Manufacturing Happy Hour

Updated: 09 Dec 2025 • 319 episodes
manufacturinghappyhour.com

Welcome to Manufacturing Happy Hour, the podcast where we get real about the latest trends and technologies impacting modern manufacturers. Hosted by industry veteran Chris Luecke, each week, we interview makers, founders, and other manufacturing leaders that are at the top of their game and give you the tools, tactics, and strategies you need to take your career and your business to the next level. We go beyond the buzzwords and dissect real-life applications and success stories so that you can tackle your biggest manufacturing challenges and turn them into profitable opportunities. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

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Forget the hyperscalers replacing tens of thousands of jobs. For manufacturers with 20 or 50 employees, AI isn’t about cutting headcount, it’s about finding ways to get ahead when you can’t necessarily afford to scale your team. As Dr Richard Barnhouse, President and CEO of Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) puts

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Two podcast hosts walk into a recording studio and explore what it actually takes to get real stories out of robotics pioneers, why humanoids might not need to do everything to be useful, and where the real optimism in automation lies. Brian Heater, Managing Editor at A3 and host of the Automated podcast, joins the sho

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Robots are becoming more and more mainstream in manufacturing, but most organizations still think of them with sci-fi imagery rather than everyday tools. The gap isn't in the technology, it's in how we prepare people to work alongside it. Jason Gryszkowiec from St. Onge Company and Ben Perlson from ABB Robotics join us

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Many manufacturers are taking the wrong approach to artificial intelligence, picking the wrong implementation partners, and in general, not preparing their data effectively. In this interview, Aaron Lober - VP of Marketing at CADDi - is going to share what AI can realistically do for a manufacturing company and how to

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It’s rare to find someone whose career spans 18 years in automotive manufacturing and venture capital, but Charly Mwangi, Partner at Eclipse Ventures, has done exactly that. His journey from the factory floor at Toyota, Nissan, Tesla and Rivian to backing hard tech companies gives him a perspective many VCs don’t have.

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Sustainability goals are everywhere in manufacturing; net-zero by 2030, carbon neutral by 2035. While many manufacturers have set ambitious targets, the gap between goals and execution remains a challenge, especially when sustainability projects compete with production priorities for capital. Eric Spink and Shiva Subra

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