# BONUS: Gaps in the Manufacturing Industry (and what to do about them), LIVE from Fathom's Manufacturing Exchange in Hartland, WI

- Show: [Manufacturing Happy Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour)
- Published: 2025-11-07
- Length: 42m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-11-07-bonus-gaps-in-the-manufacturing-industry-and-what-to-do-about-them-live-from-fat
- Listen: http://manufacturinghappyhour.com

## Summary

Chris Luecke moderates a live panel at Fathom Digital Manufacturing's Hartland, WI facility, featuring Matt Weinheimer of Milwaukee Tool, Tim Fredericks of Rockwell Automation, Christine Vandergeist of AMI Metal Fabrication, and Carl Held of New Berlin Plastics. The discussion addresses critical gaps in manufacturing, including technology adoption barriers, talent retention strategies, and supply chain resilience. The panelists emphasize starting with specific problems rather than solutions, engaging shop-floor employees in change management, and building robust data strategies to support AI and automation initiatives.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-11-07-bonus-gaps-in-the-manufacturing-industry-and-what-to-do-about-them-live-from-fat#t=0) Introduction: Panelists and Event Context
- [5:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-11-07-bonus-gaps-in-the-manufacturing-industry-and-what-to-do-about-them-live-from-fat#t=342) Technology Adoption: Risk Aversion and Pilots
- [15:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-11-07-bonus-gaps-in-the-manufacturing-industry-and-what-to-do-about-them-live-from-fat#t=911) Talent Gaps: Upskilling and Internship Programs
- [23:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-11-07-bonus-gaps-in-the-manufacturing-industry-and-what-to-do-about-them-live-from-fat#t=1423) Supply Chain: Resilience and Localization
- [29:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-11-07-bonus-gaps-in-the-manufacturing-industry-and-what-to-do-about-them-live-from-fat#t=1742) Strategy: Data as the Foundation for AI
- [35:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-11-07-bonus-gaps-in-the-manufacturing-industry-and-what-to-do-about-them-live-from-fat#t=2118) Future Outlook: Autonomy and Change Management

## Topics

- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises, early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Fathom Digital Manufacturing (company)
- Milwaukee Tool (company)
- Rockwell Automation (company)
- AMI Metal Fabrication (company)
- New Berlin Plastics (company)
- PLC 5 (other)
- ControlLogix (other)
- Clearpath Robotics (company)
- AutoCAD (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [The Future of Manufacturing — Special IMTS Edition](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2022-09-09-the-future-of-manufacturing-special-imts-edition) (Additive Snack)
- [EMS@C Panel: Navigating the Resurgence of European Manufacturing, New Challenges, and Opportunities with KATEK Group and Zollner](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2023-11-26-ems-c-panel-navigating-the-resurgence-of-european-manufacturing-new-challenges-a) (EMS@C-LEVEL)
- [Mastering Operational Excellence and Customer Partnerships in EMS with Worthington Assembly CTO Chris Denney](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2024-04-14-mastering-operational-excellence-and-customer-partnerships-in-ems-with-worthingt) (EMS@C-LEVEL)
- [Back to the Future: The Manufacturing Edition](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-06-14-back-to-the-future-the-manufacturing-edition) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Smarter Manufacturing in an Evolving Ecosystem w/ Chris Lupfer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-02-04-smarter-manufacturing-in-an-evolving-ecosystem-w-chris-lupfer) (The Manufacturing Executive)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-11-07-bonus-gaps-in-the-manufacturing-industry-and-what-to-do-about-them-live-from-fat. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Manufacturing Happy Hour.