Manufacturing Happy Hour

You can count on Philly to bring the energy!
Recorded live in King of Prussia at the final stop of the Northeast leg of the All-American Manufacturing Summer Tour, this episode features the loudest, most engaged crowd Chris has had on the show yet.
Ashley, Brett, and Matt open the show with a look at what makes the Philadelphia manufacturing ecosystem tick, and why collaboration, not competition, might be the region's biggest advantage.
Hannah and Greg then join Matt to talk workforce development, and some of the most creative approaches to the talent shortage you'll hear on the show all year.
In this episode, find out:
What inspired one shop owner to build a group where members share equipment, knowledge, and even trade secrets with people who'd traditionally be seen as competitors
Why locating a machine shop in the heart of Philadelphia, despite the traffic, parking, and wage tax, turned out to be a competitive advantage
How a youth basketball nonprofit ended up building a skilled trades program for teenagers who don't want to go to college
Why the region's defense industry is driving serious demand for skilled manufacturing workers
What convinced a group of manufacturing leaders that hiring from a more diverse talent pool is a genuine business advantage, not just the right thing to do
What it really takes to change how an entire generation sees a career in the trades

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:
"That's a competitive advantage for us when we're hiring from a diverse group. Our spindles are running more." - Matt Bruner, President & Co-Founder at American Precision Works
"What makes Philadelphia great is that now we have that willingness to change. Philly is really spearheading that campaign to make manufacturing and the collaboration between all of us more open" - Ashley Watkins, Sales & Marketing Manager at JBM Technologies
"I don't hide any of my prints when we do the group meetings. I'm not afraid of anyone coming in and stealing my work." - Brett Lister, Youth Basketball, Business Owner at B&B Dynamic Machining

Links & mentions:
Ashley Watkins - Sales & Marketing Manager at JBM Technologies
Matt Bruner - President & Co-Founder at American Precision Works
Gregory Thomson - Director of Skilled Building Trades at Philadelphia
Brett Lister - Youth Basketball, Business Owner at B&B Dynamic Machining
Hannah McGarry - Director at Workforce Engagement
CliftonLarsonAllen, presenting partner for the All-American Manufacturing Summer Tour, offering industry-focused wealth advisory, outsourcing, audit, tax, and consulting services.
MaintainX, presenting partner for the tour, helping frontline teams streamline maintenance, standard operating procedures, and more from a mobile device.
NTMA (New Jersey/Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association), a local partner organization supporting manufacturers with resources, events, and a national network.

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.

Where's the party at? While there’s a lot to see on the show floor at IMTS 2026, some of the best conversations, connections, and memories happen after the show floor closes each day.
In this bonus episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, Chris is joined by returning guests Jim Mayer and Emily Wilkins for an "IMTS After Hours" conversation about how to make the most of manufacturing’s biggest week in Chicago.
They share some of their favorite stories from IMTS events of the past - from spontaneous meetups and happy hours, to karaoke, to Chris’ infamous 90s Vs. Emo Night in 2024 - while previewing what’s on the agenda for IMTS 2026.
You’ll hear why the after hours experience can be just as valuable as walking the show floor, how to pace yourself during a packed week of events, and where you can find Chris, Jim, Emily, and the rest of the manufacturing community once the trade show shuts down for the day.
Whether this is your first IMTS or you’re a seasoned veteran, consider this your unofficial guide to making the most of IMTS afterparties all week long.
See you in Chicago. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

"New York City is where dreams come to audition", and this goes for manufacturers too.
Recorded live at New Lab in Brooklyn, this episode is split into three segments and features seven guests. Chris explores what manufacturing means in a city best known for 'wall street’.
Andrew, James, and Stacey open the show by digging into New York's overlooked industrial past, including a 250-year stretch where the city was the largest manufacturing hub in the country. Jacob, Nikki, and Miquela then take the stage to talk about what's being built in the city today, from robotics to a single Brooklyn facility housing 17 different manufacturing verticals.
Finally, Michelle of New York Embroidery Studio joins Chris one-on-one to share her insights after nearly 30 years of manufacturing experience, including how she pivoted her entire operation overnight to produce PPE during COVID.
In this episode, find out:
What the Brooklyn Navy Yard's 300-acre footprint looks like today, decades after its WWII peak
Why New York's robotics ecosystem might never look like Detroit or Pittsburgh and how that could be an advantage
What 17 different manufacturing verticals look like inside a single Brooklyn facility
How one manufacturer pivoted from designing gowns for the Met Gala to producing 3 million isolation gowns a month
Why New York's built-in market of 8 million consumers gives local manufacturers an edge most cities can't offer
What it took to solve a 20-year-old medical design flaw by giving a doctor direct access to a factory floor

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:
"All These inventions that came from here - the laser, the CCD, the ATM machine, the transistor, vulcanized rubber - all those things went somewhere else to build.” - James Williams, Chief Strategy Officer at Nanotronics
"It's not that somebody is getting rid of the hand tools, it's that it's merging with additional technology." - Miquela Craytor, Founder & Principal, Craytor Strategies
"Smart people that have problems need to have access to factories to create and build new things." - Michelle Feinberg, Owner of New York Embroidery Studio and NYES Protect

Links & mentions:
CliftonLarsonAllen, sponsor of the All-American Manufacturing Summer Tour, offering industry-focused wealth advisory, outsourcing, audit, tax, and consulting services.
MaintainX, sponsor of the tour, helping frontline teams streamline maintenance, standard operating procedures, and more from a mobile device.
New Lab, an innovation hub based at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, hosting this episode and supporting startups working on advanced technology and manufacturing.

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.

300 episodes of Chris asking all the questions, this week he is finally in the hot seat - and it’s his high school buddies doing all the grilling!
Recorded live at Urban Chestnut Brewing, this episode is split into two parts. First, Chris sits down with a Missouri manufacturing panel - Michael Eaton, Joe Mazzola and Maria Berra to talk Apollo 13 battery cells, pepper spray, whiskey barrels, and keeping it in the family in St. Louis.
In part 2, we are flipping the script. To celebrate this milestone episode, three of Chris's oldest friends, Pat, Rob and John take over, asking Chris about his 'magic drug' for keeping the show running for 300 episodes, reminiscing on his first experience of things taking a turn for the worst on stage, and a very exciting personal announcement.
In this episode, find out:
How Missouri became the birthplace of a surprising range of products that most wouldn't realize
How a kid who dreamed of building rollercoasters ended up building a manufacturing podcast instead
Why Chris's dad might be the most legendary guy in their entire high school network
Why Chris wouldn't watch the Blues win the Stanley Cup live, despite being in Boston
What Chris says helps you stand out when everyone in your industry is chasing the same trend
Where Chris would send you for the best food and drink in St. Louis

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:
"I don't know if being an engineer is exactly what I wanted to be, but I was certainly going to take that problem-solving skill set and bring it wherever I go." - Chris Luecke, Podcast Host & Community Builder at Manufacturing Happy Hour
"The more you can take that ‘all ships rise with the tide’ approach, those are the regions I see really being successful in manufacturing." - Chris Luecke, Podcast Host & Community Builder at Manufacturing Happy Hour
”What are the things that you can talk about that are timeless, that highlight who you are, that highlight your expertise, that can allow you to stand out from the pack?” - Chris Luecke, Podcast Host & Community Builder at Manufacturing Happy Hour

Links & mentions:
AssetWatch and MaintainX, our partners for this leg of the All-American Manufacturing Summer Tour.
The Missouri Association of Manufacturers, supporting manufacturers and driving turnout for this special St. Louis event.
IMTS, hosted by AMT (the Association for Manufacturing Technology) - the country's largest manufacturing trade show.
Urban Chestnut Brewing Company is an unconventional-minded yet tradition-oriented brewer of craft beer with authentic heritage and proven quality.

Make sure to visit https://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.
Mentioned in this episode:
Get a free LEGO at IMTS 2026!
If you're heading to IMTS 2026, make sure Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence is part of your game plan. Hexagon is the architect of innovation in manufacturing and a global leader in measurement technologies. Make sure to visit Hexagon in the East Building at Booth 134102 and tell them Chris from Manufacturing Happy Hour sent you to claim your LEGO MAESTRO CMM via the link below.
Visit Hexagon and get a free LEGO at IMTS 2026

Some of the best manufacturing advice comes down to one simple idea - buy back your weekends.
In this bonus episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, Chris is joined by Patrick Carmitchel, VP of Product Management and Dustin Moore, Condition Monitoring Engineer Manager at AssetWatch, to break down what condition monitoring and predictive maintenance looks like in practice, no jargon required.
They get into the differences between preventative and predictive maintenance, why the biggest ROI often comes from just doing one thing well, and how AssetWatch's own founding story led them from wireless power research into one of the fastest-growing names in industrial monitoring. Along the way, Dustin shares a personal philosophy that gives this episode its name.
In this episode, find out:
Why doing one thing well with your most critical assets can catch the majority of issues before you need to expand into other monitoring methods
How a maintenance technician went from feeling threatened by AssetWatch to calling it the best thing that ever happened to his job
What criteria actually determine whether an asset is "critical" - and why size has nothing to do with it
How AssetWatch went from researching wireless phone charging to building one of the fastest-growing platforms in industrial monitoring

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 proof is in the pudding... once they start seeing the results on their end - that bearing running a lot cooler, a lot smoother - that's when they come around." - Dustin Moore, Condition Monitoring Engineer Manager at AssetWatch
"You've got to start somewhere. Meet maintenance teams where they're at - they're all in different parts of their journey." - Dustin Moore, Condition Monitoring Engineer Manager at AssetWatch
"Predictive maintenance means you're looking at early warning signs... it's about your ability to be able to plan so that you do not have unplanned downtime." - Patrick Carmitchel, VP of Product Management at AssetWatch

Links & mentions:
AssetWatch combines vibration, temperature, and oil analysis in one platform for a holistic asset health view, detecting issues that a single technique might miss.

Make sure to visit https://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.