PODCAST: The Magic of Manufacturing and Marketing

On this episode of The Manufacturing Alliance Podcast, Tony Demakis and MoldMaking Technology’s Christina Fuges chat with Founder and President Todd Schuett of Creative Technology. Anyone who has attended a moldmaking event might know Todd as the guy behind the camera, so here we have him in front of the microphone to talk about not just marketing, but the creativity, innovation and magic that is the manufacturing industry.

Here are some highlights from their conversation:

Learn how taking people’s pictures at industry events not only helped Todd remember who was who, but connected people in the industry.
Discover how Todd got hooked on metalworking so much that he quit his job to switch industries.
“Manufacturing is magic to me.”
Photography came naturally to Todd, and he uses it now to help moldmakers with their marketing.
With the internet, companies get to tell their own story, including what makes them special, what they do better than others, what makes them unique.
“I love taking pictures of the parts and making the parts look good, but also the people.”
Manufacturing isn’t like field of dreams. If you build it, that doesn’t guarantee they’ll come. Companies need to tell their story, what differentiates them from other business.
They talk about a high school student-run manufacturing business to teach the next generation about available skills in the industry. “There's no teacher like hands on experience.”
Todd was really impressed by a complex mold from Pro Mold & Die (which was featured in the cover story from our November 2019 issue — check it out!)
A challenge in the old days was that companies could give that same job to three different mold makers and it would come out three different ways.
Even with additive manufacturing growing, there will still be people behind its implication, planning and preparing it in advance and putting a lot of experience into it. They shouldn’t be threatened by additive manufacturing.
Marketing is so important in manufacturing. “It's not just a given that people are gonna come to you because you have a shop and do spectacular work. You gotta you've got to promote it in today's way. And today's way is largely the internet. It's using technology. It's potentially even using podcasts.”
It’s important to work on an elevator pitch. Break it down. Explain that. And from there, you can give more details if they’re wanted.