Manufacturing Revival Radio
Manufacturing Revival Radio is a podcast celebrating the resurgence and innovation of manufacturing. Hosted by Todd Schnick and Todd Youngblood, it features the companies, the leaders, the innovators leading the charge. Driving the innovation.
Jim Hennen, Braas Company
“Everybody in the building gives a darn.”
That’s just one of the many comments made by Jim Hennen, Vice President of Sales for the Braas Company that stuck in our heads. He was referring to the fact that Braas is an ESOP, in other words, a company owned by its employees. Of course it makes an attitudinal difference when company growth and success is directly tied to the value of your retirement plan!
Another big differentiator is the Braas business model, in Hennen’s words, “an expensive one.” They have made big, long-term investments in developing and maintaining technical expertise. Be it application engineering, robotics, vision, 3D vision or high-end motion control, Braas customers can depend on them to know more than they do.
That depth of expertise is vital in many situations. Hennen described how difficult it is, for example, for a medical device manufacturer to get FDA approval for a design change. If even a single component becomes unavailable, sales of that device come to a screeching halt. That manufacturer needs to have LOT of confidence in the tech skills of its supplier!
Our discussion of “the next big disruptive technology” was also fascinating. Collaborative robots can work in and among human beings with little or no safeguarding. They can take over boring, repetitive, dangerous, carpal tunnel producing tasks and enable the people to apply their higher value talents. Break even for an investment in collaborative robots? Less than a year; maybe as little as three months. Yeah… I’d call that disruptive!
And there’s more. Tune in to hear it all. Especially the part where Jim describes the process Braas Company uses to pick its supplier partners. Great stuff.
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INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The March/April issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Joyce Lansdale and Vallen. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and David Kahle, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
