Author: Cieana Detloff, Reporting for the Pump Industry
Imagine having a dream at 2 a.m. and bursting out of bed with the biggest, most exhilarating idea! An idea so exciting you have to call your friend and business partner right that moment to tell him all about it. In the middle of the night on October 21st, 2013, Lewis A. Weiss leapt out from underneath warm blankets to call Tim Grady, Vice President of All Metals & Forge Group.
Weiss expressed his concept to create a radio talk show explicitly centered on Manufacturing. At that time, there were no podcasts talking about manufacturing, the cutting edge technology that was being used in the manufacturing sector, business trends, and economic forecasts that affect global manufacturers. Two weeks after Weiss and Grady’s middle-of-the-night brainstorm session, Manufacturing Talk Radio was on the air!
When I spoke with Mr. Weiss, President of All Metals & Forge Group, he explained, “MFGTalkRadio.com is a weekly live internet talk radio show that discusses many aspects of manufacturing, covering a wide range of topics – everything from 3-D simulation, rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing to IIoT, augmented reality and cybersecurity, to big data analytics and global supply chains – and how all of these things impact this keystone industry.”
What’s amazing about MFGTalkRadio.com is not just how fast it has grown over its 4 years of broadcasting, but how it is helping to reshape the reputation of manufacturing. “One of our intentions is to reframe people’s point of reference when it comes to the manufacturing industry,” states Weiss. “People have this ‘historical’ perspective about what Manufacturing is, and it may not be entirely accurate – manufacturing has changed so much in the last 40 years, and we want to help people understand what is really happening with this very vibrant sector of the American economy. We want to encourage young people to look at it as a serious career path, and we want to bring to attention the very important role that women play in the manufacturing sector as well.”
Women represent 51% of the U.S. population, but only 27% of the American manufacturing workforce. For this reason, Weiss and Grady invited several high-level professionals to host the Women and Manufacturing segment of MFGTalkRadio.com (meet the hosts). This segment, where ‘accomplished women interview accomplished women’, has been warmly embraced and taken on a life of its own!
In these interviews (check out their episodes), women share their experiences, discuss navigation of manufacturing and the corporate world, talk about ‘lessons learned’, offer encouragement, and show the many opportunities that exist for women in manufacturing. Our own Charli K. Matthews was recently interviewed – check out Connecting with Purpose!
I invite you to give a listen to MFGTalkRadio.com – then use the comments section below to let me know which one was your favorite!
