by Chris Luecke | Feb 10, 2026 | Podcast, Smart Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Technology
What do smartphones, batteries, defense systems, and solar panels all have in common? They all depend on critical minerals like lithium, graphite, gallium, and polysilicon. Access to these resources affects how people, businesses, and...
by Chris Luecke | Feb 3, 2026 | Automation, Events & Conferences, Operations, Podcast, Supply Chain, Technology
Loud, dusty and far removed from innovation. We often think of mining as separate from modern manufacturing, but our visit to Imerys West Hub in this episode challenges that idea. The conversation was recorded on site at the largest...
by Chris Luecke | Jan 27, 2026 | Digital Transformation, Leadership, Operations, Podcast, Supply Chain, Technology
A lot of manufacturing companies can build insanely complex and intricate things, but far fewer are set up to handle what happens once customers start buying. So, what happens when those products start selling at scale, contracts get...
by Chris Luecke | Jan 13, 2026 | Culture, Leadership, Operations, Podcast, Show Notes, Technology
In this episode, Chris sits down with Troy Ellison of Cloacina to talk about what it takes to build infrastructure that works in the real world, not just on paper. Troy explains what membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are in a way that you and I...
by Chris Luecke | Jan 6, 2026 | Automation, Podcast, Robotics, Show Notes, Smart Manufacturing, Technology
In this episode, we talk with Andy Flessas – computer animator turned “robot animator,” whose work has helped bring robotics into live entertainment and film – about what that kind of pressure does to how you think about...
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