Manufacturing Happy Hour

Full automation and AI on the factory floor are great, but the line still doesn't run without people who can feel a part click into place wrong or hear a tool burn.
That space between what technology can repeat and what only an operator can sense is the art of precision manufacturing.
Recorded live from The Manufacturing Exchange at ARTISANworks in Rochester, NY for the Rochester stop on the Rust Belt Renaissance Tour, Chris is joined on stage by three guests who think about that space every day. Matthew Bradley is Program Director at Moog Inc., a 75-year-old Buffalo-based motion control company building out a brand-new 150,000-square-foot machine shop. James Greer is Lead Sourcing Rep at X-Bow Systems, the non-traditional solid rocket motor manufacturer. Chris Brown, SVP of Sales, joins from Fathom Digital Manufacturing, one of the largest on-demand digital manufacturing platforms in North America.
They talk through where automation creates value and where applying it too aggressively produces scrap. Matt walks through the philosophy his team is using to pull together routings, eliminate setups, and rethink "we've always done it this way" inside Moog's new facility. James shares what he looks for when grading a supplier within 60 seconds of walking the floor, the regional pockets of the US where manufacturing talent is gathering, and why the mix of people on machine shop floors is more varied than people assume.
For anyone scaling a precision shop, evaluating suppliers, trying to figure out where the operator ends and the machine should begin, or thinking about the art of manufacturing, this is a look at how three working leaders are navigating that line right now.
In this episode, find out:
The parts of precision manufacturing that will always need a human, and why feel still beats sensors when tolerances run into the millionths
Where the art shows up in novel parts and the unfamiliar problems no simulation, CAM program, or AI catches the first time through
Why Moog calls its experienced machinists a "critical, precious resource" and how that framing shapes the company's plan to double headcount over the next decade
How a Moog servo valve goes together, and why an interference fit clicking is the cue that something is already wrong
What Chris Brown means when he says "the human brain is what needs to solve that problem," and where Fathom puts that into practice
What outsiders miss about Upstate New York's manufacturing scene, from optics to aerospace to motion control
How shop culture and the way owners invest in their people decide whether the next generation of machinists stays

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!
Tweetable Quotes:
"There's certain things, especially in the precision motion control world, that we just haven't been able to figure out, and frankly, we don't think we're gonna be able to. There is always gonna have to be a human in there to feel and understand what's going on." — Matthew Bradley, Program Director, Moog Inc.
"If you ask five engineers to solve one problem, there'll be 10 answers in 20 hours of argument. So time box that time, understand that sometimes your gut's Right. Trust it and move forward." — Chris Brown, SVP of Sales, Fathom Digital Manufacturing
"What that owner did is he invested in his people. He said, 'I don't want you to go out and get a personal loan and give your money away to some financial institution. I don't want you to go get a mortgage. I'll buy your house.' So he bought all of his employees their homes through their work. He invested in his people. That story stuck with me." — James Greer, Lead Sourcing Rep, X-Bow Systems

Links & mentions:
Fathom Digital Manufacturing, one of the largest on-demand digital manufacturing platforms in North America, providing 25+ advanced manufacturing technologies and support services across additive manufacturing, injection molding, CNC machining, and sheet metal fabrication.
Moog Inc., worldwide designer, manufacturer, and integrator of precision motion control components and systems, headquartered near Buffalo, NY.
X-Bow Systems, leading non-traditional producer of solid rocket motors, offering both traditional SRMs and advanced additive manufacturing solutions.
ARTISANworks, the art-centric event space in Rochester, NY where The Manufacturing Exchange (and this episode) was held.

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

American manufacturing’s next chapter is being written one region at a time, and Northeast Ohio is one of the places setting the standard.
In a region like theirs, the institutions and programs are moving in sync, and that builds into something bigger than any plant could pull off alone. That’s why we’re hitting the road on the Rust Belt Renaissance tour to find more places where modern technology and industrial innovation are helping to revive the area. On the first stop, we’re live from Collision Bend Brewing in Cleveland with seven leaders from across the Northeast Ohio manufacturing community, working out how a region of 7,700 manufacturers turns local action into national impact.
We split the conversation into three short parts: Matt Duplin (Manager, TransDigm Advanced Manufacturing Center, Cleveland State University), Kyle Zeller (NSF Engine), and Adam Artman (Executive Director, Manufacturing Works) open with what regional action actually looks like on the ground, covering the role of public universities, federal programs like the $160 million NSF Engine award, and the peer-to-peer learning behind the Manu Future program.
Greg Schumacher (Director of Manufacturing, NOVAGARD) and Mike Yost (Manufacturing Excellence Program, Manufacturing Works) turn the theory into a case study, walking through the CESMII Smart Manufacturing Roadmap that Greg’s team finished in six weeks at zero cost.
Jillian Kupchella (Director of Marketing, CESMII) and Jonathan Wise (Chief Technology Architect, CESMII) close the conversation with what comes next nationally, including the three technology needs that every digital project should think through.
This episode is for any manufacturer wondering how to make the most of the resources closest to them.
In this episode, find out:
What ‘regional action’ means in a manufacturing ecosystem and why local organisations like Manufacturing Works act as the connective tissue between manufacturers, universities, and workforce providers
How a public university with an 80% local student body and a dedicated advanced manufacturing centre creates a homegrown engineering pipeline that stays in the region
What an NSF Engine award is, what it takes for a region to compete for one, and how Northeast Ohio became one of fifteen teams in the running for $160 million in federal funding
Why peer-to-peer learning through the Manu Future programme moves the needle on technology adoption far more than any vendor pitch
The ‘secret ingredient’ each panellist credits for Northeast Ohio’s manufacturing density of 7,700 manufacturers, from collaboration to history to location
How CESMII is exporting the same toolset and language to other regions including Western Pennsylvania, Maryland, Los Angeles, and upstate New York
The three technology imperatives Jonathan Wise lays out for any manufacturer deploying new tech – modelling data, contextualising data, and making data interoperable through tools like CESMII’s I3X

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!
Tweetable Quotes:
"We're a public university, and so we should be servicing the public and the manufacturers in our region. The advanced manufacturing center is that space." — Matt Duplin
"Something like this doesn't just get spun up overnight. It's the result of years and years of work together. It speaks to the confidence that our federal government has in our region to compete on a global scale." — Kyle Zeller
"What's unique about Northeast Ohio, every time I meet with someone, is always the same. It's this willingness to share. It's the willingness for the sum to be greater than the parts." — Adam Artman
"We have connected our PLCs, and that data — real time, in engineers' hands, in operations' hands — we have unleashed the data. We are making decisions faster, smarter, with the right information." — Greg Schumacher
"We talk about smart manufacturing like a destination. It's really just a tool for the leaders to lead. The leaders are the ones that own it and drive it." — Mike Yost
"I feel very fortunate to live in a region that is so put together. From a national scale, we're hoping to implement things like this across the nation." — Jillian Kupchella
"Technology is an enabler. It's a means to an end. It is not the end. Just buying technology isn't gonna solve your problems." — Jonathan Wise

Links & mentions:
Manufacturing Works, the membership-based organisation that serves as the connective tissue across Northeast Ohio’s manufacturing ecosystem
CESMII, the Smart Manufacturing Institute and national authority on smart manufacturing, behind the roadmap toolset and the I3X interoperability framework
NSF Engine, the federal place-based innovation programme behind the $160 million regional award Northeast Ohio is competing for
ManuFuture, the peer-to-peer manufacturing learning programme developed in partnership with Purdue University
TransDigm Advanced Manufacturing Center at Cleveland State University, the research-oriented, public-university partner serving the Northeast Ohio engineering pipeline
MAGNET, the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network supporting manufacturers across the region
Tri-C (Cuyahoga Community College), source of the grant that fully funded NOVAGARD’s Smart Manufacturing Roadmap
NOVAGARD, silicone adhesives, sealants, and PVC foam manufacturer featured as the case study
Fathom, sponsor of the Rust Belt Renaissance tour and a network of seven regional manufacturing companies

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

General-purpose AI can answer almost anything, but that flexibility becomes a liability on the factory floor.
In this bonus episode, Chris sits down with Angelo Stracquatanio, CEO of Apprentice, a purpose-built AI company for manufacturers and the creator of A1: The AI Agent for Manufacturing Teams.
Angelo has spent 12 years building software for the people on the shop floor, starting in the pharma manufacturing suites where a 200-page paper binder sparked the idea for the company.
The conversation covers the origin story of Apprentice, the ‘Predict and Prepare’ framework behind its biggest pivots (including the COVID response that helped produce 300 million vaccine doses), and what it looks like to become AI-native as a business. Angelo also tells the story behind A1, the AI Agent for Manufacturing Teams.
This episode's for any manufacturer trying to separate AI hype from AI that can be trusted in production.
In this episode, find out:
Why Angelo named the company ‘Apprentice’ 12 years ago and why the meaning has only become more relevant in the AI era
How the product evolved from AR headsets and Google Glass into a full ISA 95 manufacturing stack
Why stacking AI inside a single manufacturing system traps it behind four walls, and what a new layer above the stack can do differently
Angelo’s personal path from writing every line of code himself to CEO leading the company through multiple pivots
The ‘Predict and Prepare’ framework behind the team’s COVID response, and how it has guided four or five major business moves
What Angelo has learned over 12 years about building a leadership team around complementary weaknesses
Why a custom-trained model and a constrained workflow engine are what give manufacturing AI the precision and trust it needs for production use

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!
Tweetable Quotes:
“In manufacturing in particular, humans still need to be the driving force. And AI is just a tool to help support them.”
“The hardest thing that I had to learn was not software. It wasn’t even the entrepreneurship or the CEO stuff. It was building trust and credibility with our customers.”
“If we’re gonna use AI in manufacturing, it’s gotta be precise. Otherwise, no one’s gonna trust this thing.”

Links & mentions:
Apprentice, a purpose-built AI company for manufacturers and the creators of A1: The AI Agent for Manufacturing Teams
Laico’s, long-running, brick-lined nook offering an array of Italian cuisine, cocktails, and wine in Jersey City, NJ

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

For years, reshoring was a fringe idea. Now, it’s one of the most talked-about topics in manufacturing.
Even though the conversation is now in vogue, there’s still a challenge. Many companies are still making the same mistake when deciding where to manufacture. They’re looking at price, not total cost of ownership (TCO).
In this episode, Chris sits down with Harry Moser – Founder of the Reshoring Initiative – to break down the real math behind reshoring…and why getting that math right could unlock millions of jobs and fundamentally reshape U.S. manufacturing.
Make sure to visit ManufacturingHappyHour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.
Mentioned in this episode:
Mfg Happy Hour's GOLDEN STATE TAKEOVER Tour
Don't miss Manufacturing Happy Hour on tour this May 2026 as we head across the state of California. We'll be hitting the Bay Area on 5/19, Modesto on 5/20, and Los Angeles on 5/21. Live podcasts and parties in every city. Get your tickets today.
Manufacturing Happy Hour on Tour

How do you know when your current setup has stopped working, and what to do with it when it does?
In this bonus episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, Chris sits down with Shane Dubbelman, Head of Partnerships at MRPeasy, and Sara Duff, Managing Director at Smart Manufacture, to talk about what happens at that point, when the lack of visibility into inventory, costs, and operations starts to hold a business back.
They get into where spreadsheets begin to slack, how to think about MRP vs ERP at that stage of growth, and why a lot of companies looking at ERP are probably aiming too far ahead of what they need.
Sara shares a couple of examples from her work with manufacturers, including how one CNC machining business ended up stretched across a mix of disconnected tools. And Shane walks through how MRPeasy approaches the tricky task of implementation.
In this episode, find out:
The point where spreadsheets start to break down, and the impact that has on costs and planning
Why most companies aiming for ERP would be better starting with MRP
How one CNC machining business ended up stretched across disconnected tools
What changed for a manufacturer that moved off Excel and saw 25% growth in a year
The common traits Sara sees in manufacturers that scale successfully
How MRPeasy approaches implementation, from self-serve to hands-on support

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!
Tweetable Quotes:
“A lot of small manufacturers that are looking for ERP software probably actually need MRP software - because they're looking to manage their manufacturing.” - Shane Dubbelman
“A year after MRPeasy went live, they grew their business by just over 25% - without significantly increasing their headcount. The system made that possible.” - Sara Duff
“It’s those that are open to looking at there being a different way of doing things. I may not know exactly how to do that, but if I bring in the right people and the right technology, I can achieve it.” - Sara Duff

Links & mentions:
MRPeasy User Manual, installing MRPeasy does not have to be hard or expensive; you can even do it yourself
Smart Manufacture, UK-based Smart Manufacture works with companies from SMEs to Mid-Market across multiple verticals, including engineering to order, discrete manufacturing, batch manufacturing and process manufacturing; Smart Manufacture help these companies to specify, select and implement proven best of breed software which can deliver tangible business outcomes – reduced costs, improved operational efficiencies, increased revenues and improved productivity

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.