Clocking In Podcast
Voices of NC Manufacturing, your host Phil Mintz, Director of the North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NCMEP). We will be interviewing some of the manufacturers who have made North Carolina manufacturing the powerhouse it is today.
PODCAST EPISODES
E-19: Engineering the Tissue Industry With Technology
Cardinal Tissue
The pandemic caused a sudden surge in hoarding. As a result of people buying tissue in bulk and manufacturers not being able to keep up with the demand, toilet paper became one of the many products that was hard to find during the pandemic. Today I’m talking to a North Carolina tissue manufacturer that rose to the challenge to get tissue back on grocery store shelves. View Show Notes.
E-18: Award Winning Distillery Lends a Hand
Southern Distilling Company
Baking flour, paper towels, bicycles and canning jars. What do all these things have in common? They were all scarce at one point during the pandemic. Another item that was really hard to find on market shelves early in the pandemic and came recommended as a means to slow down the spread of COVID-19 was hand sanitizer. In this interview, I talk to one of the hundreds of distilleries who answered the call to assist with the extreme hand sanitizer shortage of 2020. View Show Notes.
E-17: Industrial Solutions Lab Helps Manufacturers Solve for Solutions
UNC Charlotte Industrial Solutions Lab
No one likes to waste time, especially manufacturers. If there is a more efficient and faster way to conduct operations, manufacturers want in. This is why the Industrial Solutions Lab at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte works hand-in-hand with NC manufacturers to create processes that make them more productive. View Show Notes.
E-16: Precision Prototyping
Hangar6
Imagine you manufacture a product advertised to help install doorknobs. Customers order the product, but there’s a major problem. It doesn’t work. Embarrassingly, you recall the product and your organization’s customer loyalty suffers. You do a deep dive and track all your product’s defects back to the fact you missed steps in the prototyping and testing process. View Show Notes.
E-15: Checking the Pulse of the Economy with Dr. Walden
Dr. Michael Walden
The pandemic has done a number on our economy. The shut down necessary to stem the spread of COVID-19 caused the economy to recede and led to massive layoffs. To dissect the status of the economy, the manufacturing industry and the possible track to recovery, we’re talking to someone we had on the podcast a year ago under different circumstances—economist Dr. Michael Walden. View Show Notes.
E-14: Revving Up Manufacturing Solutions
Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions
In business, flexibility is a strength, especially in times of uncertainty. The range of standard and custom products our next guest can design and produce has helped his company find their way through the pandemic. We talk with a manufacturer who takes pride in its product line’s versatility and quality. View Show Notes.
E-13: Switching On Manufacturing
Electroswitch Electronic Products
In business, flexibility is a strength, especially in times of uncertainty. The range of standard and custom products our next guest can design and produce has helped his company find their way through the pandemic. We talk with a manufacturer who takes pride in its product line’s versatility and quality. View Show Notes.
E-12: Molding The Future of Manufacturing
Core Technology Molding Corporation
The pandemic has brought an abrupt end to the last 10 years of business and economic growth in the United States, resulting in many manufacturers suffering short and long-term damage. In spite of the situation, we talk with a North Carolina manufacturer that has found opportunities in the face of this adversity. View Show Notes.
E-11: The Job Manufacturer
NC State’s Office of External Affairs, Partnerships and Economic Development
Jobs are the foundation of any thriving economy. When people have jobs, they get paid. When they get paid, they spend money. When they spend money, it bolsters the economy. This is precisely why organizations like NC State’s Office of External Affairs, Partnerships and Economic Development (EAPED) are so vital. View Show Notes.
E-10: Cultivating Solutions
Mertek Solutions
According to Gallup, 70% of Americans view the American Dream as personally achievable. Our next Clocking In guest was a farm boy from Iowa who worked his way through the manufacturing industry and created a prosperous business in which he’s proud to go to every day. He is a manifestation of that dream, showing it is achievable to anyone. View Show Notes.
E-09: North Carolina Business in the Era of COVID-19
Business North Carolina (BNC)
According to North Carolina’s Small Business and Technology Development Center, there are 179,773 employer businesses in North Carolina. 98.1% of them are small businesses. As of March 24, 2020, many of those businesses were deemed “non-essential” and had to temporarily close to limit the spread of COVID-19. This has resulted in mass layoffs and some businesses are facing the threat of having to permanently close their doors. View Show Notes.
E-08: Fetching Designs
2 Hounds Design
There are almost 90 million dogs currently owned in the US. As dogs have become a more integral part of American life, their owners have sought more quality and variety in their little friend’s accessories. View Show Notes.
E-07: A North Carolina “Basement” Success Story
Equilibar
Pressure control technologies are an integral part of many products and industries. They assist in supplying important operations with the appropriate amount of fluid or gas. Our next guest’s valves and regulators have been dubbed gold standard within pressure control technology manufacturing. View Show Notes.
E-06: Taking Aerospace Manufacturing To New Heights
VX Aerospace
Dynamic composites are extremely useful in the advancement of the aerospace industry. The use of composites can reduce the weight of aerospace vehicles up to 20 to 50%. They have a high thermal stability and are resistant to fatigue and corrosion. With the ever growing demand within the industry for something state-of-the-art, it is vital that aerospace manufacturers be both adaptable and innovative. View Show Notes.
E-05: Going With The Flow
Hoffer Flow Controls
Measurements make a difference. The wrong measurement of fluids could make or break a product or operation. In your home, a flow meter determines the difference between a $50 water bill and a $250 water bill. In the aerospace industry, a flow meter determines whether a space shuttle receives enough rocket fuel to launch into outer space. View Show Notes.
E-04: Stepping Outside The Box
Package Craft
Virtually every item we receive comes in a package… whether it’s a brand new computer, clothes you ordered online or food you bought last minute for dinner. Probably most of us put little or no thought into where the packaging is actually manufactured and how it’s made. View Show Notes.
E-Special-03: Clocking In With The Partners Of NCMEP
E-S-03A: Economic Development Partnership Of North Carolina (EDPNC)
E-S-03B: Manufacturing Solutions Center (MSC)
E-S-03C: Polymers Center Of Excellence (PCE)
E-S-03D: North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS)
E-S-03E: Industry Expansion Solutions (IES)
View Show Notes.
E-Special-02: MFGCON 2019 Company Interviews
E-S-02A: Fairystone Fabrics
E-S-02B: SylvanSport
E-S-02C: Carolina Growler
View Show Notes.
E-03: Cashion Fishing Rods Angling To Improve Your Fishing Game
Cashion Fishing Rods
The economy was rough after Matthew Cashion graduated from Virginia Tech in 2009. With a doctorate in chemistry and concentration in advanced materials science, he was having no luck finding full-time employment. View Show Notes.
E-02: Tri-County Industries Fosters Strong Work Discipline, Sense Of Worth And Inclusion
Tri-County Industries
Tri-County Industries is a unique blend of private enterprise, government funding and local volunteers working together since 1966. Its philosophy of rehabilitation is to help people develop a strong work discipline and a sense of self-worth while obtaining hands-on job experience in a realistic work environment. View Show Notes.
E-Special-01: The State Of The North Carolina Economy For Manufacturing
Dr. Michael Walden
When people talk about the general economy and the economics surrounding the manufacturing industry, we may get lost in all the technical and jargon-riddled analysis. We want answers, that’s why I sat down with the guy who has the scoop, N.C. State University economist Dr. Michael Walden. View Show Notes.
E-01: Not Your Grandmother’s Formica Laminate!
ATI Laminates
ATI Laminates is a family owned and operated manufacturing facility located in Greensboro, North Carolina. They are maniacally focused on developing innovative surfaces for the hospitality, retail, healthcare and institutional markets. View Show Notes.