already need updating since the Trump administration has announced tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada and other key trade partners.

    Buckley also gives his perspective on the federal government's recent defunding of 10 MEP programs in the U.S., and then reversal of the action -- what it means, what comes next, how worried we should be and how manufacturers from across the state have mobilized to help advocate for the preservation of WMEP, which WCMP oversees.

    Learn more about the latest WCMP Wisconsin Manufacturing Report online at https://www.wicmp.org/wisconsin-manufacturing-report/.
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    25 m
  • Ep. 74 (5/1/25): Mel Butcher on building a female future

    Ep. 74 (5/1/25): Mel Butcher on building a female future
    May 1 2025
    On the eve of the NEW Manufacturing Alliance's "Future of Work" Summit on succession planning, featured speaker Mel Butcher of the organization Lead to Soar, which is working to close the leadership gender gap, joins Kate and Ann on the podcast to share more about the Madison-based organization, her personal background and passions and why closing the leadership gender gap is key to creating successful succession plans.

    She also helps identify and explain the "missing link" in women's career advice.

    Learn more about Lead to Soar at www.leadtosoar.com.
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    16 m
  • Ep. 73 (4/24/25): Marion Body Works President Kevin Ignacio

    Ep. 73 (4/24/25): Marion Body Works President Kevin Ignacio
    Apr 24 2025
    President Kevin Ignacio of Marion Body Works joins this week's episode to talk about the 120-year-old manufacturing company that has been owned by his family since 1980. The company that started out making milk wagons now manufactures commercial van bodies, custom cabs for fire truck chassis manufacturers, all-aluminum fire apparatus and more.

    Kevin tells co-hosts Kate Bruns and Ann Franz about the career path that led him back to the family business he's been around with his whole life -- including following the family rule to work somewhere else first, the challenges of handing down a business through three generations, and the pros and cons of running a company in a small community like Marion, Wisconsin. (The company currently has locations in both Marion and Shawano.)

    This week's episode is sponsored by Werner Electric Supply. Learn more at wernerelectric.com.

    Learn more about Marion Body Works at marionbody.com.
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    18 m
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