Manufacturing Culture Podcast

Summary

In this conversation, Dr. Erica Armstrong discusses her journey from traditional healthcare to founding Root Functional Medicine, a virtual clinic focused on treating root causes of chronic diseases. She emphasizes the importance of nutrition, the role of dietitians, and the need for a new approach to healthcare that prioritizes employee wellness and addresses the underlying issues affecting the American workforce. Dr. Armst...

In this live panel discussion on the Manufacturing Culture Podcast, host Jim Mayer engages with four industry experts from diverse backgrounds in manufacturing, robotics, and semiconductors. The conversation explores their personal journeys, definitions of culture in manufacturing, the importance of speed and precision, and how to engage the next generation in the industry. The panelists share insights on current roles, challenges ...

In this episode of the Manufacturing Culture Podcast, Jim Mayer interviews Elvin Hurst, the founder of Country Craft, who shares his journey from a farmer to a successful entrepreneur in the cabinetry industry. Elvin discusses the challenges of maintaining craftsmanship in a changing workforce, the importance of family values in business, and the evolution of Country Craft over the years. He reflects on the support he received from...

In this episode of the Manufacturing Culture Podcast, host Jim Mayer speaks with Danny Gonzales, a media expert in the manufacturing sector. They discuss the importance of storytelling and digital marketing in changing perceptions of manufacturing, the impact of AI on content creation, and the need for a strong organizational culture. Danny shares his journey into the industry, the challenges manufacturers face in marketing, and th...

Scott Peters on Trades, Talent and the Culture Shift Manufacturing Can’t Avoid

Scott Peters is one of those guests who reminds you why the industry still matters. He came up in the late seventies, learned the trade before CNC was common, built model-kit molds that ended up on Kmart shelves, moved into medical devices where your mistakes affect real lives, and eventually ran a 300-person plant in Guangzhou where “yes-boss culture” sm...

Emily Ting from CCS America joins Jim to talk about what culture actually feels like at work, how it shapes the day to day, and why marketing in industrial manufacturing is still years behind other B2B sectors. She walks through her journey from Japanese speaking intern to “do everything” marketer, three years working inside a Japanese headquarters, and the reality of being the bridge between leadership, engineers, sales and the ou...

Jim sits down with tax strategist Nik Agharkar, for a conversation that starts with tax day anxiety and spirals into culture, capitalism, immigration, vo-tech, wealth inequality, and what it really means to build a healthy organization. Nik shares why he believes the tax code is an incentive system instead of a punishment, how leadership shapes culture, why Gen Z is choosing trades over college, and how America can rebuild its midd...

Ian Wilson is a creative turned industrial brand strategist who believes real culture is the level of authenticity people can bring to work. In this episode, he and Jim talk about why manufacturing feels more grounded than other industries, why specs and machines are only half the story, and how authenticity—not polish—is what builds trust online and on the shop floor.

What You’ll Hear

How Ian went from writing music to building bran...

Julie Runez leads marketing for a custom automation firm that designs and builds one-off manufacturing machinery. She came back to work after years at home with her kids, brought a journalist’s curiosity, and learned industrial marketing from the ground up during the early months of 2020. Without case studies she could publicly share and with very long, high-stakes sales cycles, Julie shifted the strategy away from chasing clicks t...

Sydney Mrowczynski didn’t plan to end up under a welding hood. As a teenager she dreamed of fashion design — until a boyfriend told her she couldn’t weld. Challenge accepted. A few years later, she’s worked across multiple shops, learned how things really get built, and is now studying industrial management and applied engineering at Southern Illinois University to bridge the gap between the floor and the front office.

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In this episode of The Manufacturing Culture Podcast, Jim sits down with Chris Humphrey, Business Development Manager at AirPro Fan & Blower Company, to explore how purpose, people, and love of neighbor shape lasting manufacturing cultures. From growing up in a motorcycle dealership to hiking the Appalachian Trail during a “quarter-life crisis,” Chris shares how his journey through machining, engineering, and leadership led him...

Katie Friday is a sales engineer who took the scenic route into manufacturing. She started in social work, battled through an engineering pivot at WVU, worked her way from project engineering to sales, and now lives at the intersection of customers, controls, and culture. We talk about resilient learning, why great SOPs read like fifth grade science, the reality of safety projects, and how leadership sets the tone for teams. There ...

Culture is the lens through which everything happens.

Kate Glantz joins the show to talk about building a culture-first movement that puts real tradeswomen at the center of the story.

We get into why representation changes decisions, how a print magazine in schools can beat the algorithm, and why AI might shrink some white-collar roles while exploding demand for blue-collar work.

Kate shares the why behind Move Over Bob, the plan to g...

Rosemary Coates has spent three decades inside the hardest questions in manufacturing… where to build, what to move, and how to survive the politics around it. On this episode of The Manufacturing Culture Podcast, she walks through the real story behind offshoring, why reshoring is more trickle than tidal wave, and how companies can make smarter location calls without blowing up cost or capacity.

We go back to her...

A candid conversation with high school engineer and FIRST Robotics alum Natalie Macias about curiosity, consistency, and carving out room for young makers inside a sometimes closed-off industry. We talk early exposure to CAD and flight sims, why manufacturing is the first mile of everything, the lemon tree lesson on failure, and how leaders can be firm yet flexible. Natalie wants more hands-on opportunities before college and...

Jim sits down with Amy Julian to dig into culture as lived behavior, not wallpaper. From early days in AB InBev’s purchasing team through years of complex change, Amy unpacks why command-and-control stalls digital projects, how cross-industry thinking opens doors, and where AI is already moving the needle for mid-market procurement and supply chains. Expect straight talk on failed implementations, governance that actually cle...

Jim sits down with serial founder and anti CRM evangelist Adam Honig. They dig into what culture really is, why most digital transformation falls flat, and how AI can strip out the crap work without gutting good jobs. Adam walks through building and selling three companies, including the painful first exit that taught him more than any win. Expect honesty, laughs, and sharp takes on manufacturing sales, change management, and...

In this episode of the Manufacturing Culture Podcast, Joni Cunningham shares her unique journey from growing up in Alaska to becoming a pivotal figure in the manufacturing industry. She discusses the importance of workplace culture, effective leadership, and the challenges of communication. Joni emphasizes the need for authenticity and connection in both personal and professional realms, while also highlighting the role of women in...

In this episode of the Manufacturing Culture podcast, Jim Mayer interviews Renan Devilliers, co-founder of OSS Ventures. Renan shares his unique journey from a military upbringing to becoming a leader in the manufacturing technology industry. He discusses the importance of organizational culture, his experiences at McKinsey, and the entrepreneurial spirit that drives him. Renan emphasizes the need for innovation in manufacturing, t...