In this episode, Liz Shovlin Burnett joins The Kula Ring again to explore the challenges small and mid-sized manufacturers face in talent acquisition and adapting to modern growth strategies. Liz highlights the pressing talent shortage in manufacturing and shares insights from the IMTS trade show, where a surge of women in manufacturing roles is helping to bridge the gap. She also discusses how technology, especially digital marketing tools, can support growth. Liz advocates for a strategic, agile approach that leverages both technology and focused talent investments to stay competitive in the rapidly changing landscape that SMEs face.

Abby Guo joins The Kula Ring this week to discuss how she has created global marketing strategies for highly technical AI-driven products. We talk about setting yourself apart in the world of AI-driven startups. We also chat about staying at the forefront of technological changes and how important that is. This is an illuminating conversation featuring a topic that has everyone buzzing, AI.

Sherry Chapman the VP of Marketing at Fortera, joins The Kula Ring this week. Sherry illuminates what Fortera, a green cement start-up, is working on; Building partnerships with counterparts in the industry, and drawing new road maps for economic development, for products that are yet to hit the market. This is a fantastic chat about green industry.

The Kula Ring has discussed staffing issues in B2B manufacturing quite a few times now. However, this week we are sitting down with Hallie Haupt from IQ Manufacturing, she walks us through what it really looks and feels like to be a young person in the B2B manufacturing space. She shares some insight on how IQ has been able to catch some fresh, young talent on their shop floor and some of the difficulties of dealing with some of that older workforce that is so prevalent in the manufacturing space.

Taylor Smith of PSNERGY is on the show this week having a chat with us about getting the next steps that manufacturing can take. We cover the harmonious nature of how sales and marketing can work together in the future. And also tackle some methods to get the youth of today and beyond invested in manufacturing in general. Taylor is a wonderful voice in the space and is bringing some fresh perspectives to us on The Kula Ring this week. Plus, we talk about bowling! Jeff and Carman tell us just how much they know about bowling, which isn’t a lot.

Kicking off the Summer Spotlight Series, we are going to feature Meaghan Ziemba. Her voice and presence is top tier, we loved talking to her then and are so happy to have her leading the charge in the Summer Spotlight Series. | Mavens of Manufacturing host Meaghan Ziemba started the live video broadcast series to help close the gender and skills gap in the manufacturing industry. The show is a place for women in the male-dominated industry to share their stories and support one another, as well as offer mentorship for women at the start of their careers. The Mavens community also works with the education system in the US to better inform young women and girls about manufacturing or engineering career pathways.