Wisconsin manufacturing is strong, and WDM×Madison brought that strength into one room. The new manufacturing track at the October 6 UWEBC Annual Conference at Monona Terrace built on the momentum of June’s Wisconsin Drives Manufacturing Summit at Lambeau Field. The day connected manufacturers with expertise across Wisconsin’s universities, technical colleges, and industry partners.
Scott Manley (right) of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce shared manufacturing’s importance to Wisconsin’s economy and communities. Oliver Schmitz of UW–Madison shared how WDM can bring expertise and resources from across Wisconsin into partner events, helping manufacturers build relationships and put that expertise to work throughout the year.
Preparing people for what comes next was a central theme. Madison College’s Grant Emmel and Matthew Garcia showed how academic programs and customized employer training can develop tomorrow’s technicians while strengthening the workforce already on the floor. Their message was clear: build capability before workforce needs become shortages. UW–Madison’s Lennon Rodgers continued that conversation through hands-on engineering education, industry-sponsored capstone projects, and new CNC machining, casting, and forging programs. Both sessions offered manufacturers practical ways to engage, from developing employees to bringing a business challenge into a student project.
The afternoon pushed us to think differently about strategy and technology. Aurora WDC’s Arik Johnson demonstrated a new interactive scenario-analysis tool that combines AI and human expertise. Drawing on Clayton Christensen’s work on innovation, he explored how established companies can get comfortable with what has made them successful. The audience jointly chose a future scenario, and the tool developed strategic questions and possible positions for a UWEBC member company in that space. Arik described it as delivering roughly 60 percent of his earlier wargame simulation’s capability for “10 cents on the dollar.” Joe Hamann (left) of UW–Milwaukee’s Connected Systems Institute shared how manufacturers can test connected systems and AI before making larger investments, while helping people develop the skills to use them.
Chris Baichoo (right) of WMEP Manufacturing Solutions brought the day’s conversations together: start with the business problem, understand its root cause, and connect with the capabilities needed to solve it. A WMEP–UW–Milwaukee collaboration to improve Lean assessments showed that approach in action. Chelsy Cegielski, UW–Madison’s InterPro Engagement Manager, closed the track by highlighting opportunities to work together on professional development and workforce needs, and inviting manufacturers to continue the conversation.
What stood out to me was how naturally the conversations connected. Each organization brought different capabilities and examples of how partnership makes them more valuable. That was what we wanted manufacturers to see: people they can call, resources they can use, and partners who can help them think through a challenge or explore a possibility.
The ideas and connections sparked at WDM×Madison are just the beginning! There will be more opportunities to learn from industry peers, explore new approaches, and connect with Wisconsin’s manufacturing community. Keep an eye on the Wisconsin Drives Manufacturing webpage for upcoming regional events, and sign up for email updates to stay in the loop on future opportunities to learn and connect.
Written by Jim Rink, Program Director with UW–Madison InterPro and Practice Director in Residence with UWEBC