This week on the show we welcome Jason Moss, CEO of Georgia Manufacturing Alliance (GMA). We talk with Jason about how he was able to gather a group of competitive manufacturers in Georgia and create a collaborative and supportive community that helped folks weather the storm of COVID, and take on massive projects that they would never have been able to do on their own! GMA was designed to help support and grow Georgia’s manufacturing community, and they have been doing just that since 2008 through a series of plant tours, networking events, and educational sessions. Their success over such a short period has been hugely transformative and has been recognized by governors Brian Kemp and Nathan Deal through multiple awards! We discuss the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on production in Georgia, and how they were able to step up during a particularly stressful period. To learn more about how Jason has built community and the great strides GMA has made towards elevating manufacturing in the US, be sure to tune in today!
This week on the show we welcome Jason Moss, CEO of Georgia Manufacturing Alliance (GMA). We talk with Jason about how he was able to gather a group of competitive manufacturers in Georgia and create a collaborative and supportive community that helped folks weather the storm of COVID, and take on massive projects that they would never have been able to do on their own! GMA was designed to help support and grow Georgia’s manufacturing community, and they have been doing just that since 2008 through a series of plant tours, networking events, and educational sessions. Their success over such a short period has been hugely transformative and has been recognized by governors Brian Kemp and Nathan Deal through multiple awards! We discuss the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on production in Georgia, and how they were able to step up during a particularly stressful period. To learn more about how Jason has built community and the great strides GMA has made towards elevating manufacturing in the US, be sure to tune in today!
EPISODE 8
[INTRODUCTION]
[00:00:02] MH: You're listening to The Industrial Movement, where we discuss the people, the processes, and the equipment that drives American manufacturing. If this is your first time listening, then thanks for coming. The Industrial Movement podcast is produced every week for your enjoyment, and the show notes can be found at our website at www.theindustrialmovement.com.
Come back often and feel free to add this podcast to your favorite RSS feed or iTunes. You can also follow the show on Twitter @theindustrialmovement, or on our Facebook page. All links to our social media can be found in the show notes, and also at the bottom of our website.
Now, let's get on to the show.
[INTERVIEW]
[00:00:40] MH: Hi, folks. Welcome to The Industrial Movement. I'm your host Morty Hodge, and with me as always, my sidekick and better half, Greg Smith.
[00:00:48] GS: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the show.
[00:00:50] MH: Today, we are so honored to have an amazing guest, someone that I followed and I look up to and just really respect the great work he's doing. This is Jason Moss. He's the CEO and Founder of Georgia Manufacturing Alliance. Jason, welcome.
[00:01:06] JM: Oh, man, I'm glad to be here. Glad to be here, man. I'm so excited to be part of this movement and what you guys are getting done really, banging the drum for the manufacturing world. It's an exciting time. Amen.
[00:01:16] MH: Jason, tell us a little bit about the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance, and the great work you guys are doing.
[00:01:22] JM: Okay, perfect. We're coming up on 14 years. Well, actually, February will be our 14-year anniversary. A little backstory, I was in software sales and sold engineering software to the manufacturing world, and I found that there was just this huge hole for people to be able to get together and network specifically in manufacturing. And so, we kicked off our first event February 18, 2008, and we've been running at least monthly live meetings ever since. And pre COVID, we had got up to where we were doing about 120 live events a year and that's a lot. I mean, we were picking them up and putting them down and, and selling that just about everything that we did between 30 to 50 people to attend every event that we put on the calendar, and it was just crazy.
And then COVID showed up. We got to change a few things, but GMA, the Georgia Manufacturing Alliance, was designed specifically to help support and grow Georgia's manufacturing community. We do that through plant tours, networking events, and educational sessions. Our goal is really to help the industry leaders have the opportunity to see world class manufacturing in action, go out, walk through these factories and see what they're all about. At the same time, they're able to build their peer group, be able to connect with other industry leaders, and learn from them and learn from the successes and the failures that they've had. Really, it's all about community. I mean, if you boil everything down to GMA, it's truly about the manufacturing community and kind of support in that space.
[00:02:54] MH: Absolutely. What are some of the biggest challenges you think that manufacturing is faced with now in 2022?
[00:03:01] JM: Yeah, that's a great question. We've had the opportunity to go around and ask that question to a lot of the leaders and what we're hearing across the board, is workforce is a key component, everybody that we've talked to. I mean, on one side, very thankful to see, but wages are going up, to meet demand and be able to fill those roles, so we're glad to see that increase in the space. But trying to find skilled workforce and supply chain, right now supply chain is nailing everybody. And there's so many boats out there in the middle of the ocean waiting to bring those critical parts in, that it's putting the pinch across the board, and keeping factories running without parts is kind of hard to do. Those are the probably the two biggest pieces right now.
[00:03:42] MH: Absolutely. What advice would you give to our listeners, if somebody was in a manufacturing leadership role, or they wanted to get into a leadership role? What advice would you give to them?
[00:03:54] JM: The things that I have found that have been most successful, is the people that you meet and the books that you read. Now, God made me a slow reader, I don't know why he did, he just did. But I pushed through it anyway and I try to read as much as I can. And I believe that the books that come across your desk you need to dig in, especially when they're referred by people that you respect, that you align with. So, people spend their entire lives investing their knowledge that they gathered over 20 to 100 years, and they pour everything of their essence into these books and the best knowledge that they got and they want to share that with everybody that will read it. If you don't take that, it’s wasted.
So why not? I mean, pick up the tips and tricks from lives well lived and try to pick those things up. So, make sure that you're in the right circles, so your average income is the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Look around, even if that's not where you going to be, change your group. And then the other is read stuff that matters. Read stuff that makes a big difference.
[00:04:57] MH: I love it. That is very, very good advice. While you're on the topic, I have to ask you, what are some of the books that you would recommend for manufacturing leaders to invest in?
[00:05:07] JM: The number one book, the number one book, I never thought I'd be able to say this officially out loud in public. But the number one book that everybody needs to get is a copy of this, Manufacturing Success in Georgia.
[00:05:18] MH: And who's that written by, Jason?
[00:05:21] JM: Well, there's just a really smart dude, handsome guy that runs an association for manufacturers in Georgia. During COVID, I had been playing with writing a book for years, and had been about halfway through it. And then COVID showed up and the good and bad of COVID, one of the things is it gave us is it gave us the opportunity for me to dig in and finish writing this book. So, we ended up finishing the book in June of 2020 and then we did a book tour for two months, and shared the book all around the state. I bought this big RV and I wrapped it and we went and stopped a lot of the places that I mentioned in the book and did book signings and just had a blast.
But Manufacturing Success in Georgia is a pictorial history of Georgia's manufacturing world, and all the way from Eli Whitney and the cotton gin to the latest and greatest Gulfstream, $65 million plane, right? So, we actually started the tour off down at a company called Lummus. And Lummus is a manufacturer, it's the world's leading manufacturer of cotton gins, in Savannah. So, it kicked our tour off down, talking about cotton gins in Savannah. It’s really cool. But we had a blast doing it, that would be for sure, you go to manufacturingsuccessingeorgia.com. You can order a book there, but you can also – one of the things that we did, like you guys, I mean, sharing knowledge and sharing industry knowledge is I took the RV and actually set up a studio inside of the RV. I would go on site and I would interview industry leaders and get them to give me insights on what they're seeing everything from – we had Stuart Countess from Kia, sit down with us for 20 minutes, and I just picked his brain and we were doing it.
It was really cool. I got to learn some new technology. We lived it on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube Live from the RV in the parking lot and then we archive the videos. And so, all of those videos are on that page as well, manufacturingsuccessingeorgia.com, you can see the list. I think we got about 20 different interviews that we got out there. You can see that they got a little better as they went along. We figured out camera placements and the lighting and none of them were like, super professional done, but we were able to capture the knowledge from these guys and then share it with people and we just had a blast doing that.
So again, Manufacturing Success in Georgia will tell you all about the tour, the book, the whole shebang, and we're really proud of Georgia's history of manufacturing. There are some great stories and great people behind it. That would be number one.
I'll share two other books that I am a huge fan of. You're familiar with Rocket Fuel? This is a great book. This is one of those turning point books in my career. Gino Wickman and Mark Winters, really cool book if you're trying to figure out how you're wired on the planet and what you're best suited for in business and business relationships. I read the book, I had my wife read the book with me as we were driving down to South Georgia near three or four places where she literally laughed out loud because she thought I was crazy. She's always the only person on the planet that was wired like I am, but come to find out there are other people weird like me, and you'll know where I'm talking about when you read the book. But Rocket Fuel was a turning point. Profit First. I don't have a copy of it with me, but Profit First is again, Mike Michalowicz, huge fan of Mike Michalowicz.
And this is something we've chatted about for just a second. This is something I just rolled out with a tight group of executives that we just launched. We just launched a group for manufacturing mastermind for top execs in the manufacturing space, and this is one that we're studying through and it's called Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly. I am floored. There are some points in your life that people and books come across your desk and you don't know exactly where they came from. But when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. And that one was phenomenal for me. Now, I'm able to share it with top level leadership all across the state and manufacturing and it's really cool. If you hadn't got it. It's a quick and it's a fun read. I would encourage that for sure. So those are the three or four that I would kind of pick out as my favorites.
[00:09:24] GS: That's awesome that you're investing in reading leaders or readers. But tell us about a couple of folks that invested in you, inspired you along your path up to where you are now.
[00:09:35] JM: There are some really great folks. My dad was a great mentor to me and he helped me see that you can make it through some kind of crazy tough times and family is important and that's critical. Another guy that really influential to me is a good friend of mine named Clyde Strickland. If you're ever been around Gwinnett County, the Strickland Heart Center, Gwinnett Medical Center, I mean, one of the biggest philanthropist in the state of Georgia, started out with a pickup truck and a caulking gun and now owns the largest waterproofing in the southeast, if not in the nation, and just celebrated his 50 years and I love Clyde. Now, Clyde is country to grits man. I mean, this guy is – and you just love him. He's just salt of the earth, is good a person as you meet, and he's really bold in sharing his faith. And that's one of the things. He'll get right up in your grill about, do you believe, and where you’re going? And you need to get that settled. And it doesn't matter who you are, if you're the President of Dow Chemical, or the guy running the buffer at one of his facilities. I mean, he just loves folks and seeing that his commitment to people and his boldness and faith are two things that have really impressed me and he's been rewarded well through that. He didn't do it for the rewards. He did it because it was the right thing to do. Those are a couple folks that kind of on the top of my list.
[00:10:54] MH: As far as manufacturing is concerned, and you may have to think about some of your customers, I'm sorry, some of your members, they're not customers, some of your members. What have you seen as far as lessons learned for manufacturers along the way?
[00:11:08] JM: Shay Foley. Shay Foley is the president of – I cannot believe, I just bring locked on the name of that company. But they make contacts. Alcon. They got about 2,000 employees over here in Duluth or Johns Creek. They have 2,000 employees and 5 million contacts a day. And one of the interviews that I did with him early on as we were launching our podcast, and I'm sure he stole it from somebody else. But he said, “A problem clearly defined is half solved.” And every time I sit that through and say, “Okay, well, where are things at? And how can I make this better?” Is do we have clarity on the challenge that we're facing and what we're solving for? And Shay is really, really neat, dude. If you ever have an opportunity to get connected with Shay. I did an interview with him. I've actually got him on one of our early, early podcasts, but Shay Foley with Alcon, super nice guy. I think that's one of the biggest pieces that manufacturers often have challenges with, because it's ready fire aim. They see the problem, and they jump on it before they figure out what's really causing it. I know that can be counterproductive long term.
[00:12:16] MH: Absolutely.
[00:12:18] GS: You've done a great job of building a network in the Georgia Manufacturing community. What are some benefits that you've seen some of these folks that compared to the ones that are missing out on it?
[00:12:28] JM: Yeah, that's a great question. Yeah, that's one of the things you know, GMA, again, where cornerstone is about community. It's trying to figure out how we can support each other. When I first started it, I'll never forget the first meeting, we had February of ’08, and again, I was selling software. Selling 3D CAD software called SolidWorks, to the manufacturing community. I knew a lot of machine shops and smaller manufacturers. I just came up with this crazy idea. Well, let's gather some manufacturers together and see what happens. So, I pitched it to some of my buddies. And I said, I'm buying pizza and beer, you all show up, and we're going to talk about what's going on in the space.
Now think about 2008 in the economy and what was going on, right? You all remember? Perfect time to be starting a business. And I say that in jest, I believe that GMA was started at exactly the perfect time with the right people for the right reason. Because most of these guys had never got up in front of the room and said what they do for a living, they've been owning businesses and been very successful in the manufacturing space. But they never had the market, right? They never had to go sit – if they had a phone and a mill and a lay, they had all the work they could ever do, and they never had to really get into the business development side of it.
But when we kicked this thing off, I had a roomful of guys in there. There were 18 people in the room and 16 more machine shop owners, and all of them knew of each other. But a lot of times, for most of us, first time they’ve ever been in a room together. Dude, the tension was so thick in there, you could cut it with a knife, and everybody was like, “What am I doing in here with all my competitors?” So, I was like, well, you can get to a nice last slice to that and gave everybody a little piece. Let's talk about it. Let's talk about the elephant in the room. Who in here has exactly the same equipment? Nobody did. And even if you did, who here's got exactly the same knowledge and experience? Nobody.
I said, “I predict, there’s going to be some tough times ahead. And if there is, if you guys will trust me with this, if you guys will step out on a limb with me, that we can build a community that can work together. Are there times that you have machines sitting idle?” Every one of them. “Are there times that you need some help with people that you can trust? And I believe that if we build a community that we will be able to take on bigger projects than any one of us would have taken alone, and also fill in the gaps when times are kind of lean.” And I said, “If you'll just trust me on this, I believe it'll work. I can't guarantee it. But go with me, roll with me.” And the next month they showed up again. And the next month, they showed up again and brought some friends.
Within three or four months, they were taking on projects, again, that some of them would have never taken on by themselves because they didn't have the resources and the connections. So, really, within the first six months, I knew that we were on to something special, I knew that we were on to the magic of community, of people working together collaboratively, instead of competition. That’s magic, man. When you get that piece going, and it's cool to see it happen. To see these guys step up, lower their guards, and do the work, build the relationships, build the trust, it's been really, that's one of the most rewarding things I've seen in the past 14 years is just to see the community pull together like that. Even during COVID, man. Dude COVID was insane when they dropped down and said, “We're going to quarantine and to do the lockdowns.” Now, GMA to be clear, we are a for profit industry association, which is pretty unique in this space. 99% of the associations are not for profit, and either they're focused on lobbying, for the industry's voice at Capitol or whatever, or they're in education, where they have certifications and qualifications to get to go through.
So, educational or lobbying and we're neither. Now, we do a ton of education, but we don't have any certifications that you've got to sign off for. And we go to Capitol once a year, take picture with the governor, because it looks cool in the book. But we don't get into the politics side of it. But what we do is, it's truly about building that community and building those relationships. And that's really what the success about GMA is all about. There's nobody that's requiring somebody to show up at a meeting because they got to get continuing influence. They show up because they want to. They show up because they get something out of it. They show up because they build the friendships and relationship side of it. And I think that's probably the most powerful part of it.
[00:16:58] MH: Now, you brought up the pictures with the governor. And I don't want to embarrass you here. But I did see that you have received a couple of awards from the current governor and the former Governor Brian Kemp and Nathan Deal. So, if you don't mind, I'd really like to know about those awards.
[00:17:12] JM: Sure. Well, we've gotten a few. When we kicked off, one of the big challenges that I saw in the space when we were kind of resetting GMA in a couple areas. I reached out to my community and said, “Tell me who do you know? What products do you know that are manufactured in the state of Georgia, that you get picked up on the shelf?” What can you get? Home Depot or Walmart. I was asking a roomful of 50 folks, that's what they did for a living is either manufactured something or sold something to the manufacturers in the state of Georgia. I was blown away. How many do you think the most any one person came up with?
[00:17:44] MH: If I was to guess, probably four or five.
[00:17:47] JM: We had one guy that got up to six. And I'm like, if these cats don't know, who does? So, we actually kicked off a program called Buy From Georgia. Now, I will tell you that the reason that we use the term Buy From Georgia is because Made in Georgia has been a porn site for years and years and years. Go figure. I don't know. But for years, it was a porn site, and then the country Georgia bought it, Made in Georgia. And they were trying to sell their wine glasses and a few other things and it didn't do too well.
I actually bought it two years ago. So, I own Made in Georgia now that they cleaned it up a little bit, we're going to do something with it again. But Buy From Georgia month was a campaign that we put together, and that was one of our first big campaigns that Governor Deal got involved with. So, we had a proclamation declaring June, Buy From Georgia month to bring and raise awareness of the products that are made in the state of Georgia. So, we did a bunch of things around that for several years. We went to the Capitol and took a group of people to the Capitol and talk about the great things that are made here. Again, not lobbying or anything. But just to kind of showcase, give us a point to talk about, and you get some pretty good press out of that. The next year, Governor Deal recognized some of the work that I had done several years in this space for contributing to raise awareness of the manufacturing community.
Governor Kemp has been very supportive. He's also a manufacturer, and that’s a cool thing to have two governors that really support the manufacturing community so you're not having the fight that. These guys are all about it.
[00:19:17] MH: That's one of the main reasons we have a very, very friendly state for manufacturing, driven by our fantastic Governor, current and former governor. I couldn't agree more. I'm a huge fan of both. We have seen an explosion of manufacturing in the last 10, 15 years in Georgia and the Southeast. We're focused on Georgia, but this podcast is nationwide. The Southeast has really become a hotbed for manufacturing. And you've been to some of the coolest manufacturers and I'm jealous. I'm jealous of all the cool manufacturing you’ve been to.
Let me ask you this. Now, this is taking a little bit more into their processes and some of the cool things you've seen. What are some interesting techniques or process things that you've seen that are focused on efficiency and productivity?
[00:20:02] JM: Interesting. There's so many. Every company takes a different angle to that, because labor is in such high demand. Everybody's working through automation, like – I mean, man, efficiencies and automation. It's neat to see how companies attack that. We've seen everything from dinner rolls to Gulf streams, and that makes it a free show a little bit. But a lot of people say, “Well, what does a dinner roll have to do with the $65 million aircraft?” Well, it's still converting raw goods into a finished product using the machine.
And I'm always fascinated, it's probably one of the biggest benefits of being involved in GMA is to be able to take leaders out of their space, and allow them to see how really smart people come up with simple solutions to tough problems. And giving them the opportunity to sit down and ask the people that made it happen, to find out what the winds were, and weren't, right? I mean, that sharing best practices. We're finally, finally getting back into a reasonable tour schedule, getting these factories opened back up. But the last thing we wanted to do is come in and be a super spreader event. We go in and shut the factory down, that'd be kind of hard for us to get over, right? We're still taking smaller groups, and we're following whatever protocol the organization puts up, and we get one on tour down next week. We’ve got a brewery tour coming up Wednesday. For some reason, our brewery tours have been really, really, really well attended. I don't know why. But they've worked out pretty well.
So, we're doing a variety of different things and getting back on the saddle. But to your point, everybody takes a different angle on operational excellence and efficiencies, everybody's focused on. Everybody's got a continuous improvement person on staff. I can't think of anybody, and that's an area that they're really growing in. They're committed to figuring out how, because we all know the labor is not going to be there, it's already tough enough, and it's not getting any easier getting folks into the manufacturing community. That's part of the reason we did the Buy From Georgia campaigns was to just raise the awareness for general consumers about what products are made in our state to get them excited about a potential career, considering a career in a manufacturing space. That gives them the opportunity to think that things really have to be made. Somebody's got to make them. If we want to be a state and in a country that makes things, we need to buy things that are made here. But we got to find what they are to begin with.
[00:22:44] MH: I agree, 100%. There are some fantastic, very highly paid skilled positions in manufacturing, from maintenance, to leadership, operations. We have seen so many incredible people and leaders, and that really needs to be touted to this younger generation is manufacturing. Here's the thing. There are not many old dirty factories anymore. Some of these places you can eat off the floor, they're spotless. They're like hospitals, they’re air-conditioned, wonderful environment to work in, and they pay very well, the benefits are fantastic. For the younger generation, college is not for anybody. Manufacturing is something we need to get more younger people looking at a potential career. Greg, you had a question?
[00:23:27] GS: Yes. So, Jason, when you get to the point where you say, “Okay, I did it. This is what I envisioned for GMA, ultimately.” Brush your hands, I did it. What does that look like?
[00:23:38] JM: That’s a great question. That's a great question. We were headed that way with – pre COVID, we were expected to have over a thousand people at the Georgia Manufacturing Summit. For me, we’re an association, but we're as much an events organization as we are an association. And for me, butts in the seats are what count, right? And to put a thousand from just a random idea, why don't we put this thing together to have a thousand people show up for an event, for one day, there's nothing that I appreciate more than somebody’s time. And to have a thousand people invest a day of their life, to come see something that we put together this adding value, that's magic for me.
I mean, my goal was to get 10,000 people in the room to come in to see what's so exciting about Georgia, for them to open their minds about what manufacturing can be, and how we as consumers can support that. Because I think it all goes back to voting with your wallet, deciding to buy the things that are made here. But that knowledge has got to come from somewhere. If we get people jazzed about that, make America great again, build America, buy American, all of those things people talk about it, the studies show that they would rather buy from America than buy from somewhere else. But the reality is this want to get into the cash register. When they make that decision, do they really buy American? Will they spend an extra $2 on a crock pot, if it's made in the US compared to saving the two bucks.
The studies show that they will save the two bucks, right? I think that we need to get people over that hump and to help them understand the importance of every purchase that they make. Is it available from somebody that I can buy in the US, but more importantly, from Georgia? I mean, I get excited when I go buy a shovel made in Ohio, that's cool. But when I get one is made in Brunswick. Man, I mean, it's in our backyard. It's people that I know. It's people that I can connect to. That's our neighbors.
A lot of people have pushed me really, really hard to go nationwide with this organization. But I think that really focusing on a state and getting this piece, if I can get this model put together in such a way, then it can be replicated properly and the numbers work, then I will have done my job, right? I may be able to carry this thing forward and really impact a lot of lives that way.
[00:26:12] GS: I love it.
[00:26:13] MH: What is one common myth that you can debunk about manufacturing?
[00:26:17] JM: Manufacturing is a dirty, dangerous dead-end job that you do when you can't do something else. And that's across the board. I mean, I've traveled all around the country, in a previous life. So, I'll never forget having dinner a roomful of top execs in Colorado, and these guys, I swear to you, as soon as I opened up my mouth, I lost 25 IQ points. And they thought I came driving in the general league. I mean, that's all they ever had connected to somebody from the south. They've never met anybody from the south, and the media and the entertainment industry, does such a great job of stereotyping people and putting people in buckets, and especially industries that I'm so excited about Mike Rowe. And they're getting back with dirty jobs and getting that piece cranking back up and Mike Rowe works and all the good stuff that he's doing. We need more people that have a platform that are committed to that stuff.
I challenge those yahoos over at Shark Tank to get a grip. I mean, if you're going to send it overseas, turn the freaking TV off. Don't even watch it because it gets people all jacked up and all jazzed about being creative and inventive and putting things together and making something and then they port the crap overseas. Why? I mean, if they could build a Shark Tank, that is 100% US based, I'm all in. But outside of that, I'm not even going to give him time of day, other than encouraging them that maybe they should think about that. But that's the thing is we got to – at every point, media is powerful, the entertainment industry is powerful. We need to get leaders that are committed to it, and we got to make manufacturing sexy. Man, I mean, what do we get to do to get people to come hang out with us and use some of their knowledge and their skills and their commitment. I mean, their abilities to be able to have here and I think that COVID, yippee, supply chain, yippee. We're having some really tough pains right now that are self-inflicted, but it is driving manufacturing back to the United States.
I don't think we need to continue to make ourselves so vulnerable to the supply chains and the whims of other countries that may not have our best interest at heart. So, is it tough times? Yeah, well, but I think we can learn some very valuable lessons from it.
[00:28:37] GS: What things do you think need to happen for us to get back to that place, because it's so easy to make things overseas, and you went and watched that dollar? What are some things, major things need to change to get this ship righted?
[00:28:52] JM: Yeah, well, I think that during COVID, it was really, really cool to see my numbers on my website and my directory ping. They went off the chart. People from all over the country knew that Georgia was back in business, say whatever you want to say, I don't care what side of the fence you want to sit with about us opening back up and opening back up early, the governor camp and the things he's doing. Hey, dude, that's cool. But the message got out to the rest of the United States. If we are in business, and if you need something done, let us know, and our members benefited unbelievably through COVID with, if you're making a tractor and you need to get the lug nuts for the tractor, you can't ship a tractor without the lug nuts. And if the company that you buy the lug nuts from is quarantined and shut down because of the local government won't let them go to work, and don't call manufacturing essential, they got to buy their lug nuts somewhere, and they bought them from Georgia, which is phenomenal.
Once somebody changes a supplier like that, they're not really excited to change back. They find a solution to the problem. And Georgia was a solution to supply chain challenges all across the country and I'm just thrilled that we were able to be a part of it. Because people were looking, they were looking for a solution, and they knew we were alive, and we got some really good SEO. We were easy to find. So, the members of GMA, and they benefited from it greatly. Our numbers, like I said, soon as I hit the lock ban, and as soon as we opened, officially opened back up, we were able to put money in the bank accounts of our members, and help the companies that needed those products, get the rest of the – there’s a kink in the supply chain. It doesn't matter where the link is missing. If it's missing, it's not going to pull. So, we were able to backfill those links, and those long-term relationships for generations to come. Because we were here and we were ready for him. And that's fun part to be part of that.
[00:30:55] MH: Absolutely. Same thing is my question before about the manufacturers that you've been to and you know. Tell me about some energy efficiency initiatives that you've seen that have been impressive.
[00:31:07] JM: Okay, going back to our brewery doors. Anheuser Busch over in Cartersville has got an unbelievable solar panel system. Yeah, I mean, they're doing tons of stuff over there, energy is a huge piece. And we're seeing more and more manufacturers trying to find alternative sources of energy, and they're doing it and qualifying what actually works, right? They're not putting their production line in jeopardy for a cloudy day, which makes sense. And we all got to do that. I'm not. Some people get mad at me for saying this, but I'm not the most green guy in the world. I mean, I like green. But outside of that, I mean, it's not at the top of my list, which is, I know, that's not politically correct. But I have been introduced to some really cool technologies and my personal perspective has changed, quite a bit, to see how far technology has come.
We just had this great, this snowstorm and blizzard in Atlanta, and everybody was ready to shut the whole city down and power down for three or four days. We had no idea how bad it was going to be. But I had somebody introduce me to this solar generator. So, gasless deal, basically, it's the same batteries that Tesla runs on, and it'll run my – I've got an RV, and it'll run my entire RV for like two days on one charge. You can plug it into the wall and charge it up or get solar panels to charge it up. I'm like, “I had no idea that that stuff really does work and it does.” And we're seeing manufacturers more and more adopt that, between the alternative energy, and then now they have always been really, really focused on the environment, making sure that their productions, zero waste landfills. I mean, these guys, everybody is actively pursuing programs to help make sure that they're a better steward of the planet they will live on. It’s fun to see kind of how people come up with those, those solutions.
[00:33:03] MH: Yeah, it's incredible how ethical manufacturing is in 2022. They really go to extreme lengths to conserve energy. It's not just a matter of them saving money, which usually does if they do it right. But it's about their commitment to the environment and their commitment to the United States and making sure we leave it better than we found it. I've always commended the manufacturing facility here in the last 20 years, has really started to lead the pack, I think, in cleaning up things and doing a great job better than most industries of taking care of the environment.
[00:33:43] JM: Yeah, and when you mentioned that is one of the other big things, the big announcements in Georgia, Rivian, the truck manufacturer, they're looking, $2 billion, the biggest investment ever in Georgia in manufacturing, and they're going to be putting 7,500 people to work in the next two and a half years. And then the battery plant, battery plant up in near Gainesville, and that's another 25 now, and they're looking at like 45 is where they're going to shake out. So, batteries, battery technology, electric vehicles. I mean, it's coming down the pipe. I personally don't know that I'm on the electric car kind of guy. But a lot of folks are and we're thankful to see that that's coming to Georgia in a big way.
[00:34:26] MH: Jason, you might not think you're an electric car guy, but wait to get in one with that insane mode, and you take off and zero to 60 in like two seconds. The muscle cars will just be for nostalgia. If you want a really fast car, these electric cars are going to be incredible. The torque is off the chart compared to a standard automobile.
I'm from Detroit, Michigan. I am from the Motor City originally, and I'm telling you electric cars are going to be a lot of fun. Different, but I think it needs to be a combination of both, but I think the internal company engine is going to be a thing of the past year in the next 20 years. We just interviewed a guy from Mercedes Benz in Alabama. He's the head controls engineer there, Nathan Brooks. He was telling us that Mercedes Benz has made a commitment in 2030 is the last internal combustion engine that roll off the line. They have not put any research and development dollars into a gasoline or diesel driven car. Everything is going to be electric. That is a huge commitment from one of the top automotive manufacturers in the world. So very, very interesting big shift in manufacturing.
[00:35:37] GS: You were talking about a couple of new big factories. A big issue across the country is, where did all our people go? How do we get them back? Can you maybe give us your thoughts on that? How can we get people back to work?
[00:35:50] JM: Well, that's a really interesting and challenging question that I get and I pose it to the smartest minds that around me, and I have kicked that out to a lot of folks and there's not a simple answer. But I've heard some very unique perspectives on it, that during this shift, during COVID, people have decided, and they figured out that they could change their lifestyles. Some of them weren’t really all excited after they got to watch Zoom classes for their sixth grader, what that kids were learning, and there has been a significant shift in people's lifestyles, that might be bad for our manufacturing and bad for our economy, maybe. But the shift to homeschool, and the shift of people go into one income, they figured out, they would have never made that choice to shift down to one income, and maybe do the homeschool thing, if they had the option. But now that they've done it, they've adjusted their lifestyles, there's so much research that I've been seeing, and the feedback that I've been getting from the field, that horse has left the gate, and a lot of those folks aren't coming back.
Right now, we're going to have to figure out how to work with what we got, and we're really going to have to crank up the automation and be more efficient with what we do, because we're not going to get some of that workforce back. It's gone and gone forever, and the early retirees are gone. The people that have the opportunity to make it on one income, and have sorted out that that's the lifestyle that they have chosen. Now, first time I heard that I was just forward. But after doing a little research, this is what we got to work with. When we started off and it was 15 days to slow the spread, right? You all remember? I remember. That 15 days or so, we started out at a sprint. And then we went and own and own and own and own two years into this thing. And you can't run a marathon at a sprinter’s pace. You think, we'll get back to here, but there's no back here. Those people that left the workforce are not coming back and we just got to figure out how to make it with the people that we got left. And we just got to accept that that's how it's going to be, and we got to work really, really, really fast to fill that need in the field of demand that's in the marketplace, and good and bad about different parts of the globe continuing to be shut down because of the virus bouncing around. I mean, it just is what it is. That continues to send shockwaves all the way through our supply chain, and that's just how it's going to be for the next three to five years.
Everybody that I talked to, look into supply chain, they're trying to prep as best they can. But I don't see us getting back to the production levels that we were at 2019 for quite some time. And when we do it will be so much more automated, for us to be able to maintain that, and that gives people purpose and gives people the opportunity, gives us the opportunity to repurpose people, some more productive spaces, which might be the stay at home mom, right? Who on the planet says that that's not the most worthy calling, right? I mean, it could be, now us in the business world would rather than being productive punching the clock. But the reality is, is we get to just accept that this is a new space. And I think that when I talked to the really smart folks in a room and asked them where are we at? What does it look like? That's where everybody is headed to is like, “Okay, so we got to play the hand we're dealt.” We can ask them and we can survey people to death. Why did you leave the job market? And what would it take to get you back? It’s not money. I mean, a lot of people say we can just throw money at it, right? We can just throw money in. I am so stoked off my coconut to be able to get this in the hands of the right people to help get that mindset right, that you can invest in people, invest in them and get them excited about whatever it is that turns their crank. Give them the tools to get there. That's what we need to spur the economy. That's what we need this spur, the ingenuity in the excitement and the enthusiasm, and to get America cranking again, you got to get with the people. You got to help them find what is it for them. So, that's the only solution I found and I am all in on that. So, I'm pretty – yeah.
[00:40:15] GS: That was great. I think that would speak to a lot of people that are in that situation. A little bit of a mind shift.
[00:40:20] MH: Yeah, I haven't heard that perspective and I love that. That's an incredible perspective and something that we all need to be wary of. And we need to start prepping for the future. It reminds me of the phrase that came out early on, which is the new normal, right? This is the new normal and we all need to adapt, improvise and overcome. So, you teed me up perfectly for my last question. I know you're a busy man, and I'm enjoying this so much. I could do this all day. But I know you have other things you need to get to. But what are some of the manufacturing 4.0 and smart factory programs have you heard of, or witnessed? So, right along the lines of automation really started to adapt in AI and different innovation, innovative technologies like that?
[00:41:04] JM: Yeah, it's really neat to see we actually did a thing over at Ad Co about a year and a half ago, two years ago, I guess. The leader of the technology, innovation was again, they were showing us, they had like a showcase of all the different components that they were trying out in different facilities. And we got to see the Google glasses, and we got to see, one of the things that they were talking about is training their field reps to go in and do repairs on tractors. They took what was 16 hours and like, changed it to 45 minutes to be able to get a tech and you can look through the little goggles, and that can say take these three bolts out, and you take these three bolts out. I mean, that kind of thing is really impressive. You got to build good quality equipment, you want it to last forever, it's not going to, and you got to be able to make sure that you prepare for it, and make sure that you get the supply chain in place to have the parts when you need them, and be able to dispatch people quickly.
That was one of the big pieces that we found, when COVID first lockdown was with field reps, were not allowed into the facilities to repair the equipment unless the line was down, and then it was very short lived, for them to be able to come in and fix things. I mean, this manufacturing mastermind group that I'm putting together, it gives us the opportunity to do a crystal ball time, to be able to dig in to say, what's working and what's not. And what do you see that's coming down the pipe that we need to be ready for? I mean, no insider trading, and none of that stuff. But forecasting. What are some of the things that are working and if I can help one person, avoid one landmine, my job is done. Something that was going to give them headache or heartache, if I can help them get around that, man, is magic. That's fun to be able to give them the chance to put the energies that they would have had to dedicate to either fix or clean that mess up to do something productive, that's fun to be able to do.
[00:42:59] MH: Manufacturing leaders helping other manufacturing leaders. That is the power of community is transformational. Jason, I thank you so much for joining us today. It truly has been a genuine pleasure. How can folks reach out and connect with you? What's the best ways?
[00:43:16] JM: Yeah, the easiest way to find me is LinkedIn. Feel free to hit me up there. You can, of course, shameless plug, manufacturingsuccessingeorgia.com. You can hear a little bit about the story and the story behind the story with that. And then our website, georgiamanufacturing.com. And we've got an events list. We do have some slots for folks. If people want to attend and be in the Georgia area and want to see kind of how we do what we do, not any big secret. We try to keep some nonmember tickets available for some of the events that we do. If it's good for manufacturing, good for Georgia, I'm all about it. I love to love to see how I can support in any way. So, jason@georgiamanufacturing.com, pretty simple that way. And then of course you can reach out to us on our website and through LinkedIn.
[00:43:59] MH: Jason Moss, thank you so much. We appreciate it. You have a great day.
[00:44:03] JM: I've had a blast, man. Thank you so much for having me.
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[00:44:06] MH: Well, folks, that's it for this week's episode. Be sure to visit our website www.theindustrialmovement.com to view today's show notes and get more golden nuggets of value that we have collected from manufacturing industrial professionals in our archived episodes.
On our website, you can also sign up for our newsletter and find links to join The Industrial Movement community on Facebook. The Industrial Movement podcast is where we discuss the people, the process, and the equipment that drives American manufacturing. I'm your host Morty Hodge, wishing you great success.
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