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Joe Kashurba is a successful entrepreneur who started his first business in high school, an online marketing consultant with over a decade of experience, and a nationally award-winning website designer. He has worked with clients around the United States and internationally— ranging from tech startups to some of the largest manufacturing and construction companies. Joe graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Information Science and a minor in Computer Science.

Dr Lucy Rogers is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, problem solver, maker and Judge on the recent series of BBC Robot Wars. She is the self proclaimed cheerleader for the Maker Industry and Founder of the Guild of Makers ( www.guildofmakers.org ). In addition, Lucy also has a PhD in Bubbles (Fluid Dynamics), a City in Guilds in Wood-turning and a Cycling Proficiency Certificate! Lucy says "My family make things – from spinning to woodwork, metalwork to embroidery. Making is such a integral part of my life that it was only recently that I realised I am a 'maker' first and an 'engineer' second. To me it’s like saying I’m 5’6″ or have blue eyes. It’s just part of what I am. But I’ve realised not everyone is encouraged to make or even know what a maker is. I aim to change that.”

My guest today is Simon Bourne - founder of the Hand Dyed Shoe Company. He created The Hand Dyed Shoe Co. as it gave him a way of expressing himself. The brand is Simon Bourne. It is to express that he is individual, unique and different to you. In his shoes, he's created a legacy for himself, a platform to seek and walk his dreams. Emotion is a powerful thing. His mission is simple, to encourage you to express yourself, to be individual, be you.

My guest this week is Lucy Prior. Lucy works for the Rail Alliance and is their Membership Development & International Trade Director. She has a broad and varied railway background, having worked in the rail sector for a number of years working for manufacturing companies on both the infrastructure and rolling stock sides of the market and has focused specifically on export and domestic sales, marketing and business development. Her role at The Rail Alliance is multi-faceted, with a focus on delivering a quality service to existing members and to develop membership to expand the network and thus widen reach, service and capabilities. Her experience in a commercial environment lends itself well to support members when they embark upon or seek to increase export activities as well as advising on supply chain opportunities, sector news and the industry in general.

My guest today is Steve May-Russell, Managing Director & owner of Smallfry, an industrial design consultancy. For over 45 years, Smallfry have been specialists in mapping the journey from conceptualisation to commercialisation for their clients. They don’t just design products, they apply a combination of strategy, research and thought leadership to cultivate innovative cultures within businesses. One of the things that sets Smallfry apart from like-minded competitors is that they view each and every client as a partner, laying the groundwork for these transformative lightbulb moments.

My guest this week is based in Scotland. Gordon Coulter is the Chief Executive Officer of Exmos Ltd, a company specialising in Process Monitoring and IT Managed Services for Industry & Enterprise. With more than 25 years experience, Gordon and his team are trying to calm manufacturers when it comes to the phenomenon of Industry 4.0! Don't panic is their advice! So if you don't know your 'big data' or 'machine learning' is a step too far, this episode could be for you!

My guest on this week's episode is Bianca Elgar, founder and CEO of Bianca Elgar Ltd. Bianca creates heirlooms for a living - intrigued? Of course you are! Can't blame you! That's why I had to interview Bianca......Enjoy!

Flying high with Peter Bruch, Managing Director & Co-Owner, AE Aerospace Ltd. Peter Bruch is a highly resourceful, experienced Managing...

Kate Hills launched 'Make it British' in 2011 to support the fantastic manufacturers she knew were there. Almost a year ago since the infamous #Brexit vote, most UK manufacturers appeared to want to stay within the EU, according to a pre-Brexit study that was carried out by the EEF. And this sentiment was echoed by research carried out by Make it British a few weeks ago when they surveyed 120 UK textile manufacturers and 54% indicated that they wanted to remain, versus only 20% that thought they would be better off if the UK left the European Union.

My guest this week is Carl Baxter, Managing Partner at Clement Pierce. The results at Clement Pierce speak for themselves, their accomplished approach not only delivers top quality results but is supported by countless client and candidate testimonials of exceptional service received from the Clement Pierce Team. They have a 100% successful placement ratio for clients that engaged in their retained service.

My guest this week is Jochen Kreusel, Group Senior Vice President of the ABB group, Zurich, and market innovation manager of the group’s Power Grids division. Jochen will deepen the discussion about what's happening with Europe's transmission and distribution networks, explaining what's happening now and what is coming in terms of future development.

My guest on the show this week is Jorge González, Managing Director of Ormazabal, a company headquartered in Bilbao, Spain, providing solutions for the electricity distribution networks focused on innovation. Jorge unravels some of the mystery behind the term 'smart grid' and discusses the importance of manufacturing on the evolution of the energy sector, whilst at the same time, the energy sector has also influenced the evolution of manufacturing! A modern transmission backbone in combination with adequately developed, modern distribution networks is the enabler for integrating the high shares of wind and solar power Europe is striving for in order to decarbonise its energy system. .

My guest this week comes from the world of textiles. Deborah lived all little girls' dreams by completing a degree in fashion and textile design, starting a career in fashion buying and becoming successful - she supplied Harrods, Fortnum and Mason, Selfridges, Nieman Marcus and many more. But after her daughter was born with a genetic disability, something had to change......

Pamela Cain believes in 'quality', so does Rob Marchant, her business partner. MarchantCain Design Ltd thrives on providing quality bespoke, niche, low volume designs to the automotive industry - it does so with a winning combination of experience and a smattering of youth - where the obstacles to innovation don't exist. This is another great story where hard work and personal sacrifice results in what they were both seeking, a highly successful, innovative business where each and every day brings a new challenge and a smile to their faces!

Germany is renowned for it's engineering prowess and rightly so! My guest this week is one from this breed of 'innovators'! Dipl.-Ing. Guido Follert is the Head of Department Machines and Facilities at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics. Guido talks freely about the 'raison d'etre' of the Fraunhofer Institute, where Rack Racers and Stack Access Machines are part of the daily 'jargon'.

My guest this week, the first in the second series of Manufacturing at Heart podcasts, is Luke Benton, the Managing Director of MNB Precision Ltd. Established over 35 years ago (by Luke's Grandad), MNB Precision provides manufacturing and precision engineering services to world leading companies across the Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Aerospace, Rail and other manufacturing industries that may require precision engineers.

The really exciting thing about IoT is that it enables companies to develop entirely new business models around providing services to customers. This means you can create brand new revenue streams, not just improve on the existing ones - Andreas explains how......

Cathie Hall returns to the show to explain how the 'Digital Transformation' is affecting her customers. She explains that whilst the Internet of Things (IoT) can appear daunting, many businesses are further down the line of digital transformation than they may at first realise....!

My guest this week is Govert Hamers, President and CEO of Vanderlande, the global market leader in baggage handling systems for airports, and sorting systems for parcel and postal services. The company is also a leading supplier of warehouse automation solutions. Having recent won a bid to supply baggage handling services to the new Istanbul airport, Govert reveals the complexities that go with such a prestigious contract.....and the enormity of their own business.

In this week's show, Ben Kolp tells us why manufacturers should be doing more to tell their stories with the help of social technologies. He works for Orca Social and has a funky job title of 'customer happiness' - how cool is that?! Orca Social's mission is to achieve competitiveness via social technologies for companies to become sustainable in a rapidly changing business landscape of limited resources. Let's find out how!