Grit. Resolve. Mettle. No matter how you describe it, there are plenty of people in the manufacturing industry who have the courage and audacity to dream big and do bigger. These are the individuals featured in Profiles in Manufacturing, an IMTS+ original series:
Courtney Silver, president and owner, Ketchie Inc.
Andrew Crowe, founder, The New American Manufacturing Renaissance Tour
Rick Kline, Sr., chairman and CEO, Gardner Business Media
Season three of Profiles in Manufacturing debuts May 25 on IMTS+, and it will feature a new set of manufacturing leaders, luminaries, and legends. The documentary-style series follows a diverse set of individuals who are helping to shape the modern manufacturing industry. Here’s a sneak peak, but you’ll want to tune in for the full story!
Improving Parts and Lives
Courtney Silver got into manufacturing in 2008 when she joined Ketchie Inc., a precision machine shop, with her late husband, Bobby Ketchie. She'd never been in a machine shop before.
“Looking back, I stepped through that door and immediately fell in love with machining and manufacturing,” Silver says. “I love the fact that we're working with our hands, our hearts, and our minds to make products that are useful all across the country.”
Although manufacturing quality parts is a top goal, Silver's greatest satisfaction is the company's emphasis on improving lives for people. That starts with helping her employees develop their skills.
A Renaissance Man
When Andrew Crowe preaches the gospel of modern manufacturing, young people listen. His national tour, The New American Manufacturing Renaissance Tour, is reminiscent of a revival; the tent is big, and all are welcome.
Crowe is dedicated to addressing the skills gap in manufacturing by attracting new, diverse talent from the next generation. He spoke on the IMTS+ Mainstage at IMTS 2022 about problems in manufacturing and ways to reset and rebrand an antiquated industry system to include diversity, workforce programs, technology, and more.
“We have an amazing opportunity to take an antiquated system and turn it around on its head,” says Crowe. “We not only have to rebrand, but we need to reset.”
Through his speaking engagements across the country, Crowe is determined to give people from all walks of life the opportunity to find a purpose and a passion in manufacturing.
Crowe’s message in all of his manufacturing endeavors is about elevating yourself and others. The sense of greater possibilities becomes palpable in his presence.
Media for Manufacturing
Gardner Business Media (GBM) is the go-to source for relevant and actionable manufacturing information. The publisher provides comprehensive coverage of every aspect of manufacturing through print and multimedia products and is required reading for the people who power plants, machine shops, and factories throughout the United States and beyond.
Richard “Rick” G. Kline Sr., chairman and CEO of GBM, has spent his life in the industry impacting a generation of manufacturers. As the grandson of company founder Don Gardner, Kline Sr. Has led GBM to become a preeminent publisher of manufacturing technology magazines that reach beyond the United States and has expanded as a media provider to connect with audiences in a variety of ways. Kline Sr. has grown the company to about 120 people producing eight English-language publications and two publications for the Mexican market, as well as becoming an industry digital content leader, diversifying its products with Gardner Intelligence reports and in-person industry events.
AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, recently honored Kline Sr. with the Albert W. Moore AMT Leadership Award. The Al Moore award is given to members of the manufacturing technology community who have demonstrated a lifetime of dedication to the industry.
Season three of Profiles in manufacturing debuts on IMTS+ on May 25. If you haven’t seen Season one or two, check them out now on IMTS.com. New content is available 24/7 on IMTS+ at IMTS.com.
