The Business of Manufacturing Podcast

How AIRION, a Los Angeles-based startup, solved the critical issue of tactical dehydration in fighter pilots, particularly female pilots, through innovative design and rapid prototyping. They achieved this by winning an AFWERX challenge with their Advanced Inflight Relief Universal System (AIRUS), outcompeting larger defense contractors. The success of AIRION's "fly, fix, fly" approach was enabled by their in-house SLS 3D printers ...

This episode provides a detailed market research report titled "The Sports Medicine: Driving Performance Through Innovation," authored on May 28, 2025. The document comprehensively examines the sports medicine industry, defining its multidisciplinary nature and segmenting it by product, application, and end-user. It highlights key growth drivers such as rising sports participation, technological advancements like minimally invasive...

Metaverse: Transforming sales of innovations that requires explanations for small companies using EAP® Abutments as an example - Oral Health Group" explores the metaverse's potential to revolutionize various sectors, with a specific focus on its application within dentistry and the sales of specialized products like EAP® Abutments. It begins by defining the metaverse and outlining its technical foundations, including VR, AR, blockc...

This episode explains details a series of job cuts announced by several major manufacturers in May 2025, primarily driven by uncertain consumer demand and the impact of tariff policies. Notably, Nissan plans to eliminate 20,000 jobs globally by 2027 while closing seven plants to regain profitability. Bridgestone Americas is laying off 658 workers in Tennessee due to a factory closure, and other companies like Serta Simmons Bedding,...

Mars' significant investment in its pet care division, specifically the opening of a new, large Royal Canin dry pet food manufacturing facility in Lewisburg, Ohio. This $450 million factory, part of a larger $6 billion U.S. manufacturing investment, aims to boost production, create jobs, and enhance Royal Canin's ability to offer specialized pet nutrition. The facility is also designed with sustainability in mind and is strategical...

Kraft Heinz's significant $3 billion investment in its U.S. manufacturing facilities, marking its largest plant investment in decades. The decision is driven by a strategy to counter the effects of potential tariffs and ongoing weak consumer spending, with the aim of boosting domestic production and potentially adding 3,500 jobs. A key part of this investment includes a new $400 million distribution center in DeKalb, Illinois, expe...

This episode focuses on a significant increase in ransomware attacks across various industrial sectors. Citing a Honeywell 2025 cybersecurity threat report, the article highlights a 46% surge in these attacks from late 2024 to early 2025, particularly impacting manufacturing, construction, healthcare, and energy. It explains that industrial operations are attractive targets due to their need to avoid unplanned downtime. The report ...

An article from Manufacturing announces that Carrier, an HVAC system maker, plans to invest $1 billion over five years into its U.S. manufacturing operations. This significant investment aims to expand existing facilities, construct a new plant for heat pump and battery component production, and create 4,000 jobs across manufacturing, research, and development. The initiative also includes training 100,000 HVAC technicians through ...

"Manufacturing’s new era: reshoring, skills shortages and the race to stay competitive" discusses significant shifts within the manufacturing industry. It highlights the growing trend of reshoring and nearshoring production due to global supply chain disruptions, geopolitical tensions, and rising overseas costs. Concurrently, manufacturers face a severe shortage of skilled labor, particularly in areas like CAM programming, necessit...

"Manufacturing Dive" highlights the critical role of smart employee scheduling in the resurgence of North American manufacturing. It explains that while reshoring and new factory builds are driving growth, a significant labor shortage threatens this progress. The article emphasizes that employee scheduling is no longer a simple HR task but a strategic tool that directly impacts operational efficiency, cost control, and workforce re...

This episode focuses on the upcoming release of Nike’s 3D-printed Air Max 1000 sneaker in summer 2025. The article highlights Nike's collaboration with Zellerfeld, a startup specializing in fully 3D-printed, glue-free footwear, utilizing fused filament fabrication (FFF) and ZellerFoam material to create lightweight, breathable, and custom-fit shoes. Beyond this specific product, the source also touches upon Nike's broader use of ad...

This news article details a partnership between Hyperion Robotics, a Finnish additive construction company, and the UK's National Grid to test 3D-printed concrete foundations for substations. The goal of this initiative, funded by the UK Government’s Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), is to significantly reduce concrete usage and carbon emissions in infrastructure projects. Hyperion Robotics will manufacture the foundat...

This episode highlights the cybersecurity risks associated with out-of-office email replies, specifically how they can be exploited for phishing and business email compromise (BEC) attacks. It details how seemingly innocuous information in auto-replies, such as names, dates, and contact details, can be leveraged by hackers to impersonate individuals and deceive colleagues into making unauthorized transactions. The source then offer...

Research from Türkiye where scientists are developing a 3D-printed patch designed to deliver medication directly to colon cancer tumors. The patches are composed of polycaprolactone and gelatin and can carry either traditional chemotherapy or, notably, an extract from the Moringa oleifera plant, known for its natural medicinal properties. Lab testing has shown that the Moringa-based patches were more effective at killing cancer cel...

While traditional slavery is seen as a historical relic, modern "slavery" exists in capitalist democracies through economic structures and institutional controls that benefit the public sector over the private sector. It contends that government bodies and tax-funded institutions have become self-serving bureaucracies consuming significant resources without commensurate public benefit, creating an imbalance where private sector wor...

Cybersecurity expert Ben Jones, who warns against using short, number-only passwords because they can be instantly cracked by hackers. He recommends creating strong, longer passwords that include a variety of characters, or preferably, a pass-phrase. The expert also suggests using multi-factor authentication, preferably through an authenticator app, and avoiding clicking suspicious email links by typing the address directly into th...

Former Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne's 2015 "Confessions of a Capital Junkie" presentation, which criticized the auto industry for inefficient spending and poor returns. He argued that combining resources and streamlining operations was essential for survival. The author posits that ten years later, the industry largely ignored his advice, and Chinese automakers, with their integrated supply chains and rapid innovation, now e...

The source announces that Foot Solutions, a retailer of footwear and custom orthotics, has collaborated with pickleball professional Ben Johns to introduce 3D-printed orthotics specifically for pickleball players. Developed with input from Johns, who is also a material science engineer, the orthotics are designed to address common issues like pain and fatigue while improving on-court movement and performance for players in the rapi...