286: Why Local Execution Drives Regional Manufacturing Success: Live from Cleveland, OH
Manufacturing Happy HourShow Notes
American manufacturing’s next chapter is being written one region at a time, and Northeast Ohio is one of the places setting the standard. In a region like theirs, the institutions and programs are moving in sync, and that builds into something bigger than any plant could pull off alone. That’s why we’re hitting the road on the Rust Belt Renaissance tour to find more places where modern technology and industrial innovation are helping to revive the area. On the first stop, we’re live from Collision Bend Brewing in Cleveland with seven leaders from across the Northeast Ohio manufacturing community, working out how a region of 7,700 manufacturers turns local action into national impact. We split the conversation into three short parts: Matt Duplin (Manager, TransDigm Advanced Manufacturing Center, Cleveland State University), Kyle Zeller (NSF Engine), and Adam Artman (Executive Director, Manufacturing Works) open with what regional action actually looks like on the ground, covering the role of public universities, federal programs like the $160 million NSF Engine award, and the peer-to-peer learning behind the Manu Future program. Greg Schumacher (Director of Manufacturing, NOVAGARD) and Mike Yost (Manufacturing Excellence Program, Manufacturing Works) turn the theory into a case study, walking through the CESMII Smart Manufacturing Roadmap that Greg’s team finished in six weeks at zero cost. Jillian Kupchella (Director of Marketing, CESMII) and Jonathan Wise (Chief Technology Architect, CESMII) close the conversation with what comes next nationally, including the three technology needs that every digital project should think through. This episode is for any manufacturer wondering how to make the most of the resources closest to them. In this episode, find out: What ‘regional action’ means in a manufacturing ecosystem and why local organisations like Manufacturing Works act as the connective tissue between manufacturers, universities, and workforce providers How a public university with an 80% local student body and a dedicated advanced manufacturing centre creates a homegrown engineering pipeline that stays in the region What an NSF Engine award is, what it takes for a region to compete for one, and how Northeast Ohio became one of fifteen teams in the running for $160 million in federal funding Why peer-to-peer learning through the Manu Future programme moves the needle on technology adoption far more than any vendor pitch The ‘secret ingredient’ each panellist credits for Northeast Ohio’s manufacturing density of 7,700 manufacturers, from collaboration to history to location How CESMII is exporting the same toolset and language to other regions including Western Pennsylvania, Maryland, Los Angeles, and upstate New York The three technology imperatives Jonathan Wise lays out for any manufacturer deploying new tech – modelling data, contextualising data, and making data interoperable through tools like CESMII’s I3X
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: "We're a public university, and so we should be servicing the public and the manufacturers in our region. The advanced manufacturing center is that space." — Matt Duplin "Something like this doesn't just get spun up overnight. It's the result of years and years of work together. It speaks to the confidence that our federal government has in our region to compete on a global scale." — Kyle Zeller "What's unique about Northeast Ohio, every time I meet with someone, is always the same. It's this willingness to share. It's the willingness for the sum to be greater than the parts." — Adam Artman "We have connected our PLCs, and that data — real time, in engineers' hands, in operations' hands — we have unleashed the data. We are making decisions faster, smarter, with the right information." — Greg Schumacher "We talk about smart manufactur
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