Hardware Podcasts

What Happens When Every Action Becomes A Data Point: EMS@C-Level with FermionX MD Will Patrick

EMS@C-LEVEL · 29 Oct 2025 · 8m

What this episode covers

Will Patrick, Managing Director of FermionX, explains how he transformed his family's electronics manufacturing business from flat revenue to scalable growth by replacing tribal knowledge with a data-first operation. He details the implementation of a fully traceable MES (Luminovo), Power BI dashboards, and quality tools like Koh Young's KSMART to create a single source of truth for customers. Patrick highlights that this infrastructure allows the company to grow from £10M to £25M without proportional overhead increases, while laying the groundwork for future AI-driven exception reporting and agentic systems.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
FermionX, Koh Young
Products
KSMART
Tools
Luminovo, Power BI

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Manufacturing Executive · 31m

    A Digital Backbone for Factories of the Future w/ Ryan Kuhlenbeck

    Ryan Kuhlenbeck, Co-Founder and CEO of Pico MES, discusses the critical need for a digital backbone in small to mid-sized manufacturing supply chains. Drawing on his experience at General Motors, Tesla, and Ultimotors, he explains how disconnected data creates bottlenecks and quality issues that large OEMs struggle to resolve. Kuhlenbeck outlines how Pico MES provides a flexible Manufacturing Execution System (MES) that integrates shop-floor tools with ERP systems to enable real-time traceability and continuous improvement. He argues that this digital connectivity is essential for suppliers to de-risk new EV component production and retain skilled labor by reducing operator anxiety.

    Connected products & IoTHiring & workforce
    7 chapters

  • The Manufacturing Executive · 25m

    The Future Is Here: AI Based MES Solutions

    Barry Johnson, President of Digital Manufacturing at Symphony Industrial AI, explains how modern, low-code MES solutions are replacing rigid, monolithic legacy systems with modular, AI-driven platforms. He details how these new tools empower 'citizen data scientists' like process engineers to use AI for 'golden batch' optimization and visual inspection, reducing variability and scrap. Johnson cites specific results from clients, including a multinational saving over $1 million annually per plant and a smaller manufacturer achieving a 25% productivity improvement by reducing scrap.

    Connected products & IoTAI & machine learning
    6 chapters

  • The Manufacturing Executive · 39m

    Building a Digital Backbone for Your Manufacturing Business w/ Paul Van Metre

    Paul Van Metre, co-founder of ProShop ERP, explains how integrating ERP, MES, and QMS into a single digital backbone protects manufacturers from the loss of tribal knowledge and enables scalable growth. He details how this unified system streamlines compliance audits, citing a record-breaking 2-week AS9100 certification, and reduces the operational burden on business owners. Van Metre emphasizes the importance of change management and standardized processes to help leaders shift from working 'in' the business to 'on' the business, allowing for better delegation and strategic focus.

    Scaling productionQuality & yield
    6 chapters

  • People of Packaging · 30m

    341 - 2 Kings talk about "people-ing", data, and Compton High

    Adam Peek, founder of Label King, and Esteban Garcia from CERM discuss the implementation of CERM’s MIS software at Label King’s Utah facility. Peek explains that he chose CERM based on testimonials from other successful label companies rather than sales pitches, aiming for a single source of truth for estimating, production, and scheduling. The conversation highlights the heavy lift of implementation, the strategic use of automation to free up staff for complex decision-making, and the value of on-site support from CERM’s Dean. They also explore how AI and integrations with pre-press software like Hybrid can reduce lead times and improve customer transparency.

    Design for manufacturing & NPIScaling production
    9 chapters

  • Being an Engineer · 45m

    S5E33 Devon Copeland | Working for Apple & Tesla, Building a Better MFG Execution System (MES)

    Devon Copeland, Co-founder and CTO of Serial, discusses his journey from student solar car competitions to engineering roles at Apple and Tesla, and his current work building a traceability-first Manufacturing Execution System (MES). He explains how Serial’s Grid Builder and Graph Builder tools help manufacturers aggregate sub-assembly data to perform commonality analysis and root cause failure analysis. Copeland emphasizes that engineering decision-making is an art and science, advocating for side projects and visual storytelling to accelerate engineering speed and career growth.

    Manufacturing partners & offshoringCareers & education
    10 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by EMS@C-LEVEL. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.