Rita Hoffman is co-owner at Converse All Steel Services in Canfield, Ohio. The company was established by Roger and Rose Converse in 1986 as a steel warehousing and shot blasting facility. In 2014, Rita and her brother, Ross, took ownership of the company that now produces custom steel parts for heavy manufacturing and construction industries. … Continue reading Rita Hoffman, Converse All Steel Services

Mark Fedor, CEO of Morgan Industries, leads an Alliance Ohio-based manufacturer of material handling systems and production solutions. The company specializes in the construction of large-scale industrial overhead cranes and steel mill equipment. Under Mark’s 16-year tenure as CEO, this 152-year old company is leading its industry in the adoption of automation and other Industry… Continue reading Mark Fedor, Morgan Industries

Natan Linder, our 100th guest, is CEO and co-founder of Tulip, a manufacturing software company that builds digital applications to bridge the human-automation gap for frontline operations. Tulip’s platforms are based on over a decade’s worth of breakthrough research by world-class experts on technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), human-computer interaction, augmented reality,… Continue reading Natan Linder, Tulip

Bob Willig, executive director and CEO of SME (also known as the Society of Manufacturing Engineers), and John Dyck, CEO of CESMII – The Smart Manufacturing Institute, recently announced a partnership to accelerate smart manufacturing adoption.   Bob joined SME a year ago after more than 30 years’ experience holding multiple leadership positions at global manufacturing… Continue reading Bob Willig, SME; John Dyck, CESMII

Matt Fenneman, VP of Sales & Marketing at Engineered Profiles, a Columbus-based manufacturer of custom plastic profile extrusion products. For more than 70 years, the company originally known as Crane Plastics has been a recognized leader in the thermoplastic industry. Engineered Profiles’ advancements include creating one of the first U.S. vinyl siding products, offering custom… Continue reading Matt Fenneman, Engineered Profiles

Todd Leebow is president and CEO of Majestic Steel USA, a national steel service center headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Todd took the reins from his father in 2012 after working at the company for several years on supply chain management and innovation.  Since then, Todd has taken aggressive measures to modernize the company to deliver steel… Continue reading Todd Leebow, Majestic Steel

Nick Day is Vice President of Client Solutions for Roundtable Learning, an e-learning company based in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, that develops technology-enhanced training programs for a number of industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, business services, and retail. Prior to Roundtable, Nick worked as a sales executive and team lead manager for Park Place Technologies and as… Continue reading Nick Day, Roundtable Learning

Nick Day is Vice President of Client Solutions for Roundtable Learning, an e-learning company based in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, that develops technology-enhanced training programs for a number of industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, business services, and retail. Prior to Roundtable, Nick worked as a sales executive and team lead manager for Park Place Technologies and as a senior corporate risk project manager for PNC. Nick earned his MBA and bachelor’s degree in finance at John...

Zach Douglas is a North American Product Manager at QleanAir Scandinavia. He is responsible for US product management, including moving the company’s supply chain from Europe to North America and scaling the company to meet rapid growth. Prior to that role, he worked as an Operational Excellence Manager for Outdoor Living based in Columbus, Ohio,… Continue reading Zach Douglas – QleanAir Scandinavia

Zach Douglas is a North American Product Manager at QleanAir Scandinavia. He is responsible for US product management, including moving the company’s supply chain from Europe to North America and scaling the company to meet rapid growth. Prior to that role, he worked as an Operational Excellence Manager for Outdoor Living based in Columbus, Ohio, and ran his own Wikipedia consulting company. Zach received his bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering at The Ohio State...

Melissa Hadley is business planning manager at Koppers Inc., a Pittsburgh, PA, manufacturer of treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals and carbon compounds. Koppers serves a wide range of applications in a diverse global network of end-markets, including railroad, specialty chemical, residential lumber, agriculture and construction industries. Prior to Koppers, Melissa worked at Morton Salt in various roles, including as supply chain planning manager, plant manager and process...

With more than 30-years’ experience in cybersecurity and information technology systems management and design, Ken Fanger, president of On Technology Partners, helps companies design, plan and implement cybersecurity, disaster recovery, and business continuity systems. While his current focus is on the manufacturing sector, Ken has supported pharmaceutical, legal, medical, nonprofit, and government organizations to better understand their work/process flow and develop strategies to meet...

Daniel Herrington is founder and CEO of Voxel Innovations, an electrochemical machining company based out of Raleigh, NC. The company specializes in a pulsed electrochemical machine process (or PECM) that is touted as an efficient and accurate approach to machining high-quality metal components for their medical, aerospace, energy and other industry customers. Prior to Voxel Innovations, Daniel consulted in the emergent metal additive manufacturing and electrochemical machining...

Sebastian Elmgren, portfolio manager of smart manufacturing at Ericsson, a 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) company founded in 1876 in Stockholm, Sweden, outlines the most common information and emerging communication technologies powered by 5G and IoT platforms that the company considers priorities for adoption by manufacturers. We unpack the critical role cellular technology will play in the future in solving productivity, supply chain disruptions, and skills gaps. Lastly, we address how...

As president and founder of Accelerated Manufacturing Brokers, Fran Brunelle specializes in the sale of small- and mid-sized manufacturing firms. With the goal of ensuring the continuity of U.S. manufacturing, Fran and her team help transition ownership to the next generation of entrepreneurs. Recently Fran was named to the 2020 Most Influential Women in Mid-Market Mergers & Acquisitions. Fran is also the host of WAM (Women and Manufacturing) podcast. Fran writes on topics that help...

During her 13-year tenure at Honda, Meredith Reffey, engineering manager at American Honda Motor Company, has worked in various North American manufacturing facility weld departments, creating specifications for weld equipment with a focus on final body welding and construction. After serving as the weld equipment project leader for the 2018 Honda Accord and 2021 Acura TLX, Meredith recently moved into a management position, leading associates who conduct new model project roles within...

This second in a two-part podcast features an expert panel from The Ohio State University reacting to Ned Hill’s Institute for Materials Research Materials Week webinar presentation on “Lies, Damn Lies and Consultants: What Manufacturing and Supply Chain Leaders Need to Know about Digital Manufacturing, Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things.” In order of appearance, the following panelists include: • Nate Ames, Executive Director, Center for Design and Manufacturing...

During a recent Materials Week webinar Ned Hill, a faculty associate at the Ohio Manufacturing Institute, spoke about OMI research on digitally connected manufacturing enterprises and what is needed strategically and operationally to support them along the Industry 4.0 pathway. This first segment covers Ned’s presentation on “Lies, Damn Lies and Consultants: What Manufacturing and Supply Chain Leaders Need to Know about Digital Manufacturing, Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things.” The...

A self-professed Industry 4.0 champion and digital transformation leader, Ted Rozier serves as director of engineering at Festo Didactic North America. The company is a global leader in designing and implementing Industry 4.0 learning laboratories, educational equipment and programs that train people to perform in highly dynamic and complex industrial control and automation environments. Ted has managed the development of several user-friendly automation control turnkey systems on a global...

Greg Cebular, vice president of sales at The Technology House, a contract manufacturer specializing in additive manufacturing, cast urethane molding, injection molding, and CNC machining. He is also VP of Sales at Sea Air Space Machining & Molding, a sister company to TTH that specializes in ISO certifications in aerospace, defense and medical industries. Greg began his 3D printing tenure at TTH in 2003. Greg is a graduate of Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in Communication...

Rebecca Dray, CEO of Society Profits and executive director of Buy Social USA, focuses her work on building networks of accredited social impact businesses selling goods and services to companies across the US. The goal is to develop a social procurement system that improves society alongside corporate sustainability, shareholder and customer satisfaction & employee retention. Society Profits provides third-party accreditation for social enterprise sellers and helps them gain social...

Stephanie Gaffney is the director of Additive Manufacturing Programs at the Youngstown Business Incubator, an internationally recognized program focused on the development of software and additive manufacturing companies in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley. Stephanie Gaffney joined the YBI team in September of 2014 as an industry liaison for the precision printed parts network, and now works to integrate additive manufacturing into small to medium operations throughout Ohio. She has managed $20...

Greg Kimmel, National Security Business Line Manager, and John Clay, Research Lead outline their leadership roles and the impact of the Critical Care Decontamination System™ (CCDS) developed and commercialized at Battelle, an international nonprofit research and development firm headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Beginning his career as a research scientist, Greg has served Battelle for 19 years. In addition to his work as general manager for Battelle’s CCDS, he spent a year as an...

Mary’beth Ramey, control systems engineer for the Delrin area of DuPont Transportation & Industrial talks to us about her career path in engineering and the innovative products she has worked on at the Washington Works Site in in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Dupont is a spinoff of the world’s fourth-largest chemical company, DowDupont, and is focused on speciality products that serve both industrial and consumer markets. Dupont polymers are used in everything from mobile phone components...

Brandon Cornuke, vice president, and Alec Simon, director of Startup Services at the Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network (MAGNET) talk about this year’s MSPIRE pitch challenge, which has gone virtual this year. Brandon leads the organization’s efforts to help innovators turn manufactured product ideas into viable businesses. He specializes in strategy development, business model design, and lean innovation. He also teaches MBA students as an Adjunct Professor of Design and...