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Eric Sorensen
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Radio for manufacturing and engineering professionals. New industrial products, news and technical articles.

  1. 2d ago

    LISTEN: Miller Lite Brews Up ‘Clinch Cans’ to Honor Its Hometown’s World Series

    The Milwaukee Brewers secured the first World Series title in the franchise’s 57-year history this week, and a longtime neighborhood business came up with a novel way to celebrate. But it just so happens that the business in question is one of the nation’s most prominent beer brands, as well as among the inspirations for the team’s name. Molson Coors said Thursday that it will offer limited-edition cans of its Miller Lite beer to mark Brewers’ championship. The 4,400 “Clinch Cans” will contain Miller Lite that the company says was being made on Wednesday at 10:13 p.m. Central — the exact time that second baseman Brice Turang threw out Richie Palacios at first to secure the final out of the series. The cans feature the Brewers’ “ball-in-glove” logo on a blue background with gold lettering — instead of the usual white and dark blue — and the number of the cans limited-edition run represents the 44 years between the team’s last pennant and this year’s. Customers who are at least 21 years old can reserve one “Clinch Can” online on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Monday, but they can only receive those reserved cans by picking them up near Molson Coors’ Milwaukee brewery, just down the road from the team’s stadium — the home of Miller Brewing Company since 1855 and the nation’s oldest large-scale brewery. Miller was among Milwaukee’s “Big Four” brewers that made the city synonymous with the brewing industry— and inspired the nickname of the original Brewers team — in the late 19th century. The nickname was also used by a longtime minor league team in the city before the current franchise moved to Wisconsin in 1970. Courtney Benedict, Molson Coors’ vice president of marketing for the Miller Lite family of brands, said in a statement that, “as the official beer of our hometown team — one named after beer, no less — we knew we couldn't just sit back and say 'congrats.’" #MillerLite #MolsonCoors #MilwaukeeBrewers #WorldSeries #Baseball #Beer #Brewing #BeverageManufacturing #LimitedEdition #Packaging #BrandMarketing #Milwaukee #Manufacturing #ManufacturingNow

    LISTEN: Miller Lite Brews Up ‘Clinch Cans’ to Honor Its Hometown’s World Series

  2. 3d ago

    LISTEN: Explosion, Fire Expose Illegal North Carolina Distillery

    An explosion and fire caused by an illegal liquor distillery in Wilkes County, North Carolina, prompted an investigation that led to the operator’s arrest and the seizure of 161 gallons of moonshine. The probe took place after local and state authorities notified the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) division of a structure fire in North Wilkesboro linked to an active, untaxed liquor manufacturing operation. When ALE special agents arrived, they discovered a 200-gallon illegal distillery and seized 161 gallons of moonshine and approximately 1,800 gallons of mash. They also arrested 69-year-old Billy Ray Anderson and charged him with six offenses, including manufacturing and possessing a non-taxpaid alcoholic beverage for sale, possessing distillery equipment and ingredients and allowing property to be used for illegal liquor production. Moonshine production has played an important role in North Carolina’s history and culture, according to the state’s Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. The department credits the state with coining the term “moonshine” and notes that its production provided an important source of income for many rural communities, especially during Prohibition. Moonshiners would also use modified cars to outrun law enforcement, helping lay the groundwork for stock car racing. #Moonshine #NorthCarolina #IllegalDistillery #Distilling #AlcoholLawEnforcement #Manufacturing #IndustrialSafety #FireInvestigation #Bootlegging #StockCarRacing #Prohibition #PublicSafety #ManufacturingNow

    LISTEN: Explosion, Fire Expose Illegal North Carolina Distillery

  3. 4d ago

    LISTEN: ​Fake McDonnell Aviation Heiress Added to FBI Most Wanted List

    A 75-year-old woman was recently added to the FBI's Most Wanted List for defrauding a bank and posing as a fake heiress to the McDonnell Aircraft Family fortune. ​The FBI is offering a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Mary Carole McDonnell, a former true-crime producer and new "Most Wanted Fraudster" with ties to L.A., Montgomery, Alabama and Dubai. ​McDonnell Aircraft was a former U.S. aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1939, the company was known for making military jets, like the F-4 Phantom II. McDonnell merged with the Douglas Aircraft Company to form McDonnell Douglas in 1967, which merged with Boeing in August 1997. ​Mary Carole McDonnell is wanted in California for a host of alleged crimes. According to the FBI, from around July 2017 through May 2018, McDonnell allegedly defrauded the Banc of California out of about $14.7 million. McDonnell similarly targeted other financial institutions, taking another $15 million. ​But what is perhaps most audacious is McDonnell's false claims to be an heir to the McDonnell Aircraft Family, which holds an $80 million secret trust. The FBI said she still has access to the account. ​A federal arrest warrant was issued for McDonnell on December 12, 2018, after she was charged with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. The FBI believes she is currently in Dubai. ​Mary Carole McDonnell was the CEO of Bellum Entertainment Group, which produced shows like "Corrupt Crimes," which investigated crime stories; "Deep Undercover," a true-crime series about undercover operations; and "Murderous Affairs," which made 52 episodes about love affairs gone wrong and spouses driven to kill. It wasn't just true crime though; the company was also into feel-good animal content like "Wildlife Jams" and other reality TV fodder. ​From 2004 to around 2017, Bellum’s employees felt confident in the company, with more than 30 shows on the air and an alleged heiress at the helm—but then the paychecks stopped coming. Nearly ten years later, McConnell still owes former employees and partners thousands of dollars.   #FBI #MostWanted #MaryCaroleMcDonnell #Fraud #BankFraud #TrueCrime #BellumEntertainment #McDonnellAircraft #AerospaceHistory #McDonnellDouglas #Boeing #BusinessNews #EntertainmentIndustry #CorporateFraud #ManufacturingNow

    LISTEN: ​Fake McDonnell Aviation Heiress Added to FBI Most Wanted List

  4. 5d ago

    LISTEN: Gen Z in Manufacturing: Inside the Swing Shift Problem

    Welcome to another episode of Gen Z in Manufacturing, a podcast that asks young people about their journeys in manufacturing, how they intend to influence the industry and what they are looking for from an employer. For this episode, I welcome Justin Baerwald, a 34-year-old operations lead for manufacturing and logistics at Inland, a provider of label and packaging solutions for a variety of industries.  Baerwald’s experience in the industry includes multiple years of manufacturing leadership, including positions in flexographic printing and beverage production environments. He also served four years on active duty in the Marine Corps and has spent the last 10 years in the Marine Corps Reserve. In this episode, Baerwald discusses: (:59) Workplace changes Gen Z wants that older workers tolerated(3:21) How swing shift schedules are hurting the candidate pool(7:20) The manufacturing industry can capitalize on Gen Z’s mindset and tendencies, if it wants to(10:24) Outdated assumptions about what makes a good manufacturing workerPlease make sure to like and share this episode of Gen Z in Manufacturing. To view previous episodes, visit manufacturing.net. If you are a member of Gen Z and would like to discuss your experience in the manufacturing industry, please get in touch with me, Nolan Beilstein, at nolan@ien.com.

    LISTEN: Gen Z in Manufacturing: Inside the Swing Shift Problem

  5. Oct 25

    LISTEN: Boom Unveils U.S. 'Superfactory'

    What makes Boom Supersonic special is not just that it is working toward supersonic flight or revolutionary power generation, but that it's trying to do so with the same fundamental technology and the same team. Yesterday, the company took another giant leap forward when it unveiled its first complete supersonic turbine core, which it is shipping this week to Boom’s test site at Colorado Air and Space Port in Watkins, Colorado. The company also unveiled its 2GW turbine “Superfactory” in South Denver—the “world’s most advanced turbine factory,” according to the turbine maker. Boom is bringing in more than 75 CNCs and coordinate-measuring machines (CMMs) with the end goal of making up to 50 superpower engines per year, from raw materials to completed turbines in one facility. The Superfactory, which is already operational and making turbine parts, is expected to create up to 500 new jobs. Finally, the company is also developing what it calls the “world’s most advanced all-digital foundry,” capable of casting the turbine blades and vanes. The first single-crystal components are expected to ship in 2027. The hope is to make turbine blades and vanes from custom superalloys through an all-digital process that requires no tooling. Boom says Superpower, its 42-megawatt natural gas turbine, will generate power for AI data centers and begin deliveries in mid-2027. By 2028, the company would like to reach a cumulative annual production rate of 1-gigawatt by building 25 turbines. By 2029, the expectation is 2-GW via 50 turbines.

    LISTEN: Boom Unveils U.S. 'Superfactory'

  6. Oct 24

    LISTEN: BMW's Six-Figure Severance Offer Causes HR Site to Crash

    BMW is attempting to cut 8,000 corporate positions – an objective that’s not necessarily unusual as businesses across the globe look to trim the fat. What is, perhaps, unique is that BMW’s exit offer is quite enticing… so much so that interest in the severance package was so reportedly so immense it caused BMW’s online employee portal to “malfunction.” According to German news agency Handelsblatt, BMW reached out to tens of thousands of employees earlier this month, linking them to a portal that featured a proposed severance. Sources say the offers were variable based on length of employment, salary and so forth, but that some offers were north of $700,000. BMW hopes to wrap up these layoffs – which appear to mainly take place in Germany – by the end of next October.  Meanwhile, the company has dangled another enticing carrot in front of some employees: If they’re willing to leave by March 31 – seven months sooner than the standard departure date – they are eligible to receive a “turbo bonus.” Carscoops referred to the turbo bonus figure as “undisclosed” but, let’s just say, these offers have been so popular that BMW is now having to prioritize the requests to participate. BMW announced its cost cutting initiative in July with the goal of targeting administrative and development roles – not production ones.  The program – which BMW said would be the largest voluntary redundancy effort in company history – would cost hundreds of millions of dollars in the near term but ultimately save BMW $1 billion in costs annually starting in 2028.

    LISTEN: BMW's Six-Figure Severance Offer Causes HR Site to Crash

  7. Oct 21

    LISTEN: PepsiCo Shuts Down Tennessee Bottling Plant

    PepsiCo this week promptly shut down a bottling plant in East Tennessee and cut over 100 jobs amid broader concerns within the company about its beverage business. The food and beverage giant said in a brief statement Monday that it made the “difficult decision” to close the Knoxville plant “immediately.” The company indicated in a filing with state officials that the move would result in 112 layoffs, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, but those workers will continue to receive pay and benefits through the beginning of next year. The announcement came just days after PepsiCo’s latest quarterly earnings report, which saw weaker results in North America and a 2% volume decline in its beverage operations in the region.  Ramon Laguarta, the company’s CEO, said during its earnings call that PepsiCo officials did not “feel good about the beverage business,” and that the company was “putting all the urgency of the business, and the focus in improving [its] performance, in soft drinks.” The company, like other food and beverage processors, is attempting to navigate rising costs for fuel, commodities, aluminum and other inputs without alienating cash-strapped households.  PepsiCo’s sales and delivery staff in the Knoxville area would not be affected, the company’s statement added; it operates a sales office in the city, along with other East Tennessee operations in Johnson City and Chattanooga. The News Sentinel noted that the end of the Knoxville plant follows four previous PepsiCo bottling facility closures in 2024. #PepsiCo #Pepsi #BeverageIndustry #FoodAndBeverage #Manufacturing #PlantClosure #Layoffs #Bottling #SupplyChain #OperatingCosts #ConsumerTrends #BusinessNews #ManufacturingNow

    LISTEN: PepsiCo Shuts Down Tennessee Bottling Plant

  8. Oct 20

    LISTEN: Hyundai Recalls Vehicles Because the Seats Might Catch Fire

    The weather’s getting colder and seat heaters might be getting switched on soon. But for most consumers, comfort levels drop significantly when you go from warming your seat to roasting it over an open flame. That’s why Hyundai has issued a recall impacting nearly 100,000 vehicles. Specifically, the automaker is calling back nearly 40,000 Genesis G80 vehicles produced between March 2016 and November 2019, along with more than 54,000 Hyundai Genesis vehicles produced between February 2014 and February 2016. Hyundai said the front seat slider and height adjustment control switch used on non-memory power seats in the affected vehicles may become dislodged or damaged when subjected to external force. If that happens, it could cause the switch to remain engaged and the seat adjustment motor to operate continuously, even when there’s no one in the vehicle. The automaker warned that prolonged operation could cause the motor to overheat and increase the risk of a vehicle fire while driving or parked. Hyundai said it’s aware of two incidents involving an alleged fire in the U.S. market, but said there have been no reported crashes or injuries as a result. It’s telling customers to watch for warning signs like burning odors or inoperative seat controls. As for a remedy, well, Hyundai doesn’t have one yet. It’s working on it, but asked that owners park their vehicles outside, preferably away from other vehicles and structures, for the time being. This new recall comes after Hyundai earlier this year halted all sales of its certain 2026 Palisade SUV models in the U.S. and Canada after a young child died due to an issue with the second and third-row power seats. #Hyundai #Genesis #HyundaiRecall #GenesisG80 #VehicleRecall #AutomotiveSafety #VehicleSafety #ProductRecall #AutomotiveIndustry #CarNews #Manufacturing #QualityControl #RiskManagement #ManufacturingNow

    LISTEN: Hyundai Recalls Vehicles Because the Seats Might Catch Fire
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About

Radio for manufacturing and engineering professionals. New industrial products, news and technical articles.

Information

  • Creator
    Eric Sorensen
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.2K
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 IEN Radio
  • Show Website
    IEN Radio