The Allied Advisors Podcast

The Allied Advisors Podcast is designed for mid-market manufacturers looking to scale and sharpen their competitive edge. Each episode features in-depth conversations with lean manufacturing experts and top-performing manufacturing executives who share proven strategies, hard-earned lessons, and real-world success stories. Our goal is simple: every listener walks away with practical insights they can apply immediately to drive growth, improve efficiency, and lead their teams more effectively.

The Allied Advisors Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Justin Goethe, with 27 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.

Justin Goethe hosts The Allied Advisors Podcast, a business show with 27 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.

• 

  The Allied Advisors Podcast

  Playing Like a Battleship at Speedboat Scale: PE Value Creation with Rick Brawn

  Aug 5, 202644 min

  Here you go — plain text you can copy straight into your podcast host, YouTube, or Substack: THE ALLIED ADVISORS PODCAST Playing Like a Battleship at Speedboat Scale: PE Value Creation with Rick Brawn Guest: Rick Brawn, Operating Partner, MiddleGround Capital Host: Justin Goethe EPISODE OVERVIEW Rick Brawn has a manufacturing dream resume: he came up through the most disciplined corners of aerospace at Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce, then carried that operational rigor into private equity — first at LFM Capital, and today as an operating partner at MiddleGround Capital. In this conversation, Rick and Justin dig into what actually transfers from large-cap OEMs down to the mid-market, how value-creation plans get built and bought into after a deal closes, and why the biggest wins often live across a portfolio rather than inside any single plant. Along the way: a $130M portfolio-wide freight play, a masterclass in change management that boils down to "people are people," and a candid look at how MiddleGround is putting Claude and AI to work — while double-checking every answer. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Which aerospace best practices copy-and-paste into the mid-market — and where they break down Why founders skip process documentation (hint: it's a values gap, not a cost gap) How MiddleGround builds a Value Creation Plan (VCP) and earns management buy-in from day one The portfolio-scale freight play: finding $26M in savings no single plant could reach How to run league tables, Kaizen boot camps, and cross-selling to force best-practice adoption A practical, no-hype way for a standalone manufacturer to use AI for spend and cost visibility TOPICS & TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — Introduction: Rick's path from Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce to LFM and MiddleGround Capital 02:00 — Aerospace to the mid-market: what copies down from large-cap OEMs, and where resources and documentation break down 03:30 — Cost vs. values: why small and mid-market firms under-invest in process creation 05:30 — The PE stigma: why the "they just bring money" perception is unearned in industrials 08:00 — The Value Creation Plan (VCP): sharing the plan post-close and opening the canvas to build buy-in 10:30 — Culture integration: PE-owned vs. first-time founder companies; the Lindsay Precast success story 13:30 — People are people: change management from the shop floor to the boardroom, and the red hose lesson 17:00 — Portfolio-wide value creation: the $130M freight spend across 200+ factories and a 20% / $26M target 20:00 — Hidden leaks beyond freight: insurance, tax, tariff recovery, and consolidating renewal dates 24:00 — AI & Claude in the real world: plugging into ERP/AP data for spend visibility — and double-checking the work 29:00 — Capturing tribal knowledge: the 30-year toolmaker's drawings fed into an LLM for the next generation 31:00 — League tables & conferences: OpEx, Sales & Purchasing, and CEO/CFO conferences that drive healthy competition 35:00 — Kaizen boot camps & cross-selling: quarterly week-long events with tracked takeaways; keeping business "in the family" 38:00 — Strategy deployment: portfolio- and fund-level planning, three-to-five years out 42:00 — Closing thoughts: "MiddleGround is Bosch" — delivering value at scale KEY TAKEAWAYS Operations boils down to the basics. Continuous improvement, pricing methodology, and margin analysis transfer to any manufacturer, regardless of what they make. Process documentation is a values gap, not a cost gap. Founders often don't see the value in writing down processes — the unlock large-cap OEMs and PE both understand is that documentation is what makes a business scalable. Buy-in beats mandates. Sharing the VCP and inviting the management team to add to it produces a more complete plan and far more ownership. Scale creates value single plants can't see. Aggregating spend across 200+ factories — freight, insurance, tax, benefits — surfaces savings no individual company could find alone. AI lowers the barrier to that same analysis. A standalone manufacturer can feed AP and PO data to an LLM and get spend-vs-market insight that used to require a corporate team — as long as the output is verified. Competition drives adoption. League tables, awards, and tracked Kaizen takeaways turn best practices into implemented change — a discipline any multi-site manufacturer can copy across its own plants. NOTABLE QUOTES "Operations really does boil down to some of the basics when you look at it, no matter what you manufacture." "We're basically coaches on the sideline. We're not the players on the field — and to coach effectively, you've got to understand what they're looking for." "Nobody was looking at it in aggregate. Just shipping product out the door from our 200-plus factories is about $130 million in spend." "You don't need me to teach you how to use AI. AI will teach you how to use AI — just start using it. The challenge is you've got to double-check its work." "If MiddleGround companies knew what MiddleGround companies know, you would be unstoppable." RESOURCES & MENTIONS MiddleGround Capital — operationally focused PE firm founded in 2018; ~15 portfolio companies, 200+ factories Rick Brawn on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/operatingpartner/ Lindsay Precast (Gainesville, FL) — precast concrete manufacturer and MiddleGround exit; founder Ron Lindsay Prior episode — Bill Maroney, Freight Think (freight cost and logistics) Prior episode — Steve Cook, LFM Capital Referenced concepts: United Technologies / Raytheon "ACE" (Achieving Competitive Excellence); Toyota Production System; league tables; Kaizen boot camps Enjoyed this conversation? Like, subscribe, and share The Allied Advisors Podcast with a friend.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #25

  The Systemic Improvement Cycle: Turning Strategy Into Sustainable Improvement

  Jul 22, 202634 minS1

  Format: Solocast with host Justin Goethe Best experienced on: YouTube (this episode references on-screen slides) Episode Summary Episode 25 marks a milestone, and to celebrate it Justin comes back to the heart of what Allied Advisors does: the Systemic Improvement Cycle (System CIP) — the framework for turning strategy into structured, sustainable improvement that outlasts any one person. Most continuous improvement efforts quietly drift. Companies launch a lean initiative or a Six Sigma rollout, see early wins, and then watch the gains evaporate within a year or two. As Justin lays out, that's not a people problem or a culture problem — it's a systems problem. Drawing on frameworks used inside world-class manufacturers, he walks through the four must-haves every CI program needs, the 90-day cadence that keeps teams accountable, and the practical tools that make improvement real on the shop floor: value stream mapping, the KPI tree, the project A3, and the plan-do-check-act discipline that ties it all together. Whether you're just starting your lean journey or fighting to make hard-won gains stick, this episode gives you a clear, repeatable path forward. In This Episode (00:00) Welcome and the 25th-episode milestone (01:30) PDCA at the core — running improvement cycles at ever-tightening frequencies, from the 30,000-foot view down to the shift level (02:30) Why everything runs on 90-day cycles (and why a one-year deadline gets you nothing) (03:30) Setting the vision: the three focus topics — business requirements, market requirements, and vision (05:00) Choosing your timeline and designing a future-state value stream (aim for a 12-month look) (05:45) Current-state value stream mapping — and why you walk it backwards, from shipping to receiving (08:00) The weekly roadmap cadence: where real accountability is built (09:30) Process validation — proving the new standard actually holds (10:30) Daily management — monitoring, reacting, and feeding learnings into the next cycle (11:00) Why CI programs fail: the four must-haves of any CI system (13:00) Where the cycle fits — the tactical bridge between strategy and execution (14:30) The three workshop deliverables: value stream map, project roadmap, and project A3 (15:30) KPRs, department KPIs, and process KPIs explained (16:30) Building the current-state map — and why it gets you into the gemba (18:00) Value stream design: push vs. pull, supermarkets, and production leveling (19:45) Anatomy of a project roadmap — one owner per project, always (22:00) The KPI tree: arguably the most important tool in your lean toolbox (25:00) Hallmarks of a strong project A3 (and why charts beat paragraphs) (29:00) Common pitfalls that knock programs off course (32:30) The Allied Advisors Fractional CI Manager (FCIM) program Key Takeaways Break work into 90-day cycles. A project due a year out gets no attention today. Ninety-day increments keep the tension on and force week-over-week progress. Go to the gemba. The current-state map matters because it pulls you out of the conference room and onto the shop floor — where the problems are and where the solutions live. Every CI system needs four things: a way to derive the right projects, a way to manage execution, a way to validate results, and a way to sustain standards. Miss the last two and you're left with a wish list. The weekly roadmap meeting is where the rubber meets the road. It's the accountability engine most improvement programs are missing. Every project gets one owner — one name, not a department. What's everyone's responsibility is no one's responsibility. The project A3 forces clarity. A one-page document that aligns the team on scope, drives weekly follow-up, and doubles as a marketing tool at review time. A KPI tree tells you which lever to pull. It maps the hierarchy from profit down to the shop-floor behaviors that drive it, so you know you're working on the right things. Tools & Frameworks Mentioned PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) — the discipline underneath the entire cycle Value Stream Mapping — current state and future-state design Project Roadmap — the prioritized list of 90-day projects Project A3 — one-page project management tool (background/business case, current state, future state, approach, metrics) KPI Tree — hierarchy of key performance results, department KPIs, and process KPIs Production leveling, supermarkets, takt time, changeover (SMED) — value stream design concepts Common Pitfalls to Avoid Skipping the value stream map and jumping straight to initiatives — you end up solving problems that don't exist Taking on too many priorities for the resources you have Launching projects without a single named owner Filling out A3s as wallpaper instead of using them to manage the work Skipping the weekly roadmap meeting — almost a guarantee of failure About the Fractional CI Manager Program Allied Advisors' FCIM program helps mid-market manufacturers build a culture of continuous improvement inside the teams they already have — rather than renting expensive consultants who run projects and leave. Over a 12-month engagement, Allied comes on site four times a year to facilitate System CIP workshops, coaches teams through weekly roadmap reviews and project A3s, and mentors your people so the capability becomes self-sustaining. The goal isn't to give you a fish; it's to teach you to fish. Connect With Justin Have a question about anything in this episode, or want to talk through where to start? Justin would love to hear from you. Email: jgoethe@alliedgroup.io Web: https://alliedadvisors.io/podcast Referenced episode: The Daily Leadership Routine (for more on process validation and daily management) If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it with a colleague — it genuinely helps the show reach more manufacturers.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  The Allied Advisors Podcast

  Manufacturing's Best-Kept Secret: How the MEP Network Helps Mid-Market Manufacturers Scale with Keith Gammill

  Jun 24, 202642 min

  In this episode, host Justin sits down with Keith Gammill, Director of Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions (AMS), the state's affiliate of the National MEP Network. Drawing on nearly 30 years in operations, quality, HR, and continuous improvement, Keith makes the case that the MEP is one of the rare government programs that "got it right" — and walks through how mid-market manufacturers can actually put it to work. The conversation ranges from the origins of lean and where it still gets misapplied, to the central role of vision in leadership, the real impact of AI on the office (not just the shop floor), and what a first engagement with your state's MEP center looks like. About the guest Keith Gammill leads transformational support for manufacturers across Arkansas as Director of AMS, part of Arkansas Workforce Connections and the National MEP Network. Before joining AMS in 2014, he spent over a decade at Anchor Packaging — most recently as Director of Quality and Product Safety, leading 20 quality professionals across nine manufacturing units, and earlier driving an AutoPack division turnaround from last to first place in the company. A Gestalt Professional Certified Coach and DDI Certified Facilitator, Keith holds dual BS degrees from Arkansas State University in Industrial Technology and Leadership Management. By his own description: "an old manufacturing puke." What you'll learn (with timestamps) [00:03:00] — What the MEP Network is: a public-private partnership funded continuously since 1988, modeled on the Cooperative Extension Service — "the county agents for manufacturing," with a center in every state plus Puerto Rico. [00:06:00] — The bread and butter: traditional lean services, including the Lean 101 workshop (Principles of Lean Manufacturing), run thousands of times in Arkansas. [00:08:00] — How the network shares best practices through regional nodes and national gatherings — giving any center access to ~1,250 professionals system-wide. [00:10:00] — How MEP services have evolved: reshoring/nearshoring post-COVID, plus technology transfer, automation, and AI. [00:11:00] — Why AI's biggest manufacturing impact will be in the office, not the shop floor — sitting on top of disparate systems to flag issues and distill the critical few priorities. [00:13:00] — South Carolina's OPEX (Operational Exchange) program, benchmarking trips, and why "all we know is what we know." [00:15:00] — The Arkansas Manufacturing Showcase: an event "by manufacturers, for manufacturers" creating matchmaking and serendipitous connections across the state's ecosystem. [00:16:00] — Good vs. great management: great managers have "seen great" — and why mistaking lean's tools for its goals leads people to throw the whole thing out. [00:18:00] — Vision as the "beyond-the-horizon compass heading," and why involving stakeholders down to the shop floor is where commitment lives. [00:22:00] — Keith's accessible take on vision: "If you've ever been on vacation, you've got vision." [00:23:00] — What a real MEP engagement looks like: it starts with a listening session — pull, not push — tailored to industry, size, culture, and maturity. [00:27:00] — Developing frontline leaders: AMS's Transformational Leadership Improvement suite, built for the operators promoted into leadership without ever being taught how to lead. [00:29:00] — AI and legacy equipment: a phased approach starting with sensors and data, always within a bigger vision via value stream mapping. [00:33:00] — Why planning's real value is the experiential journey the team takes together — and how that drives accountability without having to enforce it. [00:35:00] — A friendly point of "violent agreement": why change efforts need a dedicated resource, not a shop-floor supervisor getting called 50 times a day. [00:37:00] — How to get connected and what to expect from a first plant visit. Quotable moments "You either mine it, make it, or grow it." "All we know is what we know." "The difference in good management and great management is great management has seen great at some point in their career." "Vision is the beyond-the-horizon compass heading that draws us forward." "If you've ever been on vacation, you've got vision." "The game is won and lost in the corner office, not on the shop floor." "You don't really need to enforce accountability when people have been a part of the journey." "The expert is anybody more than 50 miles from the plant." "If you're not engaged with them, you're foolish not to take advantage of it." Key takeaways for mid-market manufacturers There's an MEP center in every state offering deeply discounted, locally delivered support — most manufacturers just don't know it exists. Lean is as relevant as ever, but it spans the whole business; most waste hides in administrative functions, not on the floor. AI's near-term payoff is largely in the office, connecting siloed systems and surfacing the critical few priorities. Any technology or improvement effort should sit inside a bigger plan — start with a value stream map. And lasting change requires two things: a clear, shared vision and a dedicated resource to drive it. How to get connected Visit nist.gov/mep and click "Connect with an MEP Center," or simply search "MEP center [your state]." In Arkansas, reach out to Keith directly. The best first step: invite a center representative in for a plant visit or discovery conversation, and come ready to talk about your pain points — including the "magic wand" question: if you could change one thing in the business, what would it be? Connect with Keith LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-gammill-gpcc-6b7b661/ Email: kgammill@astate.edu Mentioned in this episode Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions (AMS) · National MEP Network · Lean 101 / Principles of Lean Manufacturing · Bill Kraus (AMS) · SCMEP OPEX (Operational Exchange) program & Mike Demos · Arkansas Manufacturing Showcase · Transformational Leadership Improvement · Chris Mennona (past guest, most-downloaded episode) · Pat Erdley, Shift HR (past guest) · Quality Digest · Taiichi Ohno / Toyota Production System Enjoyed this episode? Like, subscribe, and share it with a fellow manufacturer. Help us reach more mid-market manufacturers looking to scale operations, improve the bottom line, and keep manufacturing strong in the USA.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  The Allied Advisors Podcast

  Run Your Pipeline Like a Shop Floor: Stage Gates for Mid-Market Sales with Bill Bell

  Jun 10, 202630 min

  Episode Summary Most operators run the shop floor as a disciplined, measurable system and treat the sales pipeline as a black box. Bill Bell spent his career proving they are the same thing. A million dollar deal dies at month nine and the only explanation anyone offers is "the customer went a different direction." That answer is not a diagnosis. It is nothing. In this episode, Bill walks through how he took stage-gate thinking off the production line and applied it to complex industrial sales, why a stalled deal is a diagnosis rather than a dead end, and how mid-market manufacturers can stop pouring engineering capacity into custom orders that quietly lose money. If you came up through operations and the commercial side feels like guesswork, this one is for you. About the Guest Bill Bell is a partner and fractional Chief Revenue Officer at Chief Outsiders, with more than 20 years of CEO and senior executive experience across the automotive, industrial engineering, and technology sectors. His career includes leadership roles at Durr Group, Leadec Corporation, and Dunes Point Capital, plus executive education at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. As president and CEO of Leadec, he grew the top line by more than 80% in 24 months while substantially improving the bottom line. Today he partners with mid-market manufacturers and industrial companies to build the commercial infrastructure they need to drive consistent double-digit growth. What We Cover (02:00) The origin story: how watching a welding station failure on the shop floor reframed a lost million dollar deal (05:00) Why the right question is not "what's wrong with the deal" but "where in our process did the deal get stuck" (07:00) Start on a whiteboard, not in a CRM. Run a 90 day Monday morning review before you automate anything (09:00) Sales as a manufacturing process: you do not get a perfect widget on the first run (10:00) Going to the gemba in sales means windshield time with your reps, not solving it from the conference room (12:30) The qualification problem, and the 80% top-line growth that came mostly from tightening the front end (14:00) The four criteria that separate a real project from sales scrap (19:00) The CEO learning curve: getting your ego out of the room when you are not the smartest person in it (22:00) Why accountability for execution is what separates great CEOs from the rest (23:00) Customization as an absence of commercial discipline, and the three questions that fix it Key Takeaways A stalled deal is diagnostic. One stuck deal is noise. A hundred deals stuck in the same stage is a pattern. Consistent deaths at the budgetary quote point to an estimating problem. Deaths at technical validation point to a sales enablement gap. Understand the process before you buy software. Build the stage gates by hand, review every deal for 90 days, and find the patterns first. Then buy a CRM to automate a process you actually understand. Sales time is money, and unqualified deals are scrap. Selling without generating volume is the commercial equivalent of producing scrap on the line. Qualify against four criteria. A real project needs all four: A compelling event forcing a decision (capacity constraint, regulatory deadline, platform launch) Access to the economic buyer who owns the problem, not just a technical evaluator A solution that genuinely solves the problem (if you cannot, say so and refer them, building credibility for next time) A champion with a personal reason to want the win The CEO's job is to build more leaders. Stop trying to be the smartest person in every room. Ask better questions, demand clarity, let your functional experts own the decisions, then hold them accountable for executing what was agreed. Customization is not a value prop, it is often missing discipline. Push every custom request through a technical qualification gate with three questions: Can this be built from our standard platform, or does it require genuine custom engineering? If custom, what is the realistic hour and lead time impact, and is the customer being told that truthfully upfront? Is the margin acceptable once real engineering hours land, or are we about to take an order that loses money? "Leaving revenue on the table" is a myth when you say no. Every custom order that eats disproportionate engineering capacity is an order you cannot take from a better-fit customer. You are already leaving revenue on the table. You just cannot see it. Quotable Moments "When you think about sales, it's nothing more than a manufacturing process. Instead of manufacturing a widget, you're manufacturing a sale.""The right question is, where in our process did the deal get stuck, and try and figure out what the pattern is.""If you're selling but you're not generating volume, you're creating scrap.""The hardest discipline is really just to take your ego and put it in a drawer.""My job as a leader is to build more leaders. If I get hit by a car, I wanna have seven other people in the room that can take my job.""The discipline isn't about saying no to customization. It's about pricing it honestly and scoping it before you commit." Connect Reach out to Bill Bell at Chief Outsiders to talk through what is stalling growth in your own manufacturing business. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williambellsr/ Subscribe to The Allied Advisors Podcast for more conversations built for mid-market manufacturers looking to scale operations and improve the bottom line. Connect with Justin Goethe and Allied Advisors to learn how the FCIM methodology drives measurable operational results. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-goethe-35b85a16/

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  The Allied Advisors Podcast

  You Don't Need New Machines — You Need This Engineer with Dr. Thorsten Wuest

  May 27, 202651 min

  What if the single biggest lever for unlocking capacity on your shop floor isn't a new piece of equipment, a new ERP system, or a costly consultant — it's a discipline most mid-market manufacturers have never even considered hiring for? In this episode of the Allied Advisors Podcast, Justin sits down with Dr. Thorsten Wuest, full professor of mechanical engineering and founding program director of the brand-new Industrial Engineering program at the University of South Carolina's Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing. Dr. Wuest arrived in Columbia in August 2024 with a mandate that would make most academics sweat: build a world-class IE program from scratch in a single semester. In one year, the program grew from 19 students to 66 — with another 30–40% growth projected — because, as it turns out, industrial engineering is the single most requested major from South Carolina employers that USC wasn't offering. Dr. Wuest is also the founding director of USC's new Center for Industry Solutions, designed to close the gap between academic research and real-world manufacturing — with a particular focus on giving mid-market companies access to the kind of engineering talent that only the Fortune 500 could previously afford. His advisory board already includes the CTO of Scout Motors, the head of engineering from Mercedes-Benz, and representation from Siemens. He has been named one of SME's 20 Most Influential Professors in Smart Manufacturing and has authored over 180 peer-reviewed articles. This is a conversation Justin has been wanting to have for a long time, and it delivers. What We Cover in This Episode The IE talent gap hiding in plain sight. Industrial engineering is the most-requested major from South Carolina employers — yet most high school students have never heard of it. Dr. Wuest breaks down why IE remains a "hidden major" and what USC is doing to change that, including a strategic partnership with Glimpse to better educate school advisors across the state. The ROI of a single industrial engineer. Justin shares a story you'll want to write down: one client increased production output by 80% using nothing more than a Process FMEA (PFEP) and some combines — a strictly industrial engineering project that drove millions in additional monthly revenue. Dr. Wuest echoes this with his own firsthand example: just one hour walking a mid-sized manufacturer's shop floor surfaced improvement opportunities that would pay back in weeks, not years. The savings don't stop at throughput — better routing and layout also reduce forklift crossings, lower accident risk, and can even reduce insurance premiums over time. Why your operations team will never solve this problem. You don't ask your shift supervisors how the process standards are coming along — you ask them how many parts came off the line. Justin and Dr. Wuest dig into why improvement work will always fall to the bottom of the pile unless you dedicate a resource to it, and why that resource pays for itself fast when given the right support and direction. Change management is the real barrier. Mid-market hesitancy around hiring industrial engineers often isn't really about the salary — it's about what an IE's recommendations actually require: organizational change. Dr. Wuest and Justin discuss why proactive change (on your timeline, with your resources) is almost always cheaper and less painful than reactive change forced by a crisis. How to start small: co-ops, capstones, and student consulting. Not ready for a full-time IE hire? Dr. Wuest makes the case for starting with a co-op or a structured student consulting project through the Center for Industry Solutions. These aren't ordinary class projects — they're interdisciplinary teams of competitively selected, paid students from IE, supply chain, and finance, supervised by professional staff and faculty, executing semester-long engagements run like real consulting engagements. Manufacturers get consulting-grade deliverables at a fraction of the cost. Students get real shop floor experience — and employers get an extended job interview with their best future candidates. The onboarding cost savings alone may justify the engagement. USC's Center for Industry Solutions: a new front door for manufacturers. Dr. Wuest walks through the three pillars of the Center — workforce readiness, talent retention, and industry-university connectivity — and explains how it functions as a matchmaking service for the whole breadth of what the Molinaroli College has to offer, from student consulting projects to full-scale applied research partnerships. He also details how the Center is working to dramatically reduce the legal friction that typically slows university-industry collaboration to a crawl. AI in engineering education: use it wisely, or pay for it later. Dr. Wuest has spent the last 10–15 years in machine learning research, so this isn't a surface-level conversation. He and Justin explore USC's proactive, transparency-first AI policy, the risk of students outsourcing their critical thinking before they've ever developed it, and why the analogy holds: if you never work as a junior coder, you can never become a senior one. The best use of AI — as Justin puts it — is as an "efficiency multiplier" for professionals who already have the foundational knowledge to evaluate and direct its output. You can't get there without doing the hard work first. Retaining talent in the Palmetto State. South Carolina's $3,000 internship incentive is a start, but the real retention play is giving students meaningful, challenging work with employers who treat them as intellectual contributors — not just cheap labor. Dr. Wuest lays out the chicken-and-egg dynamic driving engineering talent out of the Southeast, why that is beginning to reverse, and what Scout Motors' move toward Charlotte signals about the region's trajectory. Key Takeaways Industrial engineering is the most-requested major from South Carolina employers — and one of the highest-ROI hires a mid-market manufacturer can make. A dedicated IE resource is the only way to ensure process improvement actually becomes someone's first priority. One hour of structured shop floor observation can surface savings that pay back in weeks. Co-ops and student consulting through USC's Center for Industry Solutions offer a low-risk, high-value on-ramp for manufacturers who aren't ready for a full-time hire. AI is a powerful efficiency multiplier — but only for professionals who have already done the hard work of developing foundational expertise. The Southeast's talent retention problem is solvable, but it requires proactive investment from both universities and employers. About Our Guest Dr. Thorsten Wuest is a full professor of mechanical engineering and the founding program director of the Industrial Engineering program at the University of South Carolina's Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing. He is also the founding director of USC's Center for Industry Solutions. Dr. Wuest is one of SME's 20 Most Influential Professors in Smart Manufacturing and the author of over 180 peer-reviewed articles. His research sits at the intersection of smart manufacturing, machine learning, and industrial AI. 📧 Contact Dr. Wuest: twuest@sc.edu 🌐 Center for Industry Solutions: [sc.edu — search "Center for Industry Solutions"] Connect with the Allied Advisors Podcast If you're a mid-market manufacturer looking to scale operations and improve your bottom line, this show was built for you. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and if this episode resonated, share it with an operations leader who's been putting off that first industrial engineering hire.

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on The Allied Advisors Podcast. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.