Episode #44: Building a Strong Manufacturing Culture, with Chris Luecke of Manufacturing Happy Hour
In this episode of U.S. Manufacturing Today powered by Veryable, host Matt Horine discusses the future of the American manufacturing landscape with Chris Luecke, Host of the Manufacturing Happy Hour podcast. The conversation delves into the origins and evolution of Manufacturing Happy Hour, the key themes recurring in industry discussions, and the critical role of culture in manufacturing. Chris shares insights on current trends like nearshoring, automation, and the integration of AI, along with their impact on productivity and workforce retention. The dialogue also touches on how the industry can remain resilient and competitive by investing in workforce culture and strategically implementing technology. Chris offers his perspectives on the importance of attracting the next generation to manufacturing and suggests practical steps leaders can take to enhance their organizational culture. The episode concludes with predictions for the manufacturing sector in 2026 and advice on developing effective strategies for the future.
Links
- Manufacturing Happy Hour
- Chris Luecke on LinkedIn
- Chris Luecke's Website
- Navigating Trump 2.0
- Veryable Is Revitalizing U.S. Manufacturing
- Sign Up on the Veryable Platform
- Veryable Shop
Timestamps
- 00:00 Introduction to US Manufacturing Today
- 00:15 Meet Chris Luecke: Founder of Manufacturing Happy Hour
- 01:15 The Origin Story of Manufacturing Happy Hour
- 01:42 Evolution and Impact of Manufacturing Happy Hour
- 04:34 Common Themes in Manufacturing: Workforce and Automation
- 06:49 The Importance of Culture in Manufacturing
- 11:12 Trends and Challenges in Manufacturing: 2025 Recap
- 16:39 The Role of AI and Technology in Manufacturing
- 21:54 Reshoring and Nearshoring: Building Resilient Manufacturing
- 24:27 Workforce Development: Adapting to New Realities
- 28:59 Looking Ahead: Predictions for US Manufacturing in 2026
- 32:26 Final Thoughts and Where to Find More
Episode Transcript
Matt Horine: [00:00:00] Welcome back to US Manufacturing Today, the podcast powered by Veryable where we talk with the leaders, innovators, and change makers, shaping the future of American industry, along with providing regular updates on the state of manufacturing, the changing landscape policies and more.
Today we have Chris Luecke joining us, who is the founder and host of Manufacturing Happy Hour at Podcast and Movement that brings insight and unfiltered conversations to people in manufacturing. Over the years, Chris has interviewed hundreds of industry leaders, operators, and innovators, pushing past the jargon to talk about what really matters people, cultural leadership and the real future of American industry.
Manufacturing Happy Hour isn't just a name, it's a philosophy even in tough times. We find the winds we learn from each other and we build a resilient industrial culture that withstands disruption. Today we're going to talk with Chris about the state of manufacturing as we head into 2026 supply chain shifts, tariffs, reshoring, and what keeps leaders up at night, and what gives them hope.
Chris, welcome to US Manufacturing Today.
Chris Luecke: Great to be here. Matt, [00:01:00] big fan of Veryable, awesome to be on the show.
Matt Horine: We're very excited to have you. You've been a long time friend of Veryable and so love getting your insights and we'll just jump straight into it. I think you've built an audience and a community around Manufacturing Happy Hour.
For listeners who may be unfamiliar with the show, I bet we have a lot of crossover, but what's the origin story behind Manufacturing Happy Hour and how did it come to life?
Chris Luecke: Yeah, and you nailed it. Manufacturing happy Hour as it stands today. The face of Manufacturing Happy Hour is the weekly podcast, and that's interviews with manufacturing leaders done in a candid fashion as if you're having a beer with someone.
That's always been the vibe of the show since day one, but you captured that. It's a community. It's also an event series, and that's been an evolution over time to go back. To where manufacturing Happy Hour started. I was a salesperson in the automation industry working out in the San Francisco Bay area.
This would've been 2016, so we're celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Manufacturing Happy Hour [00:02:00] this year, and it started because. Partially outta necessity. I had moved from a market where I was calling on an older demographic, folks that had been at their companies for 20, 30 years, Houston, Texas, to be specific, and I was moving to the Bay Area where everyone has had their vision of job hopping.
A lot of really talented people that take their skills to different places every two to three years. So. I needed a way to reach that younger audience that might not have been at that same organization for years. And I was 29 at the time and I was thinking it's, I consume content through podcasts and videos and things like that.
So manufacturing happy hour. I really started as the way I describe it, but campy video series that I was just filming on my iPhone in an automation lab for the first three or so years. And it was at a time where if you look at the content landscape now. In manufacturing, everyone's posting content. You'll see a lot of videos, long form posts, pictures, whatever it is on LinkedIn.
[00:03:00] At the time, the nature of me just doing something made it stand out, so it was a great way to get started, but. Over time, it evolved from just being something I did on my iPhone to really what it is today where it's more long form content podcasts where we can get in depth with manufacturing leaders.
As you highlighted at the start, learn from the highs, the lows, current events, tried and true moments, and really try to equip manufacturing leaders. With the tools and strategies by learning from those experiences. And for context, 80% of my audience is based in North America, so it is definitely a podcast that ends up with a bit of a US manufacturing spin.
But I should say we've, we've traveled to different parts of the world. We were just in Germany last year in 2025, and it's nice to learn from the opportunities, challenges, struggles that people have faced in other parts of the world. At the end of the day, we're. Trying to build a resilient manufacturing community, and I've found there's a lot to learn from a lot of [00:04:00] different walks of life, different cultures, et cetera.
Matt Horine: For sure. That's something that has remained consistent and true on this show is that there's a lot more community to it, rather than just what's in front of you on the day-to-day and, and learning and hearing the stories of people who are on the shop floor every day. A lot of the same types of challenges are met all over the world and, but you bring up an interesting point.
There's a lot of different people involved in terms of vantage points for manufacturing from machinists and floor supervisors to CEOs and industry experts. You've spoken to a broad cross section of those professionals. What themes keep coming up over and over again?
Chris Luecke: Undoubtedly, workforce is a topic that comes up and I, I won't talk about that too much because I, it, I think people in our industry.
No, that's an issue, right? We can't find the talent we need to fill jobs and opportunities in this space. So that is a constant topic. As someone, I noticed this over the years, there are people that came up in the [00:05:00] manufacturing industry through like the CNC and the jobs shop world, and then other folks that came up through the automation side of things.
It's not necessarily just a pure split like that, but those are two. Core groups. I think that make up for the folks that have gone into, we'll call it manufacturing media, if you will, and there's definitely an automation spin to my show. I, I mentioned I was working for Rockwell Automation, so automation, robotics, machine vision, the, the macro aspects of how are individuals connecting their operations, how are they enabling Industry 4.0.
That's been a theme on the show over the years, but I'd say first and foremost, I try to talk touch on evergreen content and culture within manufacturing is one of the most evergreen topics. Part of that is just being cognizant of what my medium is like. Podcasting is one of those few forms of content where people are gonna go back and listen to the back catalog.
People are gonna go back and [00:06:00] listen to something that came out 1, 2, 6 years ago, potentially. One of the things I've done with my show is I try to keep an element of current events to it, but also an element of. What are some tried and true things that, that we've seen help folks be successful? So building a great culture, empowering folks that are on the front lines, having a technology enabled manufacturing facility, and of course, what are you doing to attract the next generation or get people to enter.
The industry that might have been elsewhere before. Those are some common themes that we cover on manufacturing happy hour.
Matt Horine: That makes a lot of sense. It's something that does come up over and over again. And the, the community and culture part of it is something, number one, as a fan of your show, the emphasis on that people first, not just productivity metrics, vantage point that you've championed so well.
Why is culture so central to the future of manufacturing? You've probably seen a shift from when you started your show 10 years ago to maybe. Being a little bit more pronounced now, but would love to get some [00:07:00] more insight on that.
Chris Luecke: I think it goes back to one of the first issues that I highlighted, which is workforce.
How are you gonna get people to not only enter the industry, but stay in the industry, stay with your company? If you think about it, if you, if you go back decades, centuries, right? Great leaders, great cultures are one of the things they're going to be able to keep people within those organizations attract people to your movement, your company, whatever you want to call it, which I'll just go back to what it would've been summer 2019 when I recorded the first like long form episode of manufacturing happy hour.
I went to an equipment manufacturer, BlendTech in Sonoma County, California. They're doing food processing equipment and. My first thought, one, I knew the CEO, right? And I knew he had created a great organization for manufacturers to learn from a company that is building equipment in an area [00:08:00] that you would not think would be the main hub for an equipment manufacturer.
I knew there was a lot to learn from that organization. And hearing Dan Voight the CEO of that company talking about how you need to. Be out there demonstrating the behaviors you wanna see in your organization. You gotta be doing that yourself and demonstrating that every day. That's one of the reasons that I started with a topic like that.
And one of the reasons that I think a lot of things go back to culture, a strong culture in manufacturing. Is going to be the type of organization that's going to embrace technology and get their team members to embrace technology. A great culture is the type of organization where people are gonna be attracted to work with that, in that that organization or that industry, even if maybe they had always thought they'd have job in the office behind the desk, that's the type of spot where you can start seeing it's, you know what?
It is pretty cool to work with your hands every day, and I love doing it for this organization. I think that's one of the reasons that comes up so frequently.
Matt Horine: Yeah, that's something that I've seen in the best of leadership [00:09:00] environments or in the best of any environment really is good leadership. Being that hands-on lead from the front perspective, do you see that kind of taking more foothold in American manufacturing overall today?
Chris Luecke: I think so, especially as, yeah. I think the headlines in the news will always feature what the large manufacturers are doing, what large manufacturers are investing in. Where the strength of the industry comes from is the small and mid-size manufacturers that are out there that have been running businesses.
Maybe they're family owned businesses that are now transitioning to a new owner, the next generation, whatever it is. I think that's one of the reasons culture has been so key because. When you're at a large organization, I mentioned that I worked at Rockwell Automation for a long time. You have people in that organization that can be dedicated to shaping culture on a regular basis.
There are roles that are specifically built around that because you have that [00:10:00] wide infrastructure. So I think we see culture a little more prevalent in large organizations because you have people that can be solely dedicated to that. Within smaller and midsize manufacturers that, by the way, make up the majority of the US manufacturing workforce.
It is something that a leader, a team member, has to. Add to their plate and be very deliberate about, in addition to doing what their day-to-day role is. So I think that's another reason that it's such a big focus right now, is just that, and especially with small to mid-size manufacturers, it's gotta be something you're very deliberate about.
You can't just assume culture is going to happen because when you take that route and you're not deliberate about it, that's where you can get some slippage. You could get some habits maybe that you're not thrilled with that eventually snowball over time.
Matt Horine: Well said. It reminds me of one of the worst phrases in any businesses.
This is the way we've always done it. It's like, that's not technically culture. That was path of least resistance and is something I think leaders are [00:11:00] probably challenged with every day. You did hit. A good point about some of the volatility maybe we've seen over the past year. We're talking about leadership and talking about the state of manufacturing.
We've just closed out 2025. I think a little bit of up and down would be the best way to describe it, but what are the biggest trends that you observed in, in the positive sense for manufacturing coming out of last year and as we head into 2026?
Chris Luecke: Positives, I'd say a renewed excitement around the industry and manufacturing is now becoming part of the mainstream discourse.
We're hearing about roles in the industrial space, and we're seeing more headlines about it. It's not just Mike Rowe talking about how we need to get skilled trades in vogue. Again, I think one of the most important things I've seen. For years. Leaders in the automation industry, the manufacturing industry, have been talking about, hey, automation is gonna create great jobs.
And [00:12:00] that's all well and good. My audience definitely understands that because we live in, I don't wanna say that bubble, but we're in the industry, right? We understand. How that happens in our space. What I think is exciting is when we get people that might have been outside the industry, are not sharing their voice within the industry, starting to share their voices again.
I've said before that what's really gonna be the catalyst is when a bunch of teens and 20 somethings start realizing, hey. There's money to be made in manufacturing. There's money to be made in the skilled trades, and they start telling their friends about it. Or the kid that's four to five years younger than the individual that's now four to five years into their career, whatever that trade may be, right?
Welding, even outside of manufacturing, plumbing, skills like that. Once you start seeing that, you're more likely to be like, oh yeah. I'm 18. I could see myself being like that 23-year-old in five years, which is a lot different from being like, oh [00:13:00] yeah, I'm 18. I'm 38 now. I'm at the twilight of my youth.
Like people aren't looking at me being like, oh yeah, that's the person I'm gonna be in five years. 'cause I've aged outta that. I've seen groups like the Sisterhood of Trades is a great community that has developed over the past year. Maybe it's been longer, but I've definitely seen that become more prevalent.
Where I'm optimistic is when you get the next generation taking the reins, building communities like that and spreading the word that is. I think one of the most important things, and something that's not in the conversation enough right now, there are too many people, I don't wanna say it that way, right?
But there are a number of individuals that are sharing it's, oh yeah, these are the benefits of a career manufacturing, of a career automation, et cetera. That's all well and good. You need those voices, but you need to hear it from someone that. You can see a little bit of yourself in, and that's one of the areas where I'm excited that we're seeing this younger generation start to highlight [00:14:00] what they're doing.
Heck, just look on TikTok or Instagram reels right now. It just so happens that when you're in a trade or you're building something that is something that you can feature. A 32nd, 62nd video clip, and the next generation starts seeing that and they start nodding their heads a bit more. They start paying a bit more attention.
That's what gives me the biggest sense of optimism right now.
Matt Horine: No, that's really great to hear because. Normally on the content side, you hear about people maybe addicted to doom scrolling or just looking at pointless content, and you can really catch your interest in things just by YouTube, TikTok. It's amazing how much of an audience is out there that just consumes that kind of content from a vantage point of genuine interest.
And it's not just pointless reels or anything along those lines. No, it's a really is an exciting thing and a trend we've seen as well with the big push for reshoring. The Reindustrialization topic. We've seen a lot of folks on X and LinkedIn and other socials talking about how important it is and it, I think it's reignited a lot of people's passion, not just for [00:15:00] manufacturing, but for that kind of sovereignty on, on an industrial base.
Turning to that a little bit, some of the challenges last year, buzzwords about tariffs, supply chain realignment, workforce scarcity, which is something that you've talked about before, and automation. If you had to name one theme that dominated, what would it be from 2025 as we kind of transition into this year?
Chris Luecke: The tariff conversation certainly came up and I certainly need to touch on it. I think it's important that we all touch on it because maybe it's not the most comfortable topic to talk about, but to ignore it would be a mistake in our industry, and it depends on your business. The nice thing about running a podcast where I got to talk to a different manufacturing leader every week is I get to hear the range of perspectives on how it has been.
Helpful to certain businesses and how it has hurt certain businesses, and I just came out of the. A three forum not too long ago when we're recording this, in January, 2026 and last year one of my recent [00:16:00] guests characterized the year as uncertainty leading up to 2025. There was uncertainty and it, I think where I've seen a challenge for my peers in the industry, for companies I've talked to is there are a number of individuals that still aren't comfortable making that investment.
Right now there's still a wait and see mentality, and I feel like I've been seeing that and hearing about it for over a year now. So eventually that problem starts to to build up as well. So I would say that's one of the challenges that I've heard on the show. One of the other, one of the things I've highlight as.
I wouldn't call it a challenge per se. I certainly wouldn't call it challenge. Artificial intelligence comes up on the show all the time now, and we have a lot of executives that are talking about promises that artificial intelligence can bring and is bringing the productivity improvements that are there.
I would say one of the things that I'm focused personally on right now is I've heard a ton, and I've seen a little bit of this as well, [00:17:00] about how artificial intelligence is empowering. Manufacturers, and there's a lot of truth to that. But what I think we need as an industry to hear more of is hearing that from the folks that are on the front lines of manufacturing that are able to share some of those stories.
So one of the challenges that I've put out to executives and leaders in manufacturing this year. As I've said, Hey, I love talking about artificial intelligence, the AI boom. But I'd love to have you bring some of your frontline folks on to talk about how it's really making an impact in their lives.
'cause again, we talked about how it's been so important to get the next generation involved in manufacturing. For them to hear it from their own peers, the 18 to 23, 25 year, they want to hear it from folks they can relate to if people are really gonna get behind artificial intelligence, because we know in the discourse around AI, it is not always positive.
If you really want to get people on board, you need to hear it from the everyday folks [00:18:00] that are leveraging artificial intelligence to win in their careers, in their lives, et cetera.
Matt Horine: That is, has been somewhat of a recurring theme for us, but what you said there. Really is a positive reinforcer because I think that we've.
Especially 2024 and into 2025. It was a buzzword. It was something that people talked to, noted or made mention of, and it was mostly like a, it could replace jobs. What we're finding out is that it's individually making people more productive and to hear those stories from the frontline is a little bit different than from the C-suite because the, IT has helped people on the shop floor and it has helped people in all kinds of.
Roles in manufacturing, commercial side, everywhere. So hopefully that starts to take some more shape and we would retweet that challenge, bring some of those frontline folks into the conversation because it really is impacting your business, whether it's some major initiative or not, it is impacting your business and whether you know it or not, have conversations with your guests shifted in tone over the last 18 months, or I think you've made a [00:19:00] mention to it, they're optimistically cautious, or how would you describe it in, in kind of one phrase?
Chris Luecke: That's a good question. I think part of running a manufacturing podcast, and someone pointed this out to me maybe a year ago, they said, Chris, you've always had an opportunity to have a rosy outlook on manufacturing. Because to give some background on my career, I mentioned Rockwell Automation. I worked at Anheuser-Busch before that.
Like my experience in manufacturing is I've been privileged enough to work in a lot of really pristine facilities. Working with folks that are using a, a mainstream automation company. A lot of the shop floors that I've walked are the ones that are technology enabled. And one thing I've always tried to keep in mind is that doesn't necessarily represent.
Everyone in the manufacturing space to, so to go back to your conversation around what has the tone been? I, I think certainly the type of folks that are proud to share [00:20:00] their story and have lessons to share about how they've taken their businesses to the next level tend to be the folks that are equipping their manufacturing industries for the future.
So I always want to be cognizant that. There are folks out there that are probably banging their heads against the wall just being like, gosh, what is it? Why can't I find the talent? Why can't I get someone to buy my company? Why doesn't my daughter want to take over the business? And I think some of that goes back to culture again.
I'm giving you a bit of a cyclical answer here, but I think. Overall, the tone has been positive on my show because I'll be honest, I'm speaking to a lot of people that are the folks that if you wanna learn how to run a manufacturing business, these are the folks that have found ways to do it well. So I think I have been fortunate to get that positive connotation on my show.
I think I'm sharing as to why that might be the case. To know that, hey, yes, I'm hearing a lot of great [00:21:00] things about the manufacturing industry, but I also, I want to keep doing the work that gets the folks that aren't there yet. To be able to capitalize on automation and building a company that attracts folks, that makes it a great spot to work within the community.
That's why I do what I do, so that way everyone can get to the level of the folks that appear on the show and are optimistic about the future manufacturing.
Matt Horine: You really said something very important there. I think the one truth about manufacturing is that there is this persistent optimism even in the face of daily challenges and for operations leaders.
Ultimately, you're the person responsible for the business and how it performs and from the top to the bottom. I think also with that tie back to the workforce and just the overall theme of maybe some. Macro trends that we've seen over the past year. How do you see the US balancing resiliency with competitiveness?
Because I think that's the big question, is how folks stay competitive, but particularly in sectors where offshoring [00:22:00] has maybe been the norm for decades or things are changing to to shift production back to the us.
Chris Luecke: It is a complex question and a complex answer. I'll share a couple things that I've heard from it.
It's not just all onshoring. I think Nearshoring is one of the trends that I've heard quite a bit, right? It's, and let's be pragmatic, this goes back to COVID, when we realized if everything was coming. From an ocean away, that can be very disruptive. I was just talking to someone about the semiconductor industry and our, that industry runs on 90% of the chips coming from an island like Taiwan, that among other threats, all it takes is one earthquake to knock out that supply chain.
Reshoring is one of the first reshoring, and more specifically Nearshoring is one of the things that I would highlight in terms of. Making American manufacturing more resilient. I think it's very important to highlight that the type of manufacturing jobs we're talking about are [00:23:00] advanced manufacturing jobs.
We're not talking about making toasters again, for example. We're talking about making things that we can be specialized in as well. That's another aspect about that conversation. And then back to my earlier answer where I talked about how a lot of companies haven't necessarily automated yet. They don't have a robot in their facility.
They are very manually done. Let's just look at that as another opportunity as well for productivity and. As artificial intelligence allows people on the shop floor to be more productive as automation tools allow that as well. If we look at Nearshoring, if we look at just getting our industry up to snuff and leveraging the type of technologies that we have to specialize in the type of manufacturing where.
We can be competitive. I think those are parts of that recipe. Like I said, complex question, complex answer. I hope I gave a few bullet points that highlight where there's, that [00:24:00] the opportunity to continue to take this industry to the next level here at home in the us.
Matt Horine: Uh, definitely a complex question and a complex reality.
Something that. Is a recurring theme and you know, is just part of the everyday challenge with manufacturing. It's a great point about Taiwan amongst other threats and earthquake or something very natural in terms of a natural disaster could happen and winter storms, those types of things, they disrupt supply chains.
We're gonna see a little bit of that here soon, just the time of year for, it's very insightful. I think I want to double down one more time on the workforce component because it's a topic that you have often on your show. One you, you're seeing that from what I'm gathering, you're seeing that adapting to hiring, training, retention strategies, and for the US to properly reshore or re industrialize, you can't really bring the capacity back if you don't have people.
What are you seeing out there? That's maybe the big shift? Is it the generational shift? Is it people realizing that, hey, we have to invest in these types of things, or is it just the overall attitude toward manufacturing that you highlighted at the big beginning of the [00:25:00] show?
Chris Luecke: I think it's all those factors.
One, one thing we didn't highlight before is let's think about how we had an entire generation, my generation, your generation, go to college because that, and let's think about, think back in time as to why that happened. Our parents to categorize them in one generation were baby boomers and their parents, they saw them working in manufacturing jobs, working in factories, that at the time.
You didn't have OSHA doing all the great work they're doing right now. It was dark, dirty, and dangerous, so. When you see the evolution over time of it's, oh, if you go to college and college is very affordable back then, right? You can get that degree, that will get you a well-paying job. That will help you build that nest egg and build a future.
And then I think we just need to think back in time and look at why that was the narrative back then. And I think this will probably be what history always does, right? That narrative will persist. Maybe a [00:26:00] little longer than it should. Now we're in a situation where it's everyone's at college. Not everyone's using their degree for what their career is.
And my goodness, we have over a million jobs coming open in the manufacturing industry, and because we weren't encouraging people. Again, I think for very valid reasons, right? If you're a parent and you saw your parents or my grandparents working in manufacturing jobs, that might not have been as ideal.
Of course, you're gonna encourage your kids to go a different path. Now. I think we're really starting to see that change, right? When you can look at the jobs that are out there and be like, okay, I can learn this skill trade. I can do it at a community college maybe in two years, right? And I can be out there working right away.
I probably have a job lined up before I even graduate, and maybe I'm going into an apprenticeship program. There's a different way to build a career and build a nest egg. Someone has said before, right? People are gonna go where the money is. In the eighties, nineties, people were going into finance in the two thousands and 2000 tens.
It was tech, it was software. That's where the gold rushes [00:27:00] were, right? Going back to my comments about the next generation, seeing their peers, going into manufacturing, seeing communities of younger folks being like, yeah, I've got a skilled trades job. It's awesome. Those are the type of things that are gonna help take this to the next level, and I think that is a very important part.
Of the workforce conversation. It, it, it's easier to figure out where we are right now when we go back in time and look at what the different generations we're seeing in manufacturing. It's a completely different ballgame in manufacturing now for the facilities that have modernized, it's safe, it's clean, it's high tech.
You can probably do things that are a lot cooler in there than you would in what people typically describe as email jobs, right? So it's just a matter of seeing people doing that, hearing about it at the bar, hearing about it at the coffee shop when you're catching up with your buddies and things like that.
We have to keep all those bigger things in mind, versus being an industry that can sometimes turn into an echo chamber being like, Hey, there are a lot of great jobs and. [00:28:00] Automation and manufacturing. It's important to share that message, but it's also important to recognize where this falls in like a historical and generational context and getting that next generation to be the ones leading that conversation and leading that charge.
Matt Horine: That's absolutely right. The pendulum swings, right? If you put the historical context into perspective. And you see the shift to the service-based economy over the past couple of decades, and that shift away from the industrial base, the industrial base, and manufacturing is really cool. And I think there's a difference between.
Seeing that order go out the door versus maybe the past 10 years selling a software package or doing something in finance, you see something that you've physically put together, go out the door to a customer who needs it as an input for an even bigger project, and the prospect of that is pretty exciting.
It's something that maybe, you know, 10, even 10 years ago wasn't as. Trending as it is now, so that's a really positive outlook. Speaking of outlook, let's get to the look ahead and the, and what's going forward into the year and maybe some other predictions. If you could make [00:29:00] one bold prediction for US manufacturing in 2026 and the rest of this year, what would it be?
Chris Luecke: I don't know if this is so bold as a safe prediction, but I think it's worth mentioning, right? Talked about earlier how there's still uncertainty. Folks are tying up and holding onto their capital dollars and there. For context, I also worked with a, A platform for computerized maintenance management systems, right?
CMMS. And that's a type of manufacturing investment that comes out of an OPEX budget. I think we're gonna see a lot of improvements from an OPEX standpoint, people finding ways to get their dollars to go further in that standpoint, whether that's digitizing a maintenance system, there are a lot of things people can be doing right now.
To improve their manufacturing operation, to make it more enjoyable for their people to improve their productivity that don't require the use of capital dollars. We've seen that with the rise of robotics as a service right now. Like I said, a bit of a safe prediction because I don't know what the [00:30:00] CapEx spend is gonna be.
We see a lot of big projects taking place right now, but I do know manufacturers have a ton of opportunities to continue to invest in their businesses and make those. I wouldn't even say incremental changes. Sometimes these can be game changers as well. There are ways to do that, even if there is still.
Concern and some uncertainty in where we might go in 2026.
Matt Horine: The conventionally safe bet over the past 24 months may now be the more big and bold prediction because it seems like what's conventional wisdom has been turned upside down at least over the past half decade. For sure. What one thing should every manufacturer be focusing on as they build this strategy for the next year?
I have an inclination it might be something to do with their workforce, but what is, from the successful folks that you've had on your show, what's the one thing that if a manufacturer could do it today or start doing it today, what is that component of their strategy?
Chris Luecke: This isn't gonna be a groundbreaking answer, but it is an important one.
When [00:31:00] we talk about culture, it all starts at habits. It's the things you're doing on a regular basis, right? You're getting out there, you're the leader in the shop. You're talking to your people on a regular basis. You're out there on the maintenance days rather than just sitting in your office. I would be thinking about the ways that you can build a new habit that genuinely engages with your team on a regular basis.
I think a lot of people listening to this are probably doing a number of these things right now, but I would be looking at different ways to. Take that to the next level. For some folks, maybe it is spending more time on the shop floor. Maybe it is spending an hour a day where you're just out there and you're involved in whatever is the task of the moment out there.
Maybe it is creating a different way to formally engage with your team members on a regular basis over lunch and things like that. I think. The more manufacturers can eliminate that bureaucracy and show that everyone out there is on the same team. Yes, we all have different roles and yes, there might, there's still layers of hierarchy [00:32:00] in manufacturing, right?
But the more you can level that and let everyone know, Hey, we're out here, we're, we all have the same objectives, to be more productive, find a habit that allows you to do that.
Matt Horine: I think that's really important. If you're doing it already, double down because it is making more of the impact. There's all too often people can get siloed or boxed in those classic email jobs that you mentioned earlier without seeing the shop floor, maybe even what they actually make in their own business and they're a little bit too removed from it.
Uh, Chris, where can our listeners go to find out more about you, your show, your projects, what you've got coming up?
Chris Luecke: Yeah. I would say the easiest thing to do is search. Manufacturing happy hour. The nice thing about having started this 10 years ago is it dominates that first page of Google, so you'll be able to, you'll be able to follow me on your social media platform of choice.
I'm most active on LinkedIn. I would say spots where you can get the podcast are your typical platform. Audio platforms like Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you're listening, catch our video interviews over on YouTube as [00:33:00] well. Lot of different spots to connect. LinkedIn, social media, and wherever you subscribe to your shows.
Those would be the spots that I would recommend.
Matt Horine: Awesome. Chris, you've been a long time friend of Veryable and a champion for American manufacturing, so we really appreciate you coming on today.
Chris Luecke: Of course. Thanks a bunch, Matt.
Matt Horine: To stay ahead of the curve and to help plan your strategy, please check out our [00:26:00] website at www.veryableops.com and under the resources section titled Trump 2.0, where you can see the framework around upcoming policies and how it will impact you and your business. If you're on socials, give us a follow on LinkedIn, X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram. And if you're enjoying the podcast, please feel free to follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, and leave us a rating and don't forget to subscribe. Thank you again for joining us and learning more about how you can make your way.