# An Interview with John Davis

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2018-03-26
- Length: 1h 20m
- Episode: 385
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-03-26-an-interview-with-john-davis
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/385-an-interview-with-john-davis/

## Summary

Chris Gammell, founder of Paul Davis Automation and 3ML, discusses his transition from software engineering to industrial sales and the realities of selling mechatronics solutions. He explains the economics of manufacturer's representation, the persistence of legacy technologies like ladder logic and Allen-Bradley PLCs, and the high stakes of industrial downtime. Gammell also details his company 3ML, which builds industrial IoT devices and data collection hardware for factories, emphasizing the value of solving specific engineering problems over generic connectivity.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-03-26-an-interview-with-john-davis#t=0) Introduction and Sales Background
- [5:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-03-26-an-interview-with-john-davis#t=304) The Manufacturer's Rep Business Model
- [23:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-03-26-an-interview-with-john-davis#t=1435) Ladder Logic and Legacy Industrial Systems
- [42:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-03-26-an-interview-with-john-davis#t=2536) Industrial Networking and Real-Time Protocols
- [52:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-03-26-an-interview-with-john-davis#t=3142) 3ML Products and Industrial IoT
- [1:05:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-03-26-an-interview-with-john-davis#t=3947) Career Advice for Engineers in Sales

## Topics

- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Paul Davis Automation (company)
- 3ML (company)
- Rockwell (company)
- Allen-Bradley (product)
- Siemens (company)
- Raspberry Pi (product)
- Arduino (product)
- Ethernet IP (other)
- Profinet (other)
- EtherCAT (other)
- Modbus (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Industrial IoT and Connectivity | Simply Embedded's Chris Karaplis | Internet of Things Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2025-11-11-industrial-iot-and-connectivity-simply-embeddeds-chris-karaplis-internet-of-thin) (IoT For All Podcast)
- [The Impact of Embedded Technology | Losant's Brandon Cannaday](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2022-08-16-the-impact-of-embedded-technology-losants-brandon-cannaday) (IoT For All Podcast)
- [Making Industrial IoT Work: Lessons from 30 Years in Automation with Grace Technologies](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2024-12-19-making-industrial-iot-work-lessons-from-30-years-in-automation-with-grace-techno) (Over the Air)
- [Key Considerations for IoT Software | Interlogica's Alessandro Fossato](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2021-05-17-key-considerations-for-iot-software-interlogicas-alessandro-fossato) (IoT For All Podcast)
- [Taking the Entrepreneurial Leap with Joe Carson](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2019-11-25-taking-the-entrepreneurial-leap-with-joe-carson) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-03-26-an-interview-with-john-davis. 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 The Amp Hour.