Industry leaders speaking at BizTimes’ annual Manufacturing Summit in Brookfield painted a picture of a southeastern Wisconsin manufacturing sector that is still defined by close relationships, a deep technical skills base and a growing willingness to experiment with automation and artificial intelligence.
The discussion, held on Thursday afternoon at the Brookfield Conference Centre, brought together Andy Black, senior vice-president for global supply chain and business deve...
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lopment at Waukesha-based Husco; Jacob Carter, vice-president for sales, operations planning and supply chain at Milwaukee-based MPE; Kyle Crum, president of Jackson-based Infinity EDM LLC; and Paul Grekowicz, chief executive of Grafton-based Gilman Precision. Alongside breakout sessions, the panel focused on supply chains, workforce development, digital tools and the practical realities of scaling manufacturing businesses in a fast-changing environment.
One of the strongest themes to emerge was the value of the region’s manufacturing network. The executives praised the area’s work ethic, its education system and the density of firms working across related disciplines. Black said Husco hired nearly 65 student workers over the summer, with a large share coming from universities in the Milwaukee area, a sign, he argued, of how strongly local institutions feed the talent pipeline. Grekowicz also pointed to the commercial possibilities that arise when companies simply get to know one another better. He noted that Gilman Precision and Infinity EDM, despite being less than 20 miles apart for years, had only recently begun collaborating. Once they did, he said, the range of joint opportunities became obvious.
That spirit of collaboration reflects a broader pattern in Wisconsin manufacturing. University-based initiatives such as the Connected Systems Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the supply chain and manufacturing programmes at the University of Wisconsin system have increasingly pushed closer ties between industry and academia, with a focus on digital transformation, factory automation, data analysis and workforce preparation. The panel’s comments echoed that wider effort to treat educational institutions not just as sources of graduates, but as active partners in manufacturing innovation.
Sourcing decisions have also shifted markedly since the pandemic. The panel agreed that price still matters, but no longer dominates procurement in the way it once did. Quality, reliability, established relationships, geographic proximity and the ability to support new product development all now carry greater weight. Leaders said companies are taking a wider view of value, paying attention to the costs associated with quality failures, inventory holding and capital requirements rather than simply comparing quoted unit prices. They also stressed the importance of balancing local suppliers with global sourcing in order to improve resilience.
That same pragmatic outlook shaped the discussion of automation and artificial intelligence. Rather than presenting AI as a substitute for people, the panel described it as a tool for removing repetitive work and allowing employees to focus on higher-value tasks. Carter said the aim should be to stop workers from entering the same information twice, while the companies represented on the panel are already using AI to streamline enterprise resource planning data entry, routing, materials billing and order processing.
Even so, Crum urged caution about embracing automation without thinking through what may be lost in the process. He warned against judging a job only by its most visible tasks and ignoring the quieter judgement, context and organisational knowledge that often sit behind them. In his view, AI should not simply replace a human step for the sake of efficiency; leaders need to understand what the business gains and what it may sacrifice when work is digitised.
Gilman Precision offered one example of how manufacturers can move from interest to implementation. Grekowicz said the company worked with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Microsoft Co-Innovation Lab, where over an eight-week period it developed a prototype with Microsoft engineers after submitting project ideas. He described the outcome as already paying for itself several times over, with the possibility of further gains as the project matures.
The panel also spent considerable time on hiring, training and leadership development, underscoring that technology investment alone cannot solve a skills shortage. Crum rejected the idea of endlessly lamenting the talent gap, arguing instead that companies should work more closely with local technical schools. For him, cultural fit is just as important as technical competence, and he said his business follows a strict “no jerk rule” when hiring. Technical skills can be taught, he suggested, but the right attitude is harder to instil.
The importance of culture came up repeatedly. Black said Husco makes a point of showing employees the real-world applications of the products they build, particularly in the construction equipment, agriculture and material handling sectors. By connecting workers to the downstream impact of their efforts, he said, the company reinforces the idea that precision and responsibility matter, because mistakes can have serious consequences.
Grewkowicz described a similarly deliberate approach to developing talent internally. Gilman Precision is sending technical staff for advanced machining training twice a week to help less experienced employees progress and to build a stronger internal pipeline. The company also operates a state-certified youth apprenticeship scheme, allowing high school students interested in machining to begin formal training before moving into a standard apprenticeship. Such programmes, the panel suggested, are essential not only for recruitment but for retention and succession planning.
Carter argued that growth often requires manufacturers to invest in automation and capital before demand fully materialises, a step that can be uncomfortable for smaller firms but may be necessary if they want to scale. He also floated the idea that grants or other subsidised support could help smaller businesses adopt new technologies and create jobs. His point was that companies should sometimes build capacity first and let business follow, rather than waiting until they are already overloaded.
Leadership, too, came back to versatility. As companies expand, the panel said, managers need to do more than supervise tasks. They have to coach, develop and adapt as teams change. Carter said the best leaders are those who can hold difficult conversations, support employee growth and respond to shifting operational demands rather than merely training people to perform a single function.
The session ultimately reflected a manufacturing sector that remains rooted in relationships but is increasingly shaped by data, automation and workforce strategy. In southeastern Wisconsin, the panellists suggested, competitiveness will depend not just on machinery or software, but on how well companies connect with one another, with schools and universities, and with the people who keep factories running.
Source: Noah Wire Services
