Manufacturing Happy Hour
Chris Luecke
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…
Recent Episodes
BONUS: The Future of Intralogistics featuring Siemens' Joel Thomas and Markus Thiel
Aug 4, 2026Joel Thomas, OEM Sales leader for Data Center and Life Sciences at Siemens with over a decade in intralogistics, and Markus Thiel, newly appointed Head of Intralogistics at Siemens with a manufacturing operations and supply chain background, discuss the evolution of warehouse automation and material handling. Recorded live at MODEX in Atlanta, they cover the shift from manual pallet jacks to robotics and AMRs, the critical role of orchestration software, standardization trends, edge computing, digital twins, and the industry's acute engineer shortage. The conversation emphasizes how e-commerce has driven explosive growth and how digital-first design is reshaping warehouse operations.
297: Defense Spending, Contract Manufacturing, and Navigating Regulated Industries with Fathom CEO Rush LaSelle
Jul 28, 2026Rush LaSelle, CEO of Fathom, discusses precision contract manufacturing and the complexities of supporting the defense industrial base. Fathom specializes in advanced manufacturing technologies including 3D printing, injection molding, sheet metal fabrication, and CNC machining. The episode explores why increased defense spending does not automatically translate to increased manufacturing capacity, covering topics like supply chain visibility, workforce challenges, CMMC compliance, and the intersection of AI and physical manufacturing.
BONUS: Software-Defined Automation: The Future of Industrial Control (sponsored by Siemens)
Jul 21, 2026This bonus episode, recorded live at Automate 2026 in Chicago, explores software-defined automation (SDA) with David Nichols (CEO and co-founder of Loop), Jan Bayavat (Senior Director of Software-Defined Automation at Siemens), and Kristen Quasi (Architecture and Portfolio Sales Manager at Siemens). The discussion covers how SDA combines software engineering principles with operational technology to enable manufacturers to adapt faster, reduce time-to-market, handle increased complexity, and scale industrial AI. The conversation emphasizes SDA as a decoupling of hardware and software that allows concurrent engineering, faster commissioning, and distributed team collaboration—not as replacement of OT reliability but as an expansion of capabilities.
The Future of Precision Manufacturing (Why Humans Still Matter on the Factory Floor) | Ep. 287
Jul 15, 2026What Actually Drives Regional Manufacturing Success? (LIVE from Cleveland)
Jun 22, 2026What Manufacturers Can Learn from Central Wisconsin’s Workforce Strategy
Jun 9, 2026The Future of AI in Manufacturing: How AI Agents Are Transforming Factory Workflows | Apprentice.io
May 27, 2026MRP vs ERP Explained: What Manufacturers Need to Know
May 15, 2026How AI, CMMS, and Digital Logs Are Changing Maintenance on the Factory Floor | MaintainX | Ep. 281
May 12, 2026How One Company Shrunk 30,000 sq. ft. into 7,500 with Warehouse Automation | Ep. 282
May 5, 2026
Show artwork and metadata belong to the publisher and are shown here editorially, as part of documenting the corpus behind our analyses. Inclusion does not imply any endorsement of, or by, MeetBri.