Manufacturing Happy Hour

Your frontline team can only perform as well as the processes they're handed. So why are so many leaders still blaming the wrong people instead of listening to the ones closest to the problem? In this weeks’ episode Chris sits down with Jason Woodard, a 35-year manufacturing veteran, CEO of Geislinger Corporation, and author of Manufacturing Leadership That Works. Jason gets pretty candid about what he's seen over the course of his career. We're talking a plant manager leaving nasty notes on dry-erase boards for exhausted frontline workers, and Jason himself rolling up his sleeves and coming in on a holiday weekend when the rest of the leadership team had plans. Getting into the valuable stuff, Jason talks about what it takes to build trust with your team, holding the right people accountable, and why leading yourself should come before leading anyone else. In this episode, find out: Why blame culture in manufacturing is almost always directed at the wrong people What Jason witnessed early in his career that shaped everything about how he leads today What Jason's time as a journeyman maintenance mechanic on the night shift taught him about leadership that no management role ever could What Geislinger Corporation actually makes and why it matters to critical infrastructure in the US Why the higher you climb, the less you actually know about what's happening on your floor How to build genuine trust with frontline workers without it feeling forced What to do when an employee raises a problem you can't immediately fix Why being great at the job you have today is the only path to the job you want tomorrow 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: “The higher I grow in my career, the more I realize that what I'm hearing as a leader is a little bit of the truth. And it's not because you're being lied to, it's just that it's being filtered up to you.” - Jason Woodard, Author and Geislinger CEO I think most people understand that every single thing they want to be changed or fixed isn't going to be. But if they feel like they were at least heard and listened to, I think that's the most important part.” - Jason Woodard, Author and Geislinger CEO ”Rarely does politics come up, rarely does any of the divisive stuff come up. We're just showing up every day to solve problems together. In a good culture, the collaboration, no matter the background of the people, is there. - Jason Woodard, Author and Geislinger CEO Links & mentions: Geislinger Corporation develops and produces torsional vibration dampers, torsional elastic high damping couplings, composite couplings, composite shaftlines, and torsional vibration monitoring systems for engines and wind turbines Manufacturing Leadership That Works: Proven Principles for Building Engaged Teams, Improving Performance, and Driving Results by Jason Woodard Handmap Brewing, Battle Creek-based brewery, perfectly named for the state of Michigan 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.

Loud, dusty and far removed from innovation. We often think of mining as separate from modern manufacturing, but our visit to Imerys West Hub in this episode challenges that idea.The conversation was recorded on site at the largest diatomaceous earth mine in the world, in Lompoc, California. During the recording, a sonic boom from a nearby SpaceX launch cuts across the background, a reminder of how closely materials, regulation, and advanced manufacturing often overlap.Chris is joined by Ken Rasmussen, Operations Director at the site, who shares a practical perspective on what modern mining looks like when it’s done right.Ken walks us through how diatomaceous earth is mined, processed, and shipped as a finished product from a single site, and why that matters. The material is used in industries most people don’t associate with mining, including water filtration, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and vaccines.In this episode, we look at how mining fits directly into modern manufacturing, and what it takes to run an end-to-end operation on a global scale.In this episode, find out:Why “if you can’t grow it, you have to mine it” still applies to modern manufacturingWhat diatomaceous earth is and why it’s critical for filtration, pharma, and medical applicationsHow a mining operation runs start to finish, from raw material to finished productWhy mining in California forces higher standards for safety, automation, and environmental controlHow automation improves recovery, efficiency, and process visibility across the operationWhat mining really looks like today versus common perceptionsHow and why mining should coexist with communities instead of being pushed outside themEnjoying 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:“If you can’t grow it, you have to mine it. It’s not magic. Everything we use has to come from somewhere.” “Mining absolutely has to be part of communities, or else everything would need to be imported. There’s no other way around it.”“The safety of our employees is first and foremost in everything we do. Every single person here has the authority to stop work if something doesn’t feel right.”Links & mentions:Imerys, a provider of mineral-based specialty solutions for industry globally, including construction, automotive, and consumer goods; their Lompoc, CA facility is the world’s largest diatomite mine.SpaceX, a private American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded by Elon Musk in 2002. Its primary mission is to revolutionize space technology by making rockets fully and rapidly reusable.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.Mentioned in this episode:Industrial Marketing Summit 2026The Industrial Marketing Summit is the go-to gathering for marketers working in the manufacturing, engineering and industrial sectors. Built by Gorilla 76 and TREW Marketing, IMS delivers strategic insight, hands-on learning and true community. Whether you’re a team of one, or leading a scaled marketing department, you’ll walk away ready to market smarter, lead stronger and impact your business. Make sure to use the code "happy hour" at checkout for $100 off registration.Industrial Marketing Summit 2026

Chips are the new oil. And that's not just a catchy line, it's the lens through which national security, supply chain strategy, and trillion-dollar investments are being made right now. With a hundred-plus fabs going up globally and the industry sprinting toward a trillion dollars by 2032, the semiconductor boom isn't coming. It's here.This episode comes to you from SEMICON West 2025 in Phoenix, with guests joining from HARTING Technology Group and Rockwell Automation. Jeffrey Miller and Danielle Collins kick things off with a semiconductor primer for folks who aren't living and breathing this space every day. Danielle's been in the industry since her first SEMICON in 1999, seen the shift from 200 to 300-millimeter wafers, and watched manufacturing go local while R&D went global.Anuj Mahendru joins Chris on the show floor to dig into the challenges facing legacy and digital fabs, from worker productivity and material movement challenges to why copy exact is finally loosening its grip on this industry. This is part one of a two-part semiconductor series, so stay tuned for the bonus episode dropping right after this one.In this episode, find out:Why chips have become a national security priority on par with oilWhat's driving the trillion-dollar march toward 2032How legacy fabs are solving material movement problems they didn’t planned forWhy the semiconductor industry was doing AI long before it was a buzzwordWhat equipment manufacturers mean by "do more with less"Why copy exact is starting to crack post-COVIDHow sustainability shifted from compliance checkbox to business imperativeWhat it takes to become a trusted partner in an industry that's famously risk-averseEnjoying 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:“Manufacturing is being localized, while R&D is being globalized. R&D has moved from being concentrated in Northern California and the Boston area to regions like India, Asia and Japan.” - Danielle Collins“The semiconductor industry is defined by data economics, and it’s the currency of conversations. Successful partners that will lead the way will be companies who can speak the language of operational data.” - Jeffrey Miller“Before semiconductor and chips, it was oil. Now chips have become the new oil. After and during COVID, the world came to the realization that there needs to be resiliency of the supply chain. From a geopolitical standpoint people see semiconductors at the front end of national security and self-sufficiency.” - Anuj MahendruLinks & mentions:HARTING Technology Group, a leading global provider of industrial connectivity solutions enabling the transmission of data, signal, and power across sectors including transportation, electromobility, renewable energy, automation, and mechanical engineering.Rockwell Automation, a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation, delivering innovative hardware and software solutions through its recognized Allen-Bradley® and Rockwell Software® brands.SEMICON West, North America’s premier microelectronics exhibition, brought industry leaders, startups, and researchers together in Phoenix on October 7-9 2025, to drive collaboration, knowledge exchange, workforce development, and long-term investment, with future events planned for 2027 and 2029.Industrial Marketing Summit, the go-to gathering for manufacturing and industrial marketers to share practical insights, explore emerging strategies, and build community. Join the event in Austin from March 3-5, 2026, and use code HAPPYHOUR at checkout for $100 off registration.Huss Brewing, a proudly local and independent Arizona craft brewery, offering beers brewed and distributed statewide, with immersive taproom experiences in Downtown Phoenix and South Tempe featuring the Huss family of beers and scratch-made food.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.Mentioned in this episode:Industrial Marketing Summit 2026The Industrial Marketing Summit is the go-to gathering for marketers working in the manufacturing, engineering and industrial sectors. Built by Gorilla 76 and TREW Marketing, IMS delivers strategic insight, hands-on learning and true community. Whether you’re a team of one, or leading a scaled marketing department, you’ll walk away ready to market smarter, lead stronger and impact your business. Make sure to use the code "happy hour" at checkout for $100 off registration.Industrial Marketing Summit 2026