Automation Chat

In this episode’s news roundup, The Journal’s Executive Editor Theresa Houck reports on issues affecting manufacturers and producers every day, including:

• The low percentage of risk management leaders who successfully balance data security & business goals.
• Projected source of most AI data breaches.
• Large percentage of manufacturing OT devices already vulnerable to ransomware.
• Projected market growth for cobots, mass flow ...

** Named “Best Podcast” 3 Consecutive Years! 2022-2024 Apex Award of Publication Excellence.

In this exclusive episode of our “Automation Chat” podcast from the show floor at Automation Fair 2024, The Journal’s Managing Editor Amanda Joshi chats with Max Davitt, Regional Sales Manager with LinMot USA, about the company’s linear motors, linear rotary motors and other linear systems. Learn how its linear rotary motors with CIP Sync p...

In this episode, The Journal’s Digital Editor Maggie MacHale brings the written word to life by reading the article, “How Kimberly-Clark’s DCS Upgrade Eased Scalability.” It’s written by David Greenfield, Editor in Chief of our sister publication Automation World and Contributing Editor to The Journal. 

You’ll learn how a unified control system helped this global consumer packaged goods company integrate production technologies whi...

** Named “Best Podcast” 3 Consecutive Years! 2022-2024 Apex Award of Publication Excellence.

In this episode, Executive Editor Theresa Houck chats with Anthony Murphy, Vice President of Product Management at Plex, by Rockwell Automation, about:

• How manufacturing is evolving.
• Plex Connected Worker solutions with step-by-step guidance while automating low-value tasks.
• How workers use it.
• How it helps with the skilled worker shor...

In this February 2025 news alert, The Journal’s Executive Editor Theresa Houck reports on issues affecting manufacturers and producers every day, including:

• Looming 25% tariffs on semiconductors, automotive and pharmaceuticals.
• Food manufacturing industry trends.
• The most in-demand manufacturing jobs of 2025.
• Projected market growth for PLCs and servo motors & drives.
• Scholarships for students going into manufacturing.
• And...

** Named “Best Podcast” 3 Consecutive Years! 2022-2024 Apex Award of Publication Excellence.

Digitization is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, and advanced technologies are helping manufacturers create a connected environment to increase efficiency and mitigate the skilled worker shortage. In this insightful episode, The Journal’s Executive Editor Theresa Houck discusses 8 important industrial automation trends helping compani...

** Named “Best Podcast” 3 Consecutive Years! 2022-2024 Apex Award of Publication Excellence.

In this episode, Executive Editor Theresa Houck chats with Griffin Hodnett, Product Manager of Automation at Mettler-Toledo, about the company’s IND360 MultiACM weight indicators for automated tank/vessel weighing.

You’ll learn how these weight indicators are designed for easy integration into automation systems to minimize complexity for O...

In this exclusive episode of our “Automation Chat” podcast from the Automation Fair 2024 show floor, The Journal’s Managing Editor Amanda Joshi talks with Mike Wurster, Director of Strategic Alliances and Dave Ulmer, Channel Support Engineer at Stratus Technologies. Learn about the company’s ztC Edge, a secure, zero-touch, DIN-rail mountable edge-computing platform with built-in virtualization and fault-tolerant workload protection...

** Named “Best Podcast” 3 Consecutive Years! 2022-2024 Apex Award of Publication Excellence.

In this episode, Executive Editor Theresa Houck tells you what topics we’re covering in the next edition of The Journal From Rockwell Automation and Our PartnerNetwork magazine — our February 2024 issue. Our print magazine mails February 25, and our digital issue launches February 27. Learn about upcoming stories on:

• Data-ready machine...

In this special episode of our “Automation Chat” podcast from the Automation Fair 2024 expo floor, The Journal’s Managing Editor Amanda Joshi talks with Garrett Edwards, Director of Product Management and Marketing at Spectrum Controls. Learn about the company’s Universal Industrial Gateway with 12 protocols, a single-box solution for multidevice/multiprotocol systems that’s now ODVA compliant, meaning it's EtherNet/IP™ capable.

Al...

** Named “Best Podcast” for 3 Consecutive Years! 2022-2024 Apex Awards of Publication Excellence.

In our January 2025 news report, The Journal’s Executive Editor Theresa Houck’s updates include Rockwell Automation’s smart water technology award, a major U.S. Dept. of Energy grants for small- and medium-sized manufacturers, and some new product announcements. Other topics include:

• ODVA-Certified Passive Harmonic Filter Technolo...

In this exclusive episode of our “Automation Chat” podcast from the Automation Fair 2024 show floor, The Journal’s Managing Editor Amanda Joshi talks with Greg Jackson, Chief Operating Officer and John Oskin, Senior Vice President with SmartSights. You’ll learn about the company’s Peer issue-management accelerator for real-time intelligent alarms, alerts and engineer-to-operator collaboration for its WIN-911 machine & process a...

** Named “Best Podcast” 3 Consecutive Years! 2022-2024 Apex Award of Publication Excellence.

In this special episode of our “Automation Chat” podcast from the expo floor at Automation Fair 2024, The Journal’s Managing Editor Amanda Joshi talks with Endress+Hauser’s Jason Pennington, Director of Digital Solutions and Keith Riley, Product Marketing Manager of Level+Pressure, about the company’s new compact, Bluetooth-enabled process ...

In this episode of our “Automation Chat” podcast from the show floor at Automation Fair 2024, The Journal’s Managing Editor Amanda Joshi has an exclusive interview with Sumant Vashisht, Product Solutions Manager, Hammond Power Solutions (HPS).  Learn about the HPS Smart Transformer that incorporates an HPS low or medium voltage transformer with a pre-installed IIoT-connected power meter.

It enhances predictive maintenance and helps...

In this special episode of our “Automation Chat” podcast from the expo floor at Automation Fair 2024, The Journal’s Managing Editor Amanda Joshi chats with Justin Stewart from Advanced Micro Controls Inc. (AMCI) about the company’s motion control technology, now with CIP Sync that allows for precise time synchronization between multiple devices on an EtherNet/IP network. This enables coordinated motion control with minimal latency ...

This is a special encore presentation of our #1 most popular episode of 2024 in our “best of” series!

Manufacturing is now the #1 target for hackers. Smart, connected devices on the plant floor are high-value cyberattack targets because of the intellectual property they contain — and just one day of downtime can cost millions.

In this episode, Executive Editor Theresa Houck talks with Richard Springer, Director of Marketing, OT Sol...

** Named “Best Podcast” for 3 Consecutive Years! 2022-2024 Apex Awards of Publication Excellence.

In our bonus news report this month, The Journal’s Executive Editor Theresa Houck’s updates include life sciences market trends as well as new products announcements. Some of this episode’s topics include:

• Fortinet’s new innovation hub in Chicago.
• Integration of the Rockwell Automation NVIDIA Omniverse programming interfaces into ...

** Named “Best Podcast” for 3 Consecutive Years! 2022-2024 Apex Awards of Publication Excellence.

In this episode’s news report, The Journal’s Executive Editor Theresa Houck provides updates about:

• 2025 smart manufacturing and mobility trends & predictions, including GM layoffs, Chinese manufacturers relocating and more.
• Endress+Hauser’s TÜV Rheinland IEC 62443-4-1 security standard certification.
• Key leadership changes at...

This is a special encore presentation of our #2 most popular episode of 2024 in our “best of” series!

In this episode of our “Automation Chat” podcast from The Journal From Rockwell Automation and Our PartnerNetwork magazine, Executive Editor Theresa Houck chats with Dave Kang, Advisory Solutions Architect at Dragos and Kamil Karmali, Senior Global Commercial Manager, Cybersecurity Services at Rockwell Automation. Get nuts-and-bolt...