Advanced Manufacturing Podcast

This is our first guest episode of the podcast! The folks over at Renew Rural Iowa were kind enough to allow us rebroadcast rights for the interviews they do with their monthly Leader Award winner. In this episode, Bob Quinn of WHO radio visits Fairfield Iowa to talk to the founder of Agri-Industrial Plastics, Dick Smith. Also featured in the episode is President of the company, Lori Shaefer-Wheaton. Agri-Industrial Plastics has been around for nearly 40 years and they make some incredible products. From fuel tanks, to kayaks, canoes, playground slides, and pig feeders, they do it all. Their operation, located in Fairfield, Iowa, employs around 200 people and, like many in the manufacturing industry, is looking to continue to grow. Automation plays a key role in their company as unemployment in Jefferson County sits below 3% making finding workers a challenge. This episode was made possible by the folks at Renew Rural Iowa. The Iowa Farm Bureau has an innovative program to enhance and improve economic gr

In this episode of AMP I traveled to Sheffield Iowa to tour a household name in agricultural manufacturing, Sukup. Sheffield is a town of just 1,200 and Sukup employs around 600 people! Sukup is a family-owned global manufacturer with products sold in 81 countries. What began as an idea for keeping the "crust" off of grain in grain bins, has turned Sukup into a global powerhouse. In this episode I get the pleasure of speaking with Steve Sukup and pick up the conversation from where I left off in Part 1, with his daughter, Emily. Steve shares some fun stories about the early years of the company and his love for the family business that grew with him over the years. He also shares a great story about how he became friends with the manager of the New York Yankees, Joe Girardi. In addition to the amazing products they put out at Sukup, they also have a strong sense of corporate philanthropy. Following a horrible earthquake in Haiti, Sukup began to design and build homes for impoverished areas of the crumbling

Wow, where to begin??? Basecamp 2017 was a smashing success. a dozen middle school-aged kids for the second year in a row took over Summit Products in Altoona, Iowa, for a weeklong summer camp focused on manufacturing. But it's so much more than that. The campers get to go hands-on with welding, bending, cuttings, cnc, plasma torches, Solidworks, and everything in between. It's a camp about problem solving, building, creating, and working with your hands to create something amazing. In this episode I chat with a couple of the base camp students about their experience, what they think about manufacturing now that they've had some experience, and also what they want to do with their future. I also sit down with the founder of Basecamp, Albert Marasco, to learn about why he started the camp and what the future holds. It was such a rewarding experience to spend the week with these young people and see just what they are able to come up with and create when they have the freedom and tools at their disposal. O

In this episode of AMP I travel to Sheffield Iowa to tour a household name in agricultural manufacturing, Sukup. Sheffield is a town of 1,200 and Sukup employs around 600 people so they're certainly a staple of the community. Sukup is a family-owned global manufacturer with products sold in 81 countries. What began as an idea for keeping the "crust" off of grain in grain bins, has turned Sukup into a global powerhouse. In this episode I get a chance to sit down with a third generation owner, Emily Schmitt. Emily is one of 8 family members working day to day in the business and also has the distinction of being the first ever female guest on our show. Emily shares with us what it was like growing up at Sukup and how her dream of becoming an attorney didn't mean she had to go outside of the company for employment. Emily is a mother of 2 and, counting nieces/nephews, there are 5 young family members that make up the 4th generation. In addition to the amazing products they put out at Sukup, they also have a st

This episode of AMP is a vast departure from our normal Q&A with a guest. Host, Gabriel Glynn, gives you an introduction to his trip around the eastern half of the US with the folks from GE Corporation. This incredible opportunity gave Glynn a glimpse into what the future of manufacturing looks like through the eyes of a giant, GE. In the introduction episode, Gabriel shares his journey to NYC and meeting the fellow journalists invited to join in on this Manufacturing Showcase. Folks from The Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, CNBC, and a few others. Gabriel shares his apprehension of the trip and fear for joining such a prestigious group to visit some of the most mind-blowing facilities he's ever been in. Gabriel talks about his chance encounter in the mens room that led to a conversation with top GE executives about his startup, MākuSafe and how it fits into the vision of manufacturing that GE was showcasing on this trip. In the second part of this two part series, Gabriel will take you into the facto

In this episode of AMP I get a chance to visit with a great friend and advocate of the podcast, Mike Ralston. Mike has been the president of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry for the last 12 years, but his story is far deeper than that. An champion of Iowa business, Mike began his story in a unique way, becoming Mayor of his Iowa town at the amazingly young age of 18. From there his path took him to many corners of politics and business before landing him in the position he has now with ABI. Aside from the many stories of his time as Mayor, which include dead cats and letting go a police Chief, Mike shares his many encounters with some of the most influential people in business and personal motivation. We talk about his encounters with Mike Rowe, Patrick Lencioni, Jim Collins, Dick Vitale, Ken Blanchard, Joe Theismann, and more. The Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) has not only been a huge promoter of the Advanced Manufacturing Podcast, but they have been a role model for other st

In this episode of AMP we have a call with Dave Opsahl, VP of Corporate Development for Tech Soft 3D. Dave is passionate about manufacturing and how their technology can dramatically improve operations in the industry. He shares something called Model Based Definition and what this means for the manufacturing industry. We get beyond 3D PDF's and into augmented reality and virtual reality a bit as well. Tech Soft 3D is the leading global provider of development tools that help software teams deliver successful applications, as well as the creator of the 3D format that is part of the PDF standard. Established in 1996 and headquartered in Bend, Oregon, Tech Soft 3D also has offices in California, France, England and Japan. The company’s toolkit products power nearly 500 unique applications running on hundreds of millions of computers worldwide, while the tetra4d brand of end-user products are used by many of the top manufacturing and construction firms for converting CAD data into 3D PDF. I hope that you enjoy

In an unsuspecting building in downtown Cedar Rapids some really cool things are being made. In this episode of AMP we travel to BeraTek Industries to hear the story of how this startup manufacturing company is making waves in the product world. We hear about their unique approach to marketing new products and how they pilot new products by 3D printing. We also learn about how their team comes up with new product concepts. It's a fascinating new approach to product manufacturing, growing a company, and building a brand! Gerald Beranek, founder and CEO, has an interesting past that began with tinkering in his garage with his father. It escalated when he bought his own CNC machine, and then his own 3D printer. The day he picked to quit his job and give manufacturing a try?... the day his first child was born!     SHOW NOTES To reach out to Gerald at BeraTek directly you can call them at: 844-237-2835 You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for listening and please rate us on iTunes if yo

In this episode I travel to NW Iowa to a town called Rock Valley, to see something truly unique and interesting. Do you remember shop class in high school? You know, where you got a chance to use a drill and perhaps you built a birdhouse or picture frame? Well, in Rock Valley they go BIG! They built a full size manufacturing facility onto the high school and they call it Rocket Manufacturing! That's right. Students get hands on welding, machining, CAD design, and more!  These students are getting hands on manufacturing experience by creating real products for local companies and the program uses the money generated from that for new equipment, raw materials, and other operational costs, just like a real business would. I get a chance to sit down with school Superintendent, Chad Janzen, and he shares his journey that took him from farm fields to big city light s in LA before coming back to the midwest. He shares the challenges and the resources that it took to pull off something like Rocket Manufacturing and

Part 2 of our conversation with surfboard maker, Donny Brink, takes us down several paths. We start out learning about the business side of Brink Surf and how surfboards are made. Materials, the process, the technology (and sometimes lack there of), and the creative eye that goes into making asymmetric surfboards. Donny shares his life philosophy and some of the things that influence his life and work. There's a lot of links in the notes below so check it out! Donny Brinks journey began where he was born, in South Africa. His mother was a teacher and his father sold electron microscopes so naturally, he became a surfer. It wasn't until a trip to the US while touring with his Christian rock band that he really decided to make a go at making surfboards. After meeting his would-be wife at a friends wedding in California Donny embarked on a journey that is best told by the man himself. This episode takes a different direction than we normally do in that surfboard making is more an art than a job in manufacturin