The Engine Room with Formic

Formic
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  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

As a leading automation service provider, we cover the people, businesses, and technologies that are driving American manufacturing. Learn more at formic.co.

Episodes

  1. Episode 8: The State of Manufacturing & Robotics, Plus Wisdom for Founders w/ Formic CEO Saman Farid

    07/26/2024

    Episode 8: The State of Manufacturing & Robotics, Plus Wisdom for Founders w/ Formic CEO Saman Farid

    Our very own Formic CEO, Saman Farid, joins the show to reveal the origination story and motivation for Formic, where manufacturing and robotics is headed, and some of his biggest lessons from leading Formic as a disruptive startup with a bold mission. Hosted by Formic's Director of Business Operations, Malcolm Kerr. Chapters include: 00:00 – 01:50 Introductions 01:50 – 03:08 Why Formic was created 03:08 – 06:31 Where Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) helps the most 06:31 – 09:06 Why is RaaS growing so quickly now 09:06 – 12:42 Globalization, U.S. reshoring, and opportunities for American manufacturing 12:42 – 15:36 Other robotics companies to watch 15:36 – 18:48 The biggest robotics game changer of the past decade 18:48 – 19:39 What is Formic? 19:39 – 22.:24 What does the future of manufacturing look like as Formic continues to scale? 22:24 – 30:22 Top experiences and lessons learned as Formic’s CEO 30:22 – 31:26 Advice for startup Founders

    32 min
  2. The Engine Room Episode #7: Building an Automation Roadmap for Food Production w/ Danijel Lolic

    04/03/2024

    The Engine Room Episode #7: Building an Automation Roadmap for Food Production w/ Danijel Lolic

    This episode is a copy of our popular webinar that provides a step-by-step overview and guide for automating food production operations. Enjoy! 00:00 – 02:17 Introductions 02:17 – 03:22 Danijel’s experience in food handling 03:22 – 04:01 Maximizing success with an automation roadmap 04:01 – 04:53 Challenges and goals in food production 04:53 – 06:39 The added complexity of food safety, hygienic design, and food quality 06:39 – 07:34 Exploring the broad spectrum of automation 07:34 – 09:19 Automation needs depending on stage of your business 09:19 – 10:26 A typical production flow: Front-of-Line vs End-of-Line 10:26 – 11:38 Front-of-Line: Infeed & Pre-Treatment 11:38 – 12:12 Front-of-Line: Processing 12:12 – 14:19 Front-of-Line: Primary Packing 14:19 – 15:45 Flexible vs Rigid Packaging 15:45 – 17:54 Depalletizing 17:54 – 21:43 Front-of-Line: Primary Packing of Flexible Packaging 21:43 – 22:21 Front-of-Line: Primary Packing of Rigid Packaging 22:21 – 23:15 Quality Inspection 23:15 – 25:49 End-of-Line: Tasks and terminology 25:49 – 26:51 End-of-Line: Case erecting and box/tray forming 26:51 – 28:26 End-of-Line: Case packing of flexible packaged goods 28:26 – 29:08 End-of-Line: Case packing of rigid packaged goods 29:08 – 32:13 End-of-Line: Case sealing and labeling 32:13 – 35:41 End-of-Line: Palletizing 35:41 – 36:10 End-of-Line: Pallet securement 36:10 – 37:00 Receiving, Transport, Storage, and Retrieval 37:00 – 37:39 Building your roadmap: What are your top goals? 37:39 – 39:21 Building your roadmap: Find high ROI and low TCO 39:21 – 43:02 Building your roadmap: Lessons learned 43:02 – 45:03 Building your roadmap: Guidance 45:03 – 46:48 Building your roadmap: Order to applications (crawl, walk, run, sprint) 46:48 – 47:49 Building your roadmap: Purchasing vs RaaS 47:49 – 48:41 Building your roadmap: Resources to Get Started 48:41 – 60:00 Q&A Learn more: https://formic.co/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/6887... Twitter: https://twitter.com/goformic

    1 hr
  3. Episode 6: Food & Beverage Manufacturing with David Gray (CEO of FedUp Foods)

    11/13/2023

    Episode 6: Food & Beverage Manufacturing with David Gray (CEO of FedUp Foods)

    David Gray shares his wealth of knowledge from his experience in Private Equity and Contract Packaging / Manufacturing with Greenseed and FedUp Foods. He is currently the CEO of FedUp Foods, a private label manufacturer for beverages, with specialization in prebiotic products such as Kombucha. This episode is packed with insightful discussion: 00:00 – 01:13 Introductions 01:14 – 02:05 FedUp Foods 02:06 – 03:38 David Gray’s journey from Private Equity to Food & Bev 03:39 – 06:38 Where should Food & Bev companies start when they’re thinking about automating for the first time 06:39 – 11:02 Barriers to automation 11:03 – 16:24 Investments during tough times 16:25 – 18:36 “Dupes” in the market (finding lower cost alternatives) 18:37 – 20:24 What most Americans don’t know about the Food & Beverage industry 20:25 – 25:31 The growth of private labels 25:32 – 28:20 Finding brands with aligned values 28:21 – 31:03 What does automation do for a Contract Manufacturer’s attractiveness from CPG clients? 31:04 – 34:43 How has the labor market changed over the last 3-5 years? 34:44 – 39:50 Product packaging and the top moving targets in Food & Beverage 39:51 – 42:02 International packaging trends 42:03 – 46:00 Tyson Foods’ labor oversight, temp labor agencies, and workforce development 46:01 – 49:36 Automation enables better work and career opportunities in Food & Bev organizations 49:37 – 53:38 Advice for F&B manufacturers that are considering robotic automation

    55 min
  4. Episode 5: Family-Owned Operations and Automated Food Production with Danijel Lolic

    09/29/2023

    Episode 5: Family-Owned Operations and Automated Food Production with Danijel Lolic

    Prior to joining Formic, Danijel Lolic was the VP of Operations at Rice Fruit Company, a family-owned packaging business for fresh produce. He now leads our Customer Success department, working with all Formic's clients to ensure their successful automated production. Check out the chapters below! 00:00 Introductions 01:35 Starting a career in operations 04:55 The top operational challenges for fresh produce businesses 08:40 Main drivers for automating fresh produce production 10:40 The story around Rice Fruit’s first robotic system (palletizer) 13:20 Danijel and Rice Fruit’s automation learning curve 17:17 Automation lessons learned for family-owned businesses 26:07 The value of Operations experience as Head of Customer Success 27:45 Customer success is about ensuring a great experience, holistically 29:40 Feedback from Formic’s customers: Formic enables low-risk automation 41:06 The joy of learning how things are made in America 42:10 Overcoming adversity is a big part of Customer Success 46:09 Different expectations and experience of capital ownership vs robots-as-a-service 50:50 Formic’s continuous experience vs a “change of hands” purchase 53:45 How to get in touch with Danijel (dlolic@formic.co) Learn more: https://formic.co/

    57 min
  5. Episode 4: Plastics Manufacturing Deep Dive w/ Jason Long and Kyle Kidwell

    08/31/2023

    Episode 4: Plastics Manufacturing Deep Dive w/ Jason Long and Kyle Kidwell

    Jason Long from Wittmann Group joins Formic's Automation Product Manager Kyle Kidwell and Co-Founder Misa Ilkhechi in this deep dive into the plastics manufacturing world. Check out the topics below: 00:00 Introductions 02:15 State of the plastics and injection molding industry 03:30 How has the industry changed since the pandemic in 2020? 04:38 Growth drivers in injection molding 05:43 Sustainability: Recycled material versus virgin material 06:59 The key factors for automating injection molding processes 08:39 Standards for automating injection molding processes 11:15 Why American automation lags other global regions 13:31 How to justify investments in new machines or automation equipment 16:32 How to automate if your requirements change in the future 18:33 Adaptable technologies for injection molding 20:27 Custom tooling for injection molding 21:49 Who has control over the automation: the manufacturer or the integrator? 23:23 How to successfully scope a new robotic automation project 25:59 How to find the right automation integrator partner 29:03 Automation maintenance: who is responsible for what 34:23 Upskilling and training production staff on automation 37:15 Volume and longevity of machine deployments across the U.S. 40:29 The pros and cons of investing in new injection molding machines 42:39 Robot attachment rate to injection molding machines 43:49 Machine factors that might prevent automated machine tending 45:23 The diversity of plastics applications 48:00 Bringing new talent into manufacturing and automation 50:57 The overlooked industry of manufacturing and how things are made 53:45 Unlocking the next wave of U.S. manufacturing with automation 54:30 How to get in touch with Jason and Wittmann Group Learn more: https://formic.co/

    56 min
  6. Episode 3: Robotic Welding Trends, Stories, and Insights with Will Healy and Ian Patrick

    07/26/2023

    Episode 3: Robotic Welding Trends, Stories, and Insights with Will Healy and Ian Patrick

    Welding Product Managers from Universal Robots and Formic dive into the biggest welding and robotic welding trends. Check out the chapters below! 00:00 Speaker introductions 02:18 Trends in the welding industry 03:27 The 336k welding labor gap (American Welders Society) 06:48 Higher mix and SKU count in manufacturing 07:55 Collaborative robot (Cobot) welding vs Traditional robot welding 10:40 The strengths of traditional automation 11:40 The strengths of collaborative automation 13:05 How to reprogram cobot welding cells without any experience 15:12 Welders see robotics as a powerful tool 16:40 The business results of using robotic welding systems 18:15 Eliminating repetitive work while increasing quality 19:30 Predictable “arc on” time and production output 21:01 Recruiting and retention benefits from robots 22:35 Force multiplying your team, 1 person can manage 3 robot welders 24:11 Welding and the Robotics-as-a-Service approach to automation 26:04 Robotics-as-a-Service is like a hiring firm to alleviate the labor shortage 27:44 In metal fab, welding equipment rarely gets the capital budget 31:34 Exciting, forward-looking robotic welding trends to watch out for 37:28 How to reach Will Healy (email: wihe@universal-robots.com) 38:00 Getting started with Universal Robots solutions (www.universal-robots.com/applications/welding) 38:50 Getting started with Formic Robotics-as-a-Service (www.formic.co/contact/get-your-free-consultation) 39:00 How to reach Ian Patrick (ipatrick@formic.co) Learn more: https://formic.co/

    40 min
  7. Episode 2: Reshoring with Equipment-as-a-Service with Zach Kimball (CEO of Hardfin)

    04/11/2023

    Episode 2: Reshoring with Equipment-as-a-Service with Zach Kimball (CEO of Hardfin)

    Check out the debut episode of Formic's new series "The Engine Room" as Formic Co-founder, Misa Ilkhechi chats with industry veteran Wesley Garrett, Account Manager within FANUC America Corporation’s Pick/Pack/Palletize/Fulfillment department about palletizing - including its advantages, safety considerations, ROI and cost benefits, and tips on selecting the right solutions for your business. Learn more: https://formic.co/

    22 min
  8. Episode 1: Robotic Palletizing with FANUC's Wes Garrett

    02/15/2023

    Episode 1: Robotic Palletizing with FANUC's Wes Garrett

    Check out the debut episode of Formic's new series "The Engine Room" as Formic Co-founder, Misa Ilkhechi chats with industry veteran Wesley Garrett, Account Manager within FANUC America Corporation’s Pick/Pack/Pallatize/Fulfillment department about palletizing - including its advantages, safety considerations, ROI and cost benefits, and tips on selecting the right solutions for your business. Learn more: https://formic.co/

    50 min
  • 8 Episodes

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As a leading automation service provider, we cover the people, businesses, and technologies that are driving American manufacturing. Learn more at formic.co.

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