Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders

Guest Steve Schubert, Chief Operating Officer at Advanced Machine & Engineering Co., talks with co-hosts Jim Carr, Nick Goellner, and Jason Zenger about his rise from high school apprentice to a manufacturing industry leader and provides advice and perspective on recruiting and training the next generation of manufacturers. Segments: Jason provides a positive outlook on business-related changes prompted by COVID-19 (2:10) Nick introduces manufacturing news about a recent drop in Europe's automotive industry sales (4:05) Guest Steve Schubert explains how he first got involved in manufacturing (10:00) Steve discusses his experience with formal apprenticeship and gives some thoughts on alternative educational opportunities and what it will take to build future manufacturing leaders (21:00) Steve gives insight into recruitment and discusses specific sources for finding future employees (28:00) Jason and Jim discuss whether or not it is the company's responsibility to teach soft skills (33:00) Steve provides advice on how small companies can benefit from apprenticeship programs and gives final thoughts on the benefits of a career in manufacturing (36:00) Jim, Nick, and Jason provide final takeaways (42:00) Mentioned on the show: Rock River Valley Tooling and Machining Association German Precision Tool Industry Projects Decline in Consumption

When it comes to your cutting tools, how do you know when it's time to resharpen or recycle? This week on the MakingChips podcast, hosts Jim Carr, Jason Zenger, and Nick Goellner discuss when and why you should consider resharpening your cutting tools as well as the cost to resharpen versus cost of buying brand new.

It's tempting, in rapid response, to abandon procedures or suspend protocols in order to solve immediate crisis situations. This week's guest, Noah Goellner, lean manufacturing expert and COO of Hennig Inc., provides practical methods for incorporating your company's core values and internal processes to produce successful solutions, no matter the timeline or challenge.

MakingChips guest Jim Griffith, an employment attorney for HR Source, answers timely questions about individual state and federal marijuana laws, and provides manufacturing leaders with three action steps to help address management and human resources issues related to the use of legalized cannabis.

Chad Moutray, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), talks with MC hosts Jim Carr, Nick Goellner, and Jason Zenger to provide insight into the current economic conditions for manufacturers during COVID-19 and offer an economic forecast for the future of our industry.

In a timely interview, Jim Carr, Nick Goellner, and Jason Zenger sit down with Cook County IL Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle, who oversees one of the nation's largest public health and hospital systems as well as one of the nation's largest criminal justice systems, to discuss details of the COVID-19 management and response, the CARES Act, and how to utilize current and future available resources to meet the demands of the crisis.

Are there any positives in this pandemic? With social distancing, working from home, schools and businesses closing, and travel being restricted, the physical and psychological impact of COVID-19 is hitting us all. The MakingChips podcast has always focused on equipping and inspiring leaders in the manufacturing industry and we are not changing course now. In this episode, Jim Carr and Nick Goellner talk with guest Karl Koenigsberger, Business Development Manager at IRIS Factory Automation, about finding opportunities to improve services, products, and management during this unprecedented time of change and challenge.

In this week's MakingChips podcast, hosts Jason Zenger, Jim Carr, and Nick Goellner discuss the impact of today's Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and consider its effect on the manufacturing industry, future investors, travel and much more.

When the family members running the family business comprise everyone from seasoned octogenarians to fresh-faced millennials, challenges arise that are not necessarily talked about in other industries. In this week's MakingChips podcast, hosts Jim Carr, Jason Zenger and Nick Goellner (representing three separate generations) delve into some complex, and often emotional, leadership issues experienced in their own multigenerational family businesses, and provide guidance on how to navigate these delicate situations.

As business leaders, the way we respond to unforeseen issues and crises can put a spotlight on both strengths and vulnerabilities within our corporate practices, culture, and personal character. In this week's MakingChips podcast, Jason Zenger challenges Jim Carr, Nick Goellner and the metalworking nation to examine the impact of today's Coronavirus (CoV) pandemic, and consider its effect on the manufacturing industry as well as what can be learned from the way leaders around the world are reacting to this threat. The guys discuss 4 points that every manufacturing leader can learn from this crisis as well as Xi Jinping, the paramount leader of the PRC, and the reaction from the Communist Party of China.