Energy guru Dr. Lars Schernikau tells us why the touted "energy transition" is completely off-base!

Episode 94 once more features our friends from Aprio, a CPA-led advisory firm with over 700 clients in their Manufacturing and Distribution Practice. Simeon Wallis and Michael Lange join us to discuss their latest quarterly "Manufacturing and Distribution Insights" report, which is a great look into the state of business for American industry.

Simeon is Chief Investment Officer and leader of Aprio’s Wealth Management Practice, and Michael is Partner in Assurance Services at Aprio, so they bring a whole lot of expertise to the subject.

The latest issue had more good news for manufacturers, including a slight rise in manufacturing sentiment from the Institute for Supply Managers and a boom in plant construction spending. But there were also indications of weakening demand, and a fresh ISM report came out after we recorded showing a decline in the outlook of industry professionals. Michael and Simeon dive into all the details of their report and give their insights about the current state of things and where they think we're headed.

Tune in and hear the whole expert story!

View the Aprio quarterly insights report here: https://www.aprio.com/6-manufacturing-distribution-insights-from-q1-2024-and-what-they-mean-for-you/

Fluke Reliability has been a mainstay in manufacturing maintenance for a long, long time. With tools like temperature and vibration monitors and acoustic and thermal imaging, they've helped make true preventive maintenance a reality for industry. So it was extremely informative for Episode 93 to chat with their president, Ankush Malhotra, about their recent acquisition of Azima DLI, which is helping supercharge Fluke's aggressive push into the use of AI for machine failure prevention.

Ankush gives us a deep dive into what Fluke has going on with its new efforts, and how they can help manufacturers of all kinds stay competitive in today's tough business environment.

Tune in and check out the whole thing!

Doesn't it seem like every single day now brings fresh news of another monstrous dollop of tax money is being given away somewhere in the US to coerce some manufacturer to build and "create jobs?" That's great news, right?

Not so much, and James Hohman, Director of Fiscal Policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy right here in Michigan, is here to tell us why it's not. Here are just a few of the points he covers:

20:00 - a better way: create a better business environment and quality of life
23:45 - job creation and loss under these schemes
26:00 - money spent versus jobs created
30:00 - economic development program spending versus schools and prisons

Check out the whole thing to learn why the better road is to let manufacturers pay their own way while making the business environment and workforce attractive enough that they'll come to your state anyway!

Starting first with the supply chain and production disruptions of the pandemic, and now being reinforced by the unrest in the Middle East, the idea that outsourcing manufacturing is always a cost savings move has been shown to be wrong.

Harry Moser, founder and president of the Reshoring Initiative, has been saying that for years. In fact, he came up with a calculation tool, the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Estimator, to show businesses that in many cases manufacturing right here in the USA makes the most economic sense. (See the links at the bottom of this page.)

Harry joined us for Episode 91 to dive into all the details. Here are a few of the highlights of our chat:
12:11 - reshoring job figures
22:11 - how reshoring can cut emissions
24:30 - the effect of reshoring on worker education and workforce development
30:18 - the relationship between reshoring and sound Lean principles

Harry rightly points out that for us to convince our younger generations that manufacturing is a good career choice, there have to be manufacturing jobs available. That's why the increasing head of steam reshoring is seeing is so important.

Tune in and check out the whole discussion!

The Reshoring Initiative's home page: https://www.reshorenow.org/
TCO Estimator tool: https://www.reshorenow.org/tco-estimator/

Grace Stanke spent her reign last year as Miss America promoting nuclear energy. And she knows what she's talking about - in December she graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in nuclear engineering! She joined us for Episode 90 to talk about why nuclear is safer and less expensive than you might think, and why there are even bigger things on the horizon with Small Modular Reactors and, one day, nuclear fusion!

Some highlights:

4:00 - how Grace chose nuclear engineering
19:00 - the nuclear power generation business is safer for its workers than grocery or fast food!
22:30 - nuclear energy is clean energy!
24:20 - we need 70% of our power to be reliable baseload, and Grace thinks 30% to 40% ought to be nuclear

It's well worth your time to check out the whole thing! Grace shares other experiences too, like when she played an AC/DC song on her violin for the talent portion of an earlier pageant, and how she recorded with us just before she jetted off to Africa to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro!

Appearing on Broadway in Les Misérables... playing a part on General Hospital... and launching an AI-driven industry software services company?

Yep, yep, and yep, if you're Michael Lynch. He joined us for Episode 89 to chat about all of it.

After earning a living singing, dancing, and starring on stage and screen, Michael served as CEO of Right Hemisphere Inc., a provider of small tools for graphics professionals. The company was acquired by SAP, where Michael led the Internet of Things business. The he co-founded Praxie, a business process automation company.

Michael dives into the specific services Praxie brings to manufacturing customers, including making data actionable and making Lean efforts more effective.

This one was fun, entertaining, and educational! Check out the whole thing!

Episode 88 is another must-listen. Energy economist, entrepreneur, commodities trader, and author Dr. Lars Schernikau joins us to talk about his latest book, *The Unpopular Truth about Electricity and the Future of Energy,* which he co-wrote with Professor William Hayden Smith.

Lars dives into just why our current path of rapid additions of variable renewables is wrong and why battery storage and hydrogen won't help. He introduces his concept of eROI - energy return on investment - and tells us why it's crucial. He tells us why coal is still vital and why nuclear is an absolute must, and how geothermal and even off-planet solar might play a part in our energy future.

And finally, he explains why the situation right now in Germany ought to be educating us all on exactly the wrong way to do things energy-wise.

Do tune in and listen to the whole thing!

Check out Lars's homepage here: https://unpopular-truth.com/

And get a copy of his book (highly recommended!) here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BM3T8BBG?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_JXKGDT67BYEJ37BEAEB3

It's been a while since we covered 3D printing here. Who better to chat with about it than Blake Teipel, who joined us for our Episode 87? He co-founded Essentium, maker of high-speed extrusion 3D printers and materials, and they were just acquired by Nexa3D. Now Blake is Chief Strategy Officer for the combined company, and he'll be there at the helm taking Nexa3D into the future.

Despite some doldrums in the industry right now, Blake is bullish on that future. Tune in and hear him talk about the industry's strengths and opportunities, including fast-improving hardware, software, and materials. He gives us his thoughts about the need for industry consolidation and how companies can position themselves for success.

With GlobalData recently predicting that the 3D printing global business will reach $70 billion by 2030, the insights Blake has to offer are crucial if  you're wanting to learn what's what in additive.

Tune in and check out the whole show - you'll be glad you did!

Montana isn't just one of America's fastest-growing states in population. It's also rapidly expanding its manufacturing base, growing it by 14% last year alone!

Why? Not because of giant dollops of taxpayer-funded subsidies. Governor Greg Gianforte, a serial entrepreneur and former small businessman himself, and the Montana legislature have focused on improving the general business environment and other areas critical to industrial companies like skilled trades training. They've tried to tackle all the different areas of government that were holding manufacturing back. And it's working.

The governor joined us for Episode 86 to talk about all of it: the tax relief efforts he has led, the reductions in regulations that he worked with the legislature to pass, his efforts to solve the housing crunch so many areas of the country are still struggling with, and his partnering with educational institutions and business groups to make sure the workers that manufacturing employers need will be there.

Companies like Hyundai's New Horizons Studio, German high-tech vacuum component maker VACOM, and military ammunition producer Brixtel Defense have all selected Montana for new facilities.

Tune in and learn all the small-government winning ways that have Montana's manufacturing growing fast!

Here's a link to Governor Gianforte's bio: https://governor.mt.gov/About/

Here are a couple of related Forbes articles by your host:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimvinoski/2023/12/22/vacoms-new-us-hq-is-another-win-in-montanas-manufacturing-blitz/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimvinoski/2023/02/03/bozeman-landed-hyundais-new-horizons-studio-rd-center-now-montana-is-on-the-hunt-for-more-manufacturing/

For our Episode 85, we're joined by Jeffrey Korzenik, chief economist at one of our major American banks and author of the very important book, Untapped Talent: How Second Chance Hiring Works for Your Business and the Community.

He tells us all the critical reason we should all be taking a look at hiring those who've previously been incarcerated or have criminal records. Right now they can find themselves with almost no path to earning a living, which makes it pretty tough to get off the path of crime and onto one of being a productive citizen.

Jeff tells us why it's good economics, good business, and being a good human being to try to give those who've made legal mistakes a second chance.

Jeff also tells about the hurdles companies will face in getting after this laudable goal, and where they can find help to do it.

Check out Jeff's website here, where you can get a copy of his book (highly recommended!): https://www.jeffkorzenik.com/