Making it in Manufacturing

97% of our listeners don't realise they aren't followed, please double check, thank you! Hosted by Thomas McMann, Making It In Manufacturing is ARTO's new in-person podcast series, spotlighting the leaders shaping the future of manufacturing, engineering and CDMOs in Life Sciences. Each episode dives into the careers, decisions, and defining moments of industry mainstays - revealing the stories and insights behind real-world impact within the life science manufacturing and CDMO space. If you're a leader in the space - or aspiring to be - this podcast is a must watch. The series is available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all major platforms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Making it in Manufacturing is a business podcast hosted by ARTO Talent, with 38 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

ARTO Talent hosts Making it in Manufacturing, a business show with 38 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #37

  How To Build A Career Network In Pharma | ISPE UK Leadership

  Jul 27, 202630 min

  95% of our viewers aren't subscribed. If you're watching and not yet subscribed, please subscribe to the channel so you don't miss future episodes. This week on Making It In Manufacturing, Thomas McMann sat down with Chris Leman (UK Chair), Trina Ives (NE Chair), and Zam Thahir (EAC Chair), the UK leadership of ISPE UK , recorded at AstraZeneca's site in Macclesfield during the first ISPE UK Emerging Leaders Conference. In this episode, the team covers: - What ISPE is and why life sciences professionals beyond engineering should get involved - How each leader first got involved with ISPE and progressed through the regional committees - The 2024 annual event in Manchester, the new industry awards and the awards dinner - What to expect at your first ISPE event and why the community feels so welcoming - The 2026 annual event in Newcastle, the Leadership Summit at GSK and plans to expand across the UK If you work anywhere in life sciences and have wondered how to build a network that opens doors across the industry, this conversation is a clear and honest look at what membership can offer. Watch the full episode to hear how Chris, Trina and Zam are investing in the people who will shape UK pharma next. Follow ARTO LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/artotalent Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kEcRZOiJChOoN1KF2n1ng Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arto.talent?igsh=MWdhbWl5N204a253NQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artotalent?_t=ZG-8tHbGACAZaj&_r=1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leading-beyond-the-lab/id1783115575 Website: https://arto-talent.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@artotalent Chris Leman LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisleman/ Trina Ives LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trinaives/ Zam Shabeer Thahir LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zam-shabeer-thahir-0a18a74b/ Thomas McMann (Host) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-mcmann-05540a10b/ Timestamps: 00:14 Introductions from Chris, Trina and Zam 01:08 The March board handover and the first few months as chair 02:01 Turnout at the Emerging Leaders Conference and shout out to Chalisa 03:21 The first Emerging Leaders Conference and getting 62 students involved 04:00 What ISPE is and the scale of the global membership 05:32 You don't have to be an engineer to join ISPE 06:07 How Chris first got involved through the North West committee 08:38 Trina's journey from marketing executive to Vice Chair 10:34 Zam's journey from a 2016 site tour to chair 12:21 Growing emerging leaders events and the Growth Fund initiative 14:29 Favourite memories and the 2024 annual event in Manchester 16:53 Trina on the member of the year award and the North East community 17:37 What to expect at your first ISPE event 19:03 Zam on site tours and the social side of ISPE 21:42 A good first step for anyone wanting to get involved 22:49 The 2026 Newcastle annual event and the Leadership Summit at GSK 25:31 Expanding ISPE across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland 27:13 The Bridge to Innovation theme, EduHub and the pre-conference social 28:44 Where to find out more and the value of the ISPE UK LinkedIn page 29:51 Closing thoughts #MakingItInManufacturing #ARTOTalent #ISPE #Pharma #PharmaceuticalEngineering #LifeSciences #Manufacturing #EmergingLeaders #PharmaCareers #Networking Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #36

  Building Novo Nordisk's Biggest QC Lab in History

  Jul 1, 202652 min

  This week on Making It In Manufacturing, Thomas McMann sat down with Thomas Emerik Rasmussen, a project and operations leader specialising in lean manufacturing and operational excellence, with over 15 years at Novo Nordisk spanning nine different roles across Denmark, Italy and the United States, building and leading large CapEx expansion projects before moving into consulting to help companies transform their quality operations. In this episode, Thomas covers: How an unconventional start as a management consultant shaped a career built on teams, mission and visible purpose Why the API expansion in Clayton, North Carolina, the biggest pharma investment in the world when it broke ground in 2015, became a career-defining project What made the 2.9 billion QC facility unique, and why stakeholder management across five different cultures proved harder than the construction itself How the design one, build many model cuts years off design, construction and regulatory timelines, with Fujifilm Biotechnologies cited as another adopter Where AI, digital twins and modular design are taking facility design next, drawing on examples shared by Roche at the ISPE conference If you work in pharmaceutical manufacturing, operational excellence or facility design, this conversation offers a grounded look at how one of the industry's most successful scale-up stories was actually built, and where it goes from here. Worth your time from start to finish. Follow ARTO LinkedIn:    / artotalent   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kEcRZO... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arto.talent... TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artotalent?_t... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Website: https://arto-talent.com/ Youtube:     / @artotalent   LinkedIn: Thomas Emerik Rasmussen    / thomas-emerik-rasmussen-82b2981   Thomas McMann    / thomas-mcmann-05540a10b   Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:21 Welcome to the podcast 01:34 Getting into engineering and lean manufacturing 03:31 Family, mentors and the draw to life sciences 04:50 Starting out as a management consultant 06:05 Advising medtech companies as a fresh graduate 07:08 Joining Novo Nordisk and an early promotion 09:10 Staying engaged across nine different roles 11:13 The proudest project: API expansion in Clayton, North Carolina 12:27 Relocating the family to the United States 13:17 The secret behind Novo Nordisk's growth 15:42 Scaling the business and optimising existing lines 16:04 Underestimating volumes and quadrupling API capacity 17:20 Separating operations from the CapEx organisation 19:51 The 2.9 billion QC facility and why it was unique 22:37 Innovation, automation and material handling 24:32 Project status and timeline to completion 25:21 The design one, build many model explained 27:10 The major benefits of modular design 29:13 Why more companies are adopting modular thinking 31:02 Keeping innovation alive within a standardised approach 32:37 How lean and operational excellence enable rapid expansion 34:03 Methodologies: value stream mapping 35:11 A wind turbine case study and a 25% lead time reduction 37:17 The lean mindset built into the API expansion 39:47 The biggest opportunities for innovation in facility design 41:18 Digital twins, AI and the future of facility flow 43:57 The risks around AI in design and regulation 44:57 Takeaways from the ISPE conference in the UK 45:27 Key lessons from scaling operations 48:36 The one thing he would have done differently 51:14 Closing thoughts #MakingItInManufacturing #ARTOTalent #Pharma #PharmaceuticalManufacturing #LifeSciences #OperationalExcellence #LeanManufacturing #QualityControl #FacilityDesign #NovoNordisk #CapEx #ModularDesign Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #35

  If You're Not Using AI in Validation Yet, You're Already Behind - Bruce Klopfenstein

  Jun 24, 202657 min

  95% of our viewers aren't subscribed. If you're watching and not yet subscribed, please subscribe to the channel so you don't miss future episodes. What does it actually take to deliver a pharmaceutical facility project without it going off the rails? This week, Thomas McMann sat down with someone who has spent over 30 years doing exactly that, from both sides of the table. This week on Making It In Manufacturing, Thomas McMann sat down with Bruce Klopfenstein, Project Manager at GSK, with over 30 years of experience spanning project management, engineering, validation, EPC consulting, and client-side leadership across companies including GSK, Jacobs, JohnsonAndJohnson, Fujifilm and IBM. In this episode, Bruce covers: - Why getting ACV engaged at the very start of a project changes everything, and why the industry has been slow to do it. - Who is actually responsible when a pharmaceutical project goes over budget, and why change control is almost always at the root of it. - The $100,000 mistake that came down to a missing piece of paper, and the engineer who had to fly to Europe during Covid to fix it. - How GSK is leading a major sustainability push through its low-carbon inhaler propellant project in France, and why 49% of their total annual emissions trace back to a single product type. - Why AI adoption in pharmaceutical validation is no longer optional, and how companies like GSK and Eli Lilly are already using it inside the firewall, with Bruce's take on ValKit AI and what large language models can do for protocol generation at scale. This is a genuinely experienced perspective on what it takes to manage complex pharmaceutical projects, and what the industry needs to do differently. Worth your time whether you are on the EPC side, the client side, or deep in the validation world. Follow ARTO LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/artotalent Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kEcRZOiJChOoN1KF2n1ng Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arto.talent?igsh=MWdhbWl5N204a253NQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artotalent?_t=ZG-8tHbGACAZaj&_r=1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leading-beyond-the-lab/id1783115575 Website: https://arto-talent.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@artotalent LinkedIn Bruce Klopfenstein LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruceklopfenstein/ Thomas McMann LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-mcmann-05540a10b/ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 1:40 Bruce's ISP talk: early ACV engagement from Basis of Design through Detailed Design 3:13 Bruce's career journey: IBM, PricewaterhouseCoopers, gaming industry, J&J, and life science 8:09 Finding the most enjoyable moments: it is about the team and the situation, not just the job 13:13 Engineering complexity of the 152A propellant transition and where the project currently stands 16:33 The CO2 comparison between pharma and automotive: why the headline is misleading 19:54 Who is responsible when a project goes over budget? EPC vs client-side accountability 23:08 The biggest differences between working on the EPC side vs the client side 25:20 Why relationships are the foundation of every successful project 30:10 EPC stress vs owner stress: where the real pressure sits 36:18 Why pharma struggles to standardise the way oil and gas has 40:04 Change control in practice: what it actually requires 43:07 Equipment lead times and Covid-era supply chain pressure on the critical path 45:44 AI in pharmaceutical validation: where the industry is today 46:26 ValKit AI and Hugh Devine: using LLMs to generate validation protocols 47:18 The FDA's first AI warning letter and what it means for human oversight 53:31 How to think about AI like a smart intern: natural language, not programming 55:38 Why companies that are not adopting AI now will fall behind 56:00 Closing thoughts and sign-off #MakingItInManufacturing #ARTOTalent #ProjectManagement #Validation #LifeSciences #Biotech #AIInPharma #Commissioning #GMP #DrugManufacturing #Sustainability #GSK #EPC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #34

  Why Fujifilm Biotechnologies Thinks the CDMO Model Is Broken

  Jun 10, 202655 min

  What does it take to transform a biologics manufacturing business into a global CDMO leader while keeping culture, transparency and patient impact at the centre of every decision? This week on Making It In Manufacturing, Thomas McMann sat down with Lars Petersen, CEO of Fujifilm Biotechnologies, with more than 30 years of experience spanning biologics manufacturing, engineering, operations leadership, global site leadership and biotech innovation across Novo Nordisk, Genentech, Roche and Biogen. In this episode, Lars covers: • Why “Partners for Life” became the foundation of Fujifilm Biotechnologies’ long-term customer strategy and how transparency reshaped CDMO partnerships • How personal loss, engineering curiosity and early leadership experiences at Novo Nordisk shaped Lars’ approach to people, manufacturing and patient impact • Lessons from the California biotech ecosystem at Genentech and Roche, including how culture and scientific purpose influenced leadership philosophy • How the KojoX modular manufacturing platform is helping reduce engineering timelines, improve scalability and rethink biologics facility design • Why AI will transform pharmaceutical manufacturing and how Fujifilm Biotechnologies is preparing the next evolution of biologics production Lars shares an honest perspective on leadership, scaling culture globally, operational excellence and the future of biologics manufacturing. For anyone working across biotech, pharma manufacturing, CDMOs or advanced therapies, this conversation offers a rare look into the mindset behind one of the industry’s fastest-growing organisations. Follow ARTO LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/artotalent Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kEcRZOiJChOoN1KF2n1ng Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arto.talent?igsh=MWdhbWl5N204a253NQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artotalent?_t=ZG-8tHbGACAZaj&_r=1 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leading-beyond-the-lab/id1783115575 Website: https://arto-talent.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@artotalent Lars Petersen LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lars-petersen-5134362/ Thomas McMann LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-mcmann-05540a10b/ Timestamps: 02:14 Introduction to Lars Petersen and Fujifilm Biotechnologies 03:09 The meaning behind “Partners for Life” 06:35 Growth of Fujifilm and the secrets behind its success 07:26 How CDMOs are becoming strategic partners for pharma 08:41 Lars' journey into pharmaceuticals and personal motivation 10:47 Did Lars always want to become a CEO? 12:12 Engineering mindset vs. people leadership 13:55 Advantages of a technical background as a CEO 16:27 Lessons from 16 years at Novo Nordisk 19:15 Leaving comfort zones: moving to China and the United States 21:33 California, Genentech, and biotech culture 24:39 Lessons from Genentech and Roche 27:13 Leading the Biogen site acquisition by Fujifilm 32:03 Winning the first customer and validating the vision 34:11 The vision to become the “TSMC of biotech” 36:19 KojoX: Fujifilm's modular manufacturing platform 41:43 Defining a People-First culture 45:57 Maintaining culture while scaling globally 48:37 Self-awareness and leadership development 53:39 AI in biomanufacturing and the future of KojoX 55:10 What still motivates Lars after 30+ years in biotech 56:18 David Bowie, legacy, and final reflections 56:39 Closing remarks #MakingItInManufacturing #ARTOTalent #Biotech #PharmaceuticalManufacturing #CDMO #Biologics #AdvancedTherapies #CellTherapy #GeneTherapy #LifeSciences #ManufacturingLeadership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #33

  Inside CPHI Americas 2026: The Biggest Challenges Facing Pharma Right Now

  Jun 2, 202619 minS0

  <p>95% of our viewers aren’t subscribed. If you’re watching and not yet subscribed, please subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss future episodes.</p><br><p>This week on Making It In Manufacturing, Thomas McMann sat down with Sarah Griffin, Event Manager for CPHI Americas. In this episode, Sarah covers:</p><br><p>• Why CPHI Americas is creating a more focused, content-led experience built around meaningful industry conversations and strategic partnerships.</p><p>• How the event has evolved to meet growing demand for deeper engagement between pharmaceutical companies, CDMOs, technology providers, regulators, and investors.</p><p>• Why CDMOs ar...

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