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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: June, 2024
Jun 28, 2024

What’s keeping you up at night? What are you excited about? It’s important to reflect on the good, the bad, and the ugly. Why? First and foremost, to learn from our mistakes. But secondly, to embrace gratitude. Even despite challenges and setbacks, there’s always room for gratefulness and thankfulness.

So in this episode of MakingSparks, Casey and I sit down to discuss the challenges we’re facing and exciting changes happening in our businesses. We also share why we don’t let worry consume us and instead, practice gratitude. 

– Matthew Nix

Segments

  • [2:39] What’s keeping Matthew up at night? 
  • [3:28] How ProFab Alliance can help you
  • [4:11] Issue #1: Safety concerns in the shop
  • [5:37] Issue #2: On-time delivery and customer service
  • [7:24] Why you can’t let worry consume you 
  • [10:31] Using ProShop ERP to manage cutting tools
  • [11:45] Strategic planning for Captivated Content
  • [14:14] Practicing gratitude at all times
  • [15:32] What’s happening at NIX Industrial
  • [19:26] Launching a franchising business

Have questions? Want to be a guest? Reach out to us on LinkedIn! We’d love to hear from you. 

Resources mentioned on this episode

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Jun 21, 2024

Gamification. Gamification is a highly successful strategy in the world of marketing. It’s used all the time to enhance engagement in children’s education. How can we apply gamification concepts to manufacturing education? 

Mike Payne, Paul Van Metre, Gabe Kooyers, and Chris Townsend joined me in this discussion and nailed down some incredible ways to leverage gamification. Because if you’re not motivating your students (or employees), then you’re not MakingChips. If you’re not MakingChips, you’re not making money. BAM!

– Nick Goellner

Segments

  • [0:27] Check out the Manufacturing Transformed podcast!
  • [3:04] Introducing Chris Townsend
  • [4:14] The Chip on Nick’s Shoulder: Being “pitch-slapped”
  • [7:02] Chris’s background in engineering
  • [9:46] Creating Eagle Manufacturing 
  • [13:27] Using gamification with students
  • [16:07] Gamifying ProShop
  • [20:00] Graduate to NetSuite by Oracle!
  • [21:26] Simulating a business for education
  • [28:10] Teaching employability skills

Resources mentioned on this episode

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Jun 14, 2024

How do we train the next generation of manufacturing leaders so employers are ready to hire them immediately? Do students still need to learn manual machinery? Or do employers only want skilled CNC machinists? 

These are just a few questions we dissect in this conversation with special guest and long-term educator Gabe Kooyers. Because if we’re not properly training machinists to make chips, they’re not getting hired, and no one’s making money. BAM!

– Nick Goellner

Segments

  • [0:25] Achieve on-time delivery with ProShop ERP
  • [3:48] Introducing Gabe Kooyers
  • [5:44] Why promoting students is a game-changer
  • [9:01] Manufacturing News: Declining interest in the trades
  • [11:50] Learn more about Gabe and his students 
  • [18:37] Do students need experience with manual machines?
  • [23:00] How to revitalize an apprenticeship program
  • [26:27] On the clock and off the clock training 
  • [30:22] What’s important for students to know 

Resources mentioned on this episode

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Jun 7, 2024

Did you know that only about 6% of welders are women? Women bring a much-needed perspective and expertise to the table. So how do we get more women in welding? NIX has actively been trying to recruit, hire, and retain more women. 

In this episode of MakingSparks, we sit down with Tori Guzman and Aubree Beyer to hear what they think we can do—or continue doing—to draw more female interest to the welding industry. Listen to learn what you can do to change the welding workforce.

– Casey Voelker

Segments

  • [1:13] Join the AMT community!
  • [3:08] Learn more about Tori Guzman and Aubree Beyer
  • [8:25] Learn more about ProFab Alliance 
  • [10:38] Why Tori is transitioning out of welding 
  • [15:44] Why you should consider NetSuite by Oracle
  • [17:02] How to attract and retain women in welding 
  • [22:55] Why women should consider welding 
  • [25:10] How leaders can encourage women in welding 
  • [31:21] What Aubree and Tori find rewarding about welding
  • [35:43] Wrapping things up with Casey’s dad joke 

Resources mentioned on this episode

Connect With MakingChips

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