Manufacturing M&A news and advice

In today’s episode, Frances Brunelle speaks with US Army veteran and Co-Owner of Smith Metal and Sutton Machining, Chelsea Sutton, about how manufacturing businesses can use social media to attract new customers and promote their services or products. Tuning in, you’ll hear how Chelsea expanded through acquisition during COVID and lost nearly half of her customer base as a result of shutdowns due to the pandemic. She shares how she used social media to attract new customers and boost business, as well as her advice for manufacturers who hope to do the same, plus so much more! Make sure to tune in today.

Today Fran welcomes, Charli K. Matthews, founder, and CEO of Empowering Brands, a digital media and marketing services company that manages the following brands: Empowering Pumps and Equipment, Empowering Women in Industry, and Empowering Industry Podcast. Charli has worked in the pump and equipment industry since 2005 and has established herself as a leader in brand building, growing online networks, and helping industrial companies embrace digital media. In their conversation with Charli, they discuss Charli’s passion for storytelling and enthusiasm for technology, and how this facilitated her deep understanding of how to leverage social media platforms. Tuning in you’ll hear Charli share clear and insightful instructions on how to build a social media presence from the ground up. From sending the first post to making sure you have buy-in from your employees, to finding your authentic voice.

Today we talk to Lisa Ryan, an award-winning speaker, podcast host, and the author of more than 10 books! As the Founder and Chief Appreciation Strategist of Grategy, Lisa’s programs focus on positive workplace culture, intergenerational communication, employee acquisition, engagement, retention, and gratitude strategies (or ‘grategies’) for personal and professional development. In today’s episode, you’ll learn more about Lisa’s career path, her personal manufacturing experience, and her strategies for attracting and retaining talent using the acronym, THANKS.

Today we talk to Cara Macklin, a business coach and the founder and CEO of Caram, a success coaching firm. Cara is a serial entrepreneur and a leading businesswoman in Northern Ireland. She was the director for 15 years of a multi-million, and multi-award-winning hospitality and healthcare group, growing it from three businesses with only 200 employees to seven businesses with over 600 employees. Listening in you’ll hear what innovative culture is, as well as how to engage people properly and bring them along with you as a leader. Tune in today to find out what an entrepreneur should be doing to create a culture that makes people want to stay!

Manufacturing garments for the likes of Ralph Lauren to the United States Coast Guard, our guest today is also the recipient of the Step Ahead Award from The Manufacturing Institute. Today we welcome to the show, Gabrielle Ferrara. Gabrielle is the Chief Operating Officer at Ferrara Manufacturing, a family-owned and operated. Gabrielle leads the company’s strategic development, integration of new technologies, and day-to-day operations. Her work supports tailored goods production for prestigious organizations such as Ralph Lauren, The Purple Label, and many more. Join us as we dive into a great conversation with Gabrielle about her company!

Today on the Women and Manufacturing Podcast, we talk about how the right software systems can greatly improve productivity. We are joined by Deb Geiger, the VP of global marketing at Aegis Software. Today Deb introduces us to the truly unique and highly adaptive manufacturing operations management platform that Aegis supplies. Listening in, you’ll hear how this software differs from an ERP system, the types of data their ontological data system produces, and how it contextualizes data in a meaningful way.