In the nineteenth episode of the Manufacturing Hub, we connect with Zachary Stank from Phoenix Automation. Zach launched his career as an application engineer in manufacturing automation safety. As he honed his technical skills, he was given an opportunity to make a greater impact as the marketing manager and educator. Zach remains very passionate about safety devices but is now also in charge of other automation products at Phoenix Contact. Listen to the conversation to learn more about his background, the challenges faced by Phoenix Contact, and their strategy around recent developments in industry 4.0.

In the eighteenth episode of the Manufacturing Hub, we speak with Benson Hougland from Opto 22. Benson has extensive experience and knowledge in the world of manufacturing automation. In his early career, Benson was fortunate to run his own company in computer hardware and software before being recruited to Opto 22 where he led a number of breakthrough technological innovations. Our conversation goes on various topics and we uncover how Opto 22 operates, what projects they’re working on, and how they approach the current challenges within the industry.

In the seventeenth episode of the Manufacturing Hub, we receive Chris Luecke. Chris is a seasoned veteran of the manufacturing industry with over 15 years in various sales and marketing roles including 10 years at Rockwell Automation. In addition to his regular duties, Chris took it upon himself to launch a podcast venture while working at Rockwell and has interviewed some of the top executives within the company including the CEO. Nowadays, Chris is involved in a CMMS company Rockwell acquired, runs various networking events in the industry, and creates popular manufacturing-oriented content for Industry 4.0.

In the fifteenth episode of the Manufacturing Hub, we welcome a previous guest of ours: Preston Hadley. Preston has been working hard on his integration services business and we wanted to check in with him. In addition to the regular operations, Preston has launched his second edition of the “Change a Life Giveaway”. He’s looking to donate some hardware to a deserving individual. Lastly, we’ve taken the time to discuss his outlook on the industry, return to office-based work, travel, IIoT, and Industry 4.0.

In the fourteenth episode of the stream, we receive Frank Lamb. Frank has multiple decades of experience in industrial automation as a systems integrator, consultant, engineer, educator, and much more. Frank started commissioning machinery at a lot cal systems integrator after the Navy and quickly moved up the ranks by taking additional responsibility. He made the call to work for himself by providing consulting and technical services within the same space. As his knowledge in automation increased, he found himself teaching others, wiring books on the same subject, and building a blog. You can find all those resources and more through the links below.

In the thirteenth episode of the Manufacturing Hub, Dave and Vlad continue the discussion around talent acquisition, the current hiring landscape in manufacturing and reflect on their experience interviewing for various positions. Lastly, both answer Q&A coming in from the viewers.

In the twelfth episode of the Manufacturing Hub, we’re speaking with Chris Schleich. Chris has a variety of experience within engineering management roles and a passion for talent finding and development. Chris covers a wide range of topics around talent development, including the growth mindset, building your teams, interviewing, and much more. As a bonus, we put Dave on the spot and ask him to go through a few interview questions during this episode!

In the eleventh episode, we're talking with Jordan Humphreys about everything related to talent searching, recruiting, and more.

This week, on the tenth episode of the Manufacturing Hub, we receive Huck Bales. He’s a director of Smart Manufacturing at Grantek and has a wealth of insights in manufacturing intelligence, change management, and continuous improvement. We’ve talked about his projects, the way Grantek approaches customers, how system integration projects are executed and what the company is doing to retain top talent.