177: Strengthening Your Engineering Team through Co-Ops and Employee Ownership with Marcease Warren
Marcease Warren, VP of Manufacturing at Sentry Equipment, joins host Chris Luecke to discuss scaling a manufacturing engineering department from a single role to a team of 65 using co-op programs and employee ownership. Warren explains how Sentry Equipment, a provider of sampling equipment for the power generation industry, uses automation and 'Industry 4.0' technologies like robotic tenders to handle high-mix, low-volume production. He also busts myths about ESOPs, emphasizing that employee ownership drives a competitive culture and cost-consciousness without requiring financial risk from staff.