U.S. Manufacturing Today

U.S. Manufacturing Today host Matt Horine interviews A.W. Schultz, Founder of AW Schultz Training and Industrial Transformation, about the shift from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0 and what it means for manufacturers. Schultz describes Industry 5.0 as a rebalancing built on resiliency, sustainability, and a human-centric approach, arguing many digital investments underperform because people aren’t involved and change management is weak. He outlines common reliability challenges such as poor integration and gaps between strategy and execution, and explains adaptive work management as a culture-aware, non–cookie-cutter approach that emphasizes relevant metrics and organizational health. Schultz discusses maintenance strategies (reactive, preventive, predictive) using asset criticality and supply constraints, and stresses that transformation success depends on leadership, humility, and continuous feedback. He advises leaders to lead with courage, data, and heart and shares where to find his Factory of the Future Podcast.TimestampsLinksAW on LinkedInA.W.Schultz Training and Industrial TransformationFactory of the Future Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Navigating Trump 2.0 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Revitalizing US Manufacturing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign Up on the Veryable Platform ⁠⁠⁠

In today's episode of U.S. Manufacturing Today, Matt Horine interviews Spencer Penn, Co-founder and CEO of LightSource, an AI-powered procurement platform for direct materials. Penn recounts leading sourcing for Tesla’s Model 3 scale-up and seeing $30B of parts managed via spreadsheets and email, inspiring him to found LightSource in 2021. The conversation argues procurement is strategically critical yet undertooled compared with sales, with incentives and visibility lagging despite large P&L impact. Penn describes how AI can improve supplier discovery, should-cost estimation, negotiation support, ongoing price monitoring, and faster deployment via automated data ingestion. LightSource customers reportedly cut RFX cycle times 25–60%, improve supplier experience, and reduce cost creep; one A/B test showed 25% faster cycles and 47% lower cost creep. They discuss dual sourcing, nearshoring/onshoring realities, China’s industrial base, and advice for leaders to experiment with tools like Claude/Claude Code.Timestamps00:00 Show Intro and Big Question00:31 Meet Spencer and LightSource02:26 Tesla Scaling Lessons05:52 Elon Leadership Anecdotes07:29 Why Direct Procurement Lags09:06 The Real Money in Parts14:01 Speed as Competitive Edge16:35 Why Procurement Is Undervalued22:51 AI Use Cases in Procurement28:41 Fast Implementation Reality30:46 LightSource Results and ROI33:48 Nearshoring and China Reality38:08 Free Advice for Leaders42:12 How to Get Started43:28 Wrap Up and Call to ActionLinksLightsource AI Spencer on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Navigating Trump 2.0 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Revitalizing US Manufacturing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign Up on the Veryable Platform ⁠⁠⁠

In a solo episode of US Manufacturing Today, host Matt Horine argues that four converging developments signal the most significant U.S. industrial moment since World War II: manufacturing’s expansion, freight tightening, historic Defense Production Act actions, and defense demand spilling into commercial industry. March ISM manufacturing PMI rose to 52.7 (third straight month of expansion) with broad-based industry growth, stronger new orders, and higher business confidence, though price pressures are rising from steel, aluminum, and tariff pass-throughs. The trucking market is in a supply-driven tightening as carriers exit and driver availability constricts, with expectations for higher 2026 truckload rates and rising freight bills. The White House invoked DPA Section 303 across energy and grid categories to expand domestic petroleum, refining, logistics, and infrastructure capacity, positioning energy as a long-term manufacturing cost advantage. Finally, the Pentagon contacted Ford and GM about potential weapons production as defense capacity strains and budgets rise, reinforcing reindustrialization as national security policy. Timestamps00:00 Big Industrial Moment01:16 PMI Expansion Signals03:27 Freight Tightening Ahead05:01 DPA Energy Mobilization07:24 Energy Advantage Backdrop09:37 Pentagon Calls Detroit12:19 Reindustrialization Takeaways13:47 Wrap Up and ResourcesLinks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Navigating Trump 2.0 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Revitalizing US Manufacturing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign Up on the Veryable Platform ⁠⁠⁠

This episode of U.S. Manufacturing Today features James DeMuth, CEO and co-founder of Seurat Technologies, discussing why reshoring at scale requires new manufacturing methods beyond traditional casting and machining. DeMuth explains how his work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on fusion power revealed a need for alloys and complex geometries suited to 3D printing, but limited by slow laser powder-bed fusion; Seurat’s approach uses large-area projection with high-resolution patterning to increase throughput dramatically while maintaining quality. He contrasts major metal additive methods (laser powder-bed fusion, directed energy deposition, and binder jetting) and argues Seurat can deliver speed, quality, and lower cost while reducing waste and post-processing. The conversation also covers digital inventory, localized production, national security implications amid China’s subsidized manufacturing, the role of policy plus technology leadership, Seurat’s new production system, rapid material changeover via cartridge architecture, and where to learn more about the company.Timestamps00:00 Manufacturing Reshoring Stakes01:27 James Demuth Origins01:37 Fusion Challenge Sparks Breakthrough03:07 Printing Press For Metal05:35 Why Casting Falls Short08:25 Metal Additive Landscape11:32 Seurat Secret Sauce14:23 National Security And Policy19:35 Factories Of The Future23:10 Advice For Manufacturers26:48 What Comes Next For Seurat27:57 Wrap Up And ResourcesLinksJames on LinkedInSeurat Technologies⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Navigating Trump 2.0 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Revitalizing US Manufacturing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign Up on the Veryable Platform ⁠⁠⁠

U.S. Manufacturing Today host Matt Horine interviews Darragh de Stonndún, CEO of Automated Industrial Robotics (AIR), about why automation is accelerating and how manufacturers can deploy it successfully. He shares his path from a Guinness apprenticeship in Dublin to engineering and decades in industrial automation, emphasizing attention to detail and disciplined execution. AIR’s platform model unites specialized automation firms across the US and Europe to provide shared standards and global capacity while retaining deep domain expertise. Key capability shifts include data-driven operations, validation-ready systems for regulated industries (e.g., GMP and 21 CFR Part 11), and greater flexibility enabled by robotics, vision, and servo systems. De Stonndún says automation demand is driven by labor shortages, cost pressures, supply-chain resilience, and policy, representing a long-term structural shift tied to reshoring and reindustrialization. He outlines where projects fail (scope and integration), what roles are rising (automation technicians, process engineers, quality/data), how AI will enhance inspection and control layers, and cites a pandemic-era pharma turnkey filling system that improved throughput, consistency, and validation speed.Timestamps00:00 Automation Is Here Now01:21 Darragh’s Shop Floor Roots03:12 From Engineer to CEO04:32 Building the AIR Platform06:46 New Demands Data Validation Flexibility08:44 Why Automation Demand Is Surging10:13 Structural Shift and Reshoring12:47 Automation Augments Workers15:31 Skills That Matter Most18:11 Why Automation Projects Fail19:26 How to Deploy Automation Right20:55 Advice for First Automation Program23:46 Best Processes to Automate Now25:08 Full Systems Over Point Solutions26:33 Pandemic Case Study in Pharma28:35 AI Meets Robotics30:23 How Close to Lights Out Factories32:20 Automation Powers Reindustrialization33:51 What’s Next for AIR34:50 Where to Learn More and Wrap Up36:02 Final Takeaways and SubscribeLinksDarragh on LinkedIn Automated Industrial Robotics (AIR)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Navigating Trump 2.0 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Revitalizing US Manufacturing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign Up on the Veryable Platform ⁠⁠⁠