Today’s guest has had one dream since joining manufacturing as a teenager—to own a factory. After two decades, that dream is finally within reach. Miguel Lugo is Chief Operating Officer at E.C. Kitzel & Sons, a family-owned tool manufacturer in Parma, Ohio, and he’s set to take over the business. They talk about how manufacturing changed Miguel’s life, the million-dollar machines reshaping the shop floor, and how he’s built a workforce that’s 50 percent women.

Send comments and ideas to ekarp@manufacturingsuccess.org.

Make It is brought to you by MAGNET: The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, a nonprofit consulting group on a mission to make manufacturing better. Since 1984, MAGNET has been proudly helping manufacturers in Northeast Ohio grow with effective workforce programs, advanced technology consulting, and innovation services. MAGNET also catalyzes bigger change by rallying companies, community leaders, governments, and educators to tackle the massive, systemic problems that hold the region back. MAGNET’s work is made possible by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), and the Ohio MEP.

Learn more: www.manufacturingsuccess.org

On today’s episode, Ethan sits down with Trina Bediako, second-generation CEO of family-owned New Horizons Baking Company. If you've eaten buns or English muffins at McDonald's or Starbucks, you've tasted their products. At their state-of-the-art Columbus plant, which produces 96,000 buns an hour, Trina discusses the joys and challenges of a family business, her father’s legacy, and how she’s used technology to kickstart growth since taking the CEO seat.

Send comments and ideas to ekarp@manufacturingsuccess.org.

Make It is brought to you by MAGNET: The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, a nonprofit consulting group on a mission to make manufacturing better. Since 1984, MAGNET has been proudly helping manufacturers in Northeast Ohio grow with effective workforce programs, advanced technology consulting, and innovation services. MAGNET also catalyzes bigger change by rallying companies, community leaders, governments, and educators to tackle the massive, systemic problems that hold the region back. MAGNET’s work is made possible by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), and the Ohio MEP.

Learn more: www.manufacturingsuccess.org

On this episode, we turn the tables on host Ethan Karp, and he becomes our guest. Producer Margaret Kashmir chats with Ethan about the best moments and most insightful wisdom from our interviews with Hallie Stewart (Bee Valve), Tony Mazzella (Mazzella Companies), Wendy Slone (bTECH), and Paulo Ruiz (Eaton). Don’t miss our frankest conversation yet about some of the most searingly honest and “didn’t see that coming” moments on the podcast this year.

Send comments and ideas to ekarp@manufacturingsuccess.org.

Make It is brought to you by MAGNET: The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, a nonprofit consulting group on a mission to make manufacturing better. Since 1984, MAGNET has been proudly helping manufacturers in Northeast Ohio grow with effective workforce programs, advanced technology consulting, and innovation services. MAGNET also catalyzes bigger change by rallying companies, community leaders, governments, and educators to tackle the massive, systemic problems that hold the region back. MAGNET’s work is made possible by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), and the Ohio MEP.

Learn more: www.manufacturingsuccess.org