# 245: A Grassroots Approach to Shaping the Future of American Industry with Bret Boyd, CEO of Sustainment

- Show: [Manufacturing Happy Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour)
- Published: 2025-07-08
- Length: 56m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-07-08-245-a-grassroots-approach-to-shaping-the-future-of-american-industry-with-bret-b
- Listen: http://manufacturinghappyhour.com

## Summary

Bret Boyd, CEO and co-founder of Sustainment, discusses the current state of American manufacturing based on early findings from a survey conducted with the New American Industrial Alliance (NAIA). He reveals that access to capital, rather than the workforce gap, is the primary concern for mid-market manufacturers, and explains how his military background informs his mission-oriented approach to building supplier networks. Boyd details the complexities of reshoring, the impact of tariffs, and the strategic need for US manufacturers to diversify into defense and semiconductor supply chains to survive the transition from globalization to localization.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-07-08-245-a-grassroots-approach-to-shaping-the-future-of-american-industry-with-bret-b#t=0) Introduction and Guest Background
- [4:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-07-08-245-a-grassroots-approach-to-shaping-the-future-of-american-industry-with-bret-b#t=273) Military Leadership and Mission at Sustainment
- [14:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-07-08-245-a-grassroots-approach-to-shaping-the-future-of-american-industry-with-bret-b#t=847) NAIA Survey Findings: Capital vs. Workforce
- [21:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-07-08-245-a-grassroots-approach-to-shaping-the-future-of-american-industry-with-bret-b#t=1284) Pandemic Lessons and Industrial Capacity
- [28:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-07-08-245-a-grassroots-approach-to-shaping-the-future-of-american-industry-with-bret-b#t=1684) Technology Adoption and Changing Perceptions
- [35:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-07-08-245-a-grassroots-approach-to-shaping-the-future-of-american-industry-with-bret-b#t=2140) Procurement Outlook and Tariff Impacts
- [40:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-07-08-245-a-grassroots-approach-to-shaping-the-future-of-american-industry-with-bret-b#t=2418) Geopolitics and Countering China
- [45:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-07-08-245-a-grassroots-approach-to-shaping-the-future-of-american-industry-with-bret-b#t=2744) Strategic Advice for Manufacturers

## Topics

- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Sustainment (company)
- New American Industrial Alliance (company)
- NAIA (company)
- Broken Spoke (other)
- Skill Work (company)
- BYD (company)
- Nvidia (company)
- A3 (company)
- Automatica (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Obstacles to Quickly Reshoring American Manufacturing w/ Rylan Pyciak](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-05-13-obstacles-to-quickly-reshoring-american-manufacturing-w-rylan-pyciak) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Navigating Industry Change with Out of the Box Manufacturing's Allison Budvarson](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2025-06-13-navigating-industry-change-with-out-of-the-box-manufacturings-allison-budvarson) (EMS@C-LEVEL)
- [Why Reshoring Matters: For Our Economy and Our National Security w/ Harry Moser](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-02-11-why-reshoring-matters-for-our-economy-and-our-national-security-w-harry-moser) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Systematizing Machine Shops to Strengthen National Security w/ Justin Baucum](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-02-24-systematizing-machine-shops-to-strengthen-national-security-w-justin-baucum) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Rethinking the Impact of Free Trade on American Manufacturing w/ John Gardner](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2024-08-13-rethinking-the-impact-of-free-trade-on-american-manufacturing-w-john-gardner) (The Manufacturing Executive)

## Citing this page

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