The Manufacturing Fix Podcast

On this episode, Marketing Specialist Sara Wevik talks about best practices manufacturers should use on Facebook.  

Follow South Dakota Manufacturing & Technology Solutions on social media! 

Author of The Manager's Guide to Employee Engagement, and consultant to AT&T, Wal-Mart and more, Scott Carbonara is often referred to as the leadership therapist. His biggest goal is to ignite and inspire companies greatest asset - their people. 

Scott shares his insight and strategy to help get your company culture up to par. We talk about how to find great employees and elevate the ones you have. Join us today as we dive into the needs of employees and beyond. 

Hackers and information breeches are becoming everyday news. Today on the show we welcome Michelle Socia. Michelle is a Risk Managment Consultant for Marsh & McLennan Agency and has year of experience in helping keep customers data safe. Today's episode is a must listen for anyone in manufacturing. 

Today on the show we have Travis Thiex, our automation expert at MTS in Sioux Falls. He is going to share with us a few pro tips on automating and how you can implement it at your facility. 

Travis will touch on the benefits of automating and different ways you can automate that may not be out of your price range!  He's got a wealth of robotic knowledge and can help you assess if you are ready to automate. 

Ready to scale your business? Automation may be the key. 

Welcome back to the Manufacturing Fix! On today's episode, two of our business advisors, Keith Deibert and Kellie Ecker discuss Training Within Industry (TWI) solutions. We start with some history, current applications and how you can achieve greater operational success. You’ll learn how TWI can help address the skills gap many companies face and how it can improve your job methods. We hope you enjoy today's show! 

On today's episode, we have a quick discussion with Mr. Brooks Jacobsen,  Electronic Systems Technology/Robotics Instructor Department Supervisor at Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, South Dakota. South Dakota MTS has worked with LATI in developing  their automation lab. 

Brooks has some great insight into what students are looking for in a place to work and how LATI is equipping this generation of manufacturing workers. 

Industrial Revolution 4.0 is upon us, and some might be curious about what that means? Today we met with Keith Deibert of SDMTS to discuss some history and some things to look for as IR 4.0 takes hold. 

Keith is a Senior Business Advisor with South Dakota MTS and provided consulting services for South Dakota's manufacturers. He is a graduate of SDSU and had a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He now focuses his efforts in helping organizations become Lean Enterprises. 

Robots are becoming a common sight on manufacturing floors. We are starting to work alongside them more than ever. Today on the Manufacturing Fix Podcast, we sit down with Spencer Erwin from Braas to discuss trends in Automation and Robotics and what Manufactures should be looking for in the coming years. 

On the show today we have a special guest, Amy Graziano. Amy is a project manager for The Rocky Mountain Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, which is a non-profit that helps manufacturing firms receive Trade Adjustment Assistance grants to help grow their employment and revenue.

The TAA specializes in working with your company to determine your eligibility for the trade grants at no cost. 

We hope you enjoy this discussion with Amy on this topic. 

Hello and welcome to the Manufacturing Fix Podcast's first episode. We are looking forward to discussing all sorts of manufacturing topics, ideas, and advancements. In today's episode, we will chat with Micki Vandeloo GPC, President of Lakeview Consulting Inc. Micki is an expert in writing and obtaining grants for manufacturers. Her team has helped raised over $160 million in funding. Micki has over 15 years of experience writing grants and has personally obtained over $40 million. With degrees in engineering and business, along with years of experience in manufacturing and technical industries, Micki possesses a solid foundation for her for-profit grant writing and business growth services. She is an accomplished author, publishing her book, "The For-Profit Grant Writing Guide," in 2014, holds her Grant Professionals Certification, and has been recognized for her efforts in promoting the GPC certification on the grants profession by receiving the 2014 Pauline G. Annarino Award.

We invite you to listen along and get some great insight on how grants can help you grow your manufacturing business.