The Manufacturing Executive

• Resilience Over Four Generations of a Family-Owned Manufacturing Business w/ Melanie White

  From COVID (and the labor and supply chain obstacles that came along with it) to the recent challenges we're now facing with tariffs, the current generation of manufacturing leaders has fought through quite a bit in just a short period of time. My guest today, Melanie White, will talk about the current manufacturing landscape specifically, but in the context of her 79-year old family-owned business, Hellwig Products, where she serves as the fourth-generation CEO.

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• The Emerging Role of AI Agents in Manufacturing w/ Naresh Ram

  A handful of years ago, we started to see primitive forms of chat bots on company websites. Fast forward to today and not only is this kind of AI technology more advanced, but it's learning how to replicate human behaviors. In this episode, Naresh Ram, Chief Science Officer at AAXIS, will talk about the emerging power of AI "agents". And if that's a term you and those around you are NOT familiar with right now, it certainly will be soon. As he'll tell you, AI agents have the ability to ask the question, "What would a human do next?" Things like: – Check inventory – Place an order – Call frontline workers to check availability – Or start scheduling production

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• The Business Impact of 250 Consecutive Weeks of Podcasting w/ Joe Sullivan

  For 250 consecutive Tuesdays, I've published a new episode of this podcast. In this short-and-sweet retrospective – episode #251 – I'll talk about six ways this show has helped change the trajectory of our business at Gorilla 76 over roughly the past five years in hopes that you might find some inspiration. They are: 1. Direct and indirect impact on new customer acquisition 2. Direct financial impact through sponsorships 3. Elevation of brand perception – both for my company and for me personally 4. Doors opened in the manufacturing sector 5. The content machine 6. Market research

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• The Power of a Visible Manufacturing Leader w/ Jim Mayer

  Jim Mayer, Founder of The Manufacturing Connector, has coined a term that he calls "The Industrial Brand Death Cycle", which he describes as follows: Weak leadership leads to weak culture, which leads to employee disengagement, which leads to fake branding, which leads to failed marketing, which leads to customer distrust, which leads to the company's struggles. Then, leaders get replaced and more often than not, the cycle repeats. In today conversation, Jim will talk about how authentic culture, as well as authentic marketing begins with the leader. More specifically, he'll explain why leadership in manufacturing today means being visible – not only out there on the shop floor – but also publicly, as the face of the organization.

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• Planning for a B2B Manufacturer Website That Drives Results w/ Randall Zaitz and Kevin McClary

  I've often compared building a website to building a house. You can tear it down and rebuild from the ground up. You can gut it to the studs, putting in all new plumbing, electric and HVAC. You can renovate a few rooms. Or you can simply put on a fresh coat of paint. But how you do which approach makes sense for your website? What are the signals that tell you it's time to at least do something? And how do you plan for a website that's not just a digital brochure, but instead a tool that drives meaningful, measurable impact for your business? My two guests today, Gorilla 76 Digital Creative Director Randall Zaitz and Gorilla 76 Head of Performance Marketing Kevin McClary, have collectively been a part of countless website projects for B2B manufacturers. And they're here to break all of this down.

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