What keeps Wisconsin manufacturers up at night, and some moving out of state, might not be what you think.
Kurt Bauer, CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, representing 3,800 businesses across the state, explains more.
My guest for this interview, Kurt Bauer (LinkedIn), is President and CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), the state’s combined chamber of commerce, manufacturers association, and safety council. WMC has 3,800 member businesses of all sizes and sectors, with over half of them manufacturers.
Quick summary of the interview:
Kurt shares how tech plays out, or not, in the 90% of Wisconsin manufacturers with 100 employees or less. Hint: it’s not about the money.
He also talks about the “dark factory” but that robots and automation still aren’t solving manufacturing’s biggest problem.
Every manufacturing job creates four others. Kurt makes a strong case that what keeps Wisconsin manufacturers up at night should keep all of us up, too.
I’m the guy who loves to talk tech.
But this conversation with Kurt Bauer (LinkedIn), President and CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), the tech talk was more about the people.
Through WMC, Kurt represents 3,800 businesses in Wisconsin. Half of them, at least, are manufacturers. And when I asked him what these keeps these companies up at night, I totally expected to dive into areas like tariffs, AI/tech, or the cost of other inputs. Though each of these are weighing on the minds of business leaders, it’s people that causes the most concern.
Yes, people. Wisconsin isn’t keeping enough of them.
Baby Boomers are retiring every day and there aren’t enough of us behind them to fill the void.
At the same time, headlines are shouting how AI is coming for everyone’s job. All while some manufacturers here can’t fill a second shift, can’t bid on some contracts, and, in some case, can’t grow in Wisconsin alone.
And you wonder why I’m grumpy?
Many of the manufacturing jobs that are open are high-tech, high-pay, high-skill. But many people are simply driving by our nondescript industrial parks with no idea what’s happening inside.
The people. That’s why I talk tech every week.
Tech is one of the key stories of this city right now. But I feature people. The familiar faces you already know and the new faces you ought to.
Because talking about what we have here is part of how careers get built and why people stay in Wisconsin.
You can’t want a job you’ve never heard of. You can’t work with people you’ve never met. Ain’t that right, Ian Abston?
So give this one a listen. Here or in the Spotify app (NOTE: the Spotify desktop / website is having a problem today).
Listen for the people. Including, maybe, you.
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