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Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders

Manufacturing is challenging, but if you are connected to a community of leaders, you can elevate your skills, solve your problems and grow your business! MakingChips was launched in 2014 to equip and inspire the metalworking nation. Hundreds of episodes and a million downloads later, it’s an industry-leading source of information, inspiration, and entertainment for manufacturing leaders of all types. It’s hosted by Jason Zenger and Nick Goellner, two multi-generational manufacturing leaders, and they’re joined by a rotating panel of expert guests – including Titan Gilroy (TITANS of CNC), John Saunders (NYC CNC), Mark TerryBerry (Haas Automation), and many more. Join us as we tackle the topics that keep you up at night - leadership, operations, technology, growth, workforce development and culture.
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Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders
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Now displaying: December, 2021
Dec 27, 2021

In our previous conversation with Jeff Taylor (episode 292) we introduced the idea of ESOPS (Employee Stock Ownership Plans) as a way to give true ownership to your manufacturing business employees. We invited Jeff back for this episode to tell us more of the journey he’s been on with ESOPs and discovered that the outcome was more than he could have imagined.

Going back to the beginning of the process for Jeff, he has spent his adult life working for others and adding value to their companies. But he never received any sort of extended value or equity in the company. His experience led him to think about how he could develop cultures and attitudes among working teams that enabled them to truly have ownership in the company (in terms of mindset AND equity). That’s when the idea of ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plans) came onto his radar. This episode explores the topic in greater detail and will open your mind to how your manufacturing business could be organized to leave a legacy through your employees.  

Segments

  • [1:13] Thank YOU for being such loyal listeners
  • [3:45] Manufacturing news: NASA “dart” mission
  • [7:35] Resuming our previous conversation with Jeff Taylor about ESOPs
  • [15:10] The conscious decisions and eventual growth that make and ESOP reality
  • [27:49] Nobody set out to sell, but they wanted to be ready for the best situation
  • [35:51] The timeline and summary and how the company is different now
  • [37:52] Jeff’s view of the ESOP in the continuum of possibilities, pros and cons

Resources mentioned on this episode

Get The Boring Bar Newsletter - Text CHIPS to 38470 to subscribe!

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Dec 20, 2021

The “Great Resignation” as it’s been called, has created a wide variety of circumstances that have impacted the American workforce. 55% of workers making under $30K/year say they will be looking for a new job soon. Has this impacted manufacturing? If so, what can we do as manufacturing leaders to mitigate the impact? This episode focuses on what leaders can and should be doing to build the kind of loyalty that will sustain their companies and provide a culture and experience for team members that is “sticky,” keeping them around for years to come. 

BAM!

Segments

  • [1:20] The Great Resignation: How it impacts manufacturing
  • [6:22] Ripples across the country from this Great Resignation
  • [12:50] Employment news: 55% making under $30K/year expect to look for a new job
  • [16:20] If you lose people on your team, how can it affect your business?
  • [18:45] Why do people leave your company? Why do they stay?
  • [22:06] Hiring process: ways to win candidates and be smart in your process
  • [26:32] How you can improve your retention rate
  • [32:10] Tech company trends and how it might spread

Resources mentioned on this episode

Get The Boring Bar Newsletter - Text CHIPS to 38470 to subscribe!

Visit our Sponsor Xometry

Connect With MakingChips

Dec 13, 2021

There is a paradigm shift happening in the industry: many skilled machinists are retiring. As these long-term skilled machinists are leaving, they’re leaving with intellectual legacy knowledge that’s irreplaceable. Do procurement people sourcing machining parts know what the processes and procedures look like? Do they know the difference between a fabricated, turned, or machined, or five-axis part? What can we do as owners to mitigate the problem or offer solutions? We dive into the discussion in this episode of Making Chips!

Segments

  • [1:23] The challenges we face with retiring machinists
  • [4:30] The definition of intellectual property
  • [6:28] What is keeping us awake at night?
  • [14:22] Boosting automation in manufacturing
  • [18:18] A discussion of intellectual property 

Resources mentioned on this episode

Get The Boring Bar Newsletter - Text CHIPS to 38470 to subscribe!

Connect With MakingChips

Dec 6, 2021

Finding Solutions to the Supply Chain Chaos, #293

What is the root cause of the supply chain crisis? How can manufacturing businesses mitigate those risks and find realistic solutions that work in the short and long term? Tom Hilaris—the President & CEO of Ergoseal—joins us to share the three things they focus on: risk mitigation, communication, and culture. In this episode of Making Chips we offer real, practical solutions your business can implement to overcome the supply chain chaos. Because—after all—if you’re not making chips, you’re not making money! BAM!

– Jason

Segments

  • [1:10] Material lead times and pricing
  • [5:10] What’s happening at Carr Machine & Tool
  • [7:07] Manufacturing news related to supply chain issues
  • [14:39] Learn more about our guest—Tom Hilaris
  • [17:16] Step #1: Risk Mitigation
  • [19:46] Managing pricing with redundancy of sourcing
  • [22:58] Step #2: Communicating with your customers is imperative 
  • [29:12] Elmhurst University Supply Chain Masters Program
  • [32:15] Step #3: A great culture improves outcomes

Resources mentioned on this episode

Get The Boring Bar Newsletter - Text CHIPS to 38470 to subscribe!

Connect With MakingChips

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