by Gary Mintchell | Dec 4, 2025 | Commentary
I started writing this blog in 2003. The first name was Gary’s Radio Weblog—I used Dave Winer’s Radio Userland. I moved the blog to SquareSpace a bit later and renamed it Gary’s FeedForward to parallel my work at Automation World magazine. When I left Automation World in 2013, the blog moved to WordPress and gained the name The Manufacturing Connection. The blog has grown to more than 300K visits per month, and some months actually 200K more.
Meanwhile, I started playing with podcasting in 2007. I would sometimes record the podcasts on Quicktime on the Mac and post on YouTube along with the audio only on Libsyn.
I promoted both of these plus another personal blog on Twitter for years.
Several years ago, Twitter (now X) became useless for this promotion. I would also promote on LinkedIn. Now, LinkedIn acts like Facebook—do you want to reach people? Click here to boost your post (for a fee, of course).
This year I noticed a sudden reduction in the number of podcasts downloads. Simultaneously, the number of visits to the YouTube site rapidly grew. Weird.
Seth Godin is a marketing guru, publisher, speaker, blogger, and more. I’ve followed him for more than 15 years. He recently documented his experiences. I don’t feel so alone.
The Hotel California (and subscriptions)
Every day, this blog is automatically echoed on my Linkedin channel. Over the last few years, the traffic to those posts on Linkedin is down more than 90%. Understandable. Platforms evolve, people shift their patterns and interests.
I recently did a manual post on Linkedin, though, and was amazed to discover that within minutes, it had 10 times as much traffic as a typical post does. I did another one about this leap and it did even better. It’s clear that the algorithm was changed.
Not to help me, not to help you, but to help the endless quest for more that most public companies wrestle with.
The seduction is clear. They’re sending a message: If you want us to bring you eyeballs, move in. Don’t link out.
Problem one: eyeballs don’t make change happen, people do.
Problem two: Don’t check into a motel that makes it hard to check out.
Enshittification is real. VCs and public markets push the companies they invest in to maximize profits. First, please the customers. Then, double cross them to please the advertisers. Finally, double cross both of them to please the stock price.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 3, 2025 | Security
Jennifer Faylor from Inductive Automation wrote this blog—Ignition 8.3 Pro Tips: Supercharge System Security—a few weeks ago offering some security tips for users of Ignition. There’s more. Check out the blog for the entire essay.
She begins, “In honor of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, this blog will delve into some of the Ignition 8.3 features that help you better secure your systems.”
The new industrial Secrets Management feature in Ignition 8.3 enables you to store secrets securely and protect them from unauthorized parties — a game-changer if you’re looking to boost SCADA password security. And coming soon in Ignition, you’ll also be able to integrate with third-party secrets management platforms such as HashiCorp Vault.
With Ignition 8.3, you get multiple layers of control system threat protection that align with the latest industrial cybersecurity standards to keep your data and assets safe. To highlight some of the new features: we’ve expanded functionality for LDAP authentication security by enabling extra LDAP attributes to be defined for the Active Directory, AD/Database Hybrid, and AD/Internal Hybrid user sources. We’ve also added two additional properties for nested group membership lookup and group role attributes for the Active Directory user source. Three new properties are now available for Ignition Internal Authentication: “Prohibit Password,” “Prohibit Username,” and “Maximum Consecutive Repeated Characters.” And the Administrator role is now automatically listed under the Authenticated/Roles security level when installing a fresh gateway.
The new security features also enable integrators to have visibility of a system’s configuration, while still maintaining good security for the system.
You can majorly step up your SCADA communication security thanks to one important new 8.3 feature: more secure data serialization with Remote Procedure Call (RPC) technology that uses Google Protobuf instead of Java serialization.
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 2, 2025 | Data Management, Enterprise IT, Generative AI, Internet of Things, Operations Management
User studies remain one of the primary ways software companies can gain insight and achieve some public recognition. Most of the studies emanate from cybersecurity protection developers. This one comes from a software company with which I’ve had little contact. There was a woman I knew from one company who came to SAS for a while. We had occasional conversations before she left that company.
SAS develops software applications. I’ve never had a handle on its business. It now bills itself as a global leader in data and AI. This study was conducted by the research firm IDC. And we have the acronym AIoT—or the convergence of AI and IoT. Somehow I feel that concatenating acronyms is the beginning of the end times 😉
Key findings from the IDC InfoBrief, How AIoT Is Reshaping Industrial Efficiency, Security, and Decision-Making, sponsored by SAS, include:
This one should surprise no one. Everyone discusses predictive maintenance.
Predictive maintenance dominates current AIoT use. Nearly 71% of organizations use AIoT for predictive maintenance, the most widely adopted use for manufacturing/industrial and energy companies surveyed. IT automation (53%) and supply and logistics (47%) were the next most cited uses for AIoT.
Executives continue to dream of significant cost reductions from AI.
AIoT drives tangible business value. 54% of respondents anticipate major cost savings, 52% predict smarter and faster innovation and 49% expect streamlined operations from their investment in AIoT. Additionally, 63% believe AIoT will boost productivity and competitiveness.
Managers continue to see AI as an aid to overcome the current skills gap of employees.
Skills gap emerges as the top challenge. The skills gap is the biggest barrier to AIoT success, outpacing legacy system integration and data quality issues as the most significant roadblock. Other challenges include high implementation costs, business process misalignment and cultural resistance. Addressing these issues is essential to unlocking AIoT’s full potential.
Some actually use the technology!
Heavy AIoT users see greater value. Organizations using AIoT heavily are twice as likely to report benefits that significantly exceed expectations as those that only use the technology sparingly. Strikingly, less than 3% say the value of AIoT “did not meet expectations.”
The IDC research is based on a global survey of more than 300 industrial executives in the manufacturing and energy industries.
And from the company:
SAS IoT solutions combine AI, machine learning and edge-to-cloud integration, enabling analysis of high-volume, high-velocity data. And joining AI with these IoT solutions extends the value of existing infrastructure investments and digitally transforms the workforce by shifting from manual oversight to intelligent orchestration.
Other organizations benefiting from SAS IoT and streaming analytics for improved asset reliability, enhanced product quality and increased efficiency across connected systems include:
- Georgia-Pacific
- Jakarta Smart City
- Lloyd’s List
- Lockheed Martin
- Town of Cary (North Carolina)
- Volvo Trucks and Mack Trucks
- wienerberger
by Gary Mintchell | Dec 1, 2025 | Leadership
I receive few stories about good leadership in manufacturing (or anywhere else, for that matter). I read a business book in the 80s called Proactive Management. The author talked about all the stakeholders in a business—including owners, employees, customers, suppliers, community, etc.
For too long now, business has been under the spell of MBAs who studied Milton Friedman’s school of thought that there is only one stakeholder—shareholders. They said, let’s give executive management shares of stock so that they know what’s important. Unintended (or maybe intended) consequences—short-term thinking, share price manipulation, grifting, get-rich-quick schemes.
This is a story about Jody Chastain, CEO of a pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Columbia, SC. The company produces sterile Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) technology for critical medications with precision and scale. Under Chastain’s leadership — following his career at Fuji Film — the company has experienced tremendous growth, expanding its technical capabilities while cultivating a culture that invests deeply in people.
This year, Ritedose launched “1000 Hours of Purpose,” a bold initiative granting paid volunteer time for employees to support nonprofits addressing urgent needs such as hunger, housing, and youth support. Partnerships include United Way, Homeless No More, Palmetto Place, and Meals on Wheels. The company’s commitment was recognized with the 2025 Outreach Award from the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, underscoring how purpose-driven leadership strengthens both communities and companies.
Chastain wrote on his blog A Season of Gratitude and Purpose: A Thanksgiving Message a couple weeks ago.
As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, I find myself reflecting on what’s been a truly momentous year and the many blessings that have shaped both my personal journey and the growth of our organization. Although I typically don’t put much stock in anniversaries, 2025 does mark 30 years since the company’s founding, so it is a natural moment to look in the rearview mirror to see how far we have come and reflect on what brought us here.
Over the past 3 decades, the company has transformed from a showroom for Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) manufacturing machinery, to a contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in sterile, unit-dose medications, and additionally added capabilities to produce our own generic respiratory and ophthalmic medications for patients in need of affordable options.
It’s remarkable to found a company and be in business 30 years later. Only one company that I was part of the startup (out of seven or so) is still in business—and it is on its third owner. Growth is not everything, but a measure of growth is essential.
To support this transformation, our facilities have grown tenfold: from 50,000 to more than 500,000 square feet, culminating in this year’s grand opening of Ritedose Performance Park and our new distribution and logistics center. But growth isn’t just measured in square footage; it’s measured in lives touched and jobs created. Over that same period, our staff has grown from 11 employees to more than 600—a gain of over 500 jobs that support families across our region and strengthen the local economy.
He lists some surprising factors for growth.
As I look at the factors that have driven this exponential growth, one thing stands out. Ritedose has been built on the generosity, mentorship, and support of countless individuals and organizations across South Carolina. And with that good fortune comes a responsibility to give back to our patients, our people, and our community.
Inspired by my own journey and by Booker T. Washington’s words, “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else,” as CEO, I have sought to infuse that same spirit of generosity into our organizational mission. It is a mindset that serves us well.
At Ritedose, giving back is central to our growth strategy and corporate culture. We believe that blessed organizations should bless others, which is why this year, we launched “1000 Hours of Purpose,” a bold new volunteer initiative that goes beyond traditional corporate philanthropy. Instead of simply encouraging staff to volunteer on their own time, Ritedose is donating 1,000 hours of employee paid volunteer time to support local organizations addressing urgent needs like hunger, housing, and youth support.
Can you list any organizations and people your company (or you personally) have supported?
In partnership with United Way of the Midlands, our teams have supported:
- Homeless No More, a transitional shelter for families
- Home Works of America, which provides critical home repairs for low-income residents
- Palmetto Place, a safe haven for homeless youth
- Transitions, which helps individuals move from homelessness to stable housing
- Sorting donations at Harvest Hope Food Bank
- Delivering meals through Senior Resources’ Meals on Wheels
- Organizing inventory for The Cooperative Ministry
A key characteristic of initiatives such as Lean includes emphasis on people.
But investments in programs like 1000 Hours of Purpose are more than charitable gestures; they’re strategic investments in our people. Helping others fosters connection, deepens engagement, and builds a shared sense of purpose. The result is a culture that retains talent and drives performance.
In my other writing on spiritual development, I try to emphasize ideas such as what Chastain notes, “This season reminds us that gratitude isn’t just a feeling, it’s a practice.”
I’d humbly suggest go and do likewise.
by Gary Mintchell | Nov 26, 2025 | Automation, News, Robots, Technology
The only news emanating from Automation Fair last week was the announcement of a plan to build a 1 million sq ft manufacturing and warehousing facility in southeast Wisconsin. Executives also reinforced earlier news regarding its regrouping of the cybersecurity SecureOT Solution Suite and the new ControlLogix 5590.
Executives appeared before the assembled media and analyst folks attending to highlight areas of emphasis that Rockwell Automation wished to promote. These talks were enlightening about the current state of Rockwell Automation’s thinking on what is important in this market and where Rockwell fits at this time.
Bob Buttermore, senior vice president, chief supply chain officer, has often appeared as the point person for using Rockwell products and services to improve internal and external supply chains within the company. Part of the new plant announcement included investing $2B in Rockwell operations to test and prove the next generation of industrial technology.
Our existing facilities in Singapore, Twinsburg and Milwaukee serve as live innovation labs, showing how new tools and processes perform in real-world manufacturing. These plants give customers a front-row seat to breakthrough solutions and demonstrate how Rockwell is shaping the future of smart, efficient and resilient manufacturing.
The old Silicon Valley phrase was “eating your own dog food.” The today Rockwell Automation version is Rok on Rok. Buttermore told us the team in Singapore took initiative to work with the local government and internal Rockwell resources to bring reality to “factory of the future” improvements. Learnings from that initiative are being applied within the Twinsburg, Ohio facility. They will be used to build the new Wisconsin facility when the time comes.
Special kudos to Buttermore for going beyond the pablum “we use AI” phrase to pinpointing which aspects of AI are used where. So refreshing to get something closer to specifics.
Speaking of AI, Rockwell has an executive in charge. Jordan Reynolds, Vice President, Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy, spoke about companies going beyond embedding AI in technology by incorporating it in workflows, and further using it to empower the people using the technology.
His talking point—As AI becomes more deeply embedded in operations, manufacturers must ensure their teams are not only equipped with the right skills but also confident in using AI to make faster, smarter decisions. In fact, 47% of manufacturers responded that AI comfortability is a “very important skill” in their workforce according to the 2025 State of Smart Manufacturing Report, which marks a 10% increase from 2024.
Sustainability remains an important mission. A panel brought together leaders from Circulor, Bolder Industries, and Utility Global to discuss how their innovations are accelerating the transition to a low-carbon future. The conversation highlighted the role of circular manufacturing, supply chain transparency, and clean hydrogen in building reliable and sustainable energy infrastructure. Panelists discussed overcoming regulatory, operational, and technological challenges through strategic partnerships and advanced automation.
My long history with Rockwell Automation includes nothing about robotics. Given a couple of recent acquisitions, the company has a new vice president of robotics, Ryan Gariepy. He was CTO of OTTO, the recently acquired AMR company. He’s excited about bringing together the array of robotics technology. This includes software Unified Robot Control and software-defined automation. Mobile with Clearpath development platform and the OTTO Autonomous Mobile Robotics. An integration ecosystems with Emulate 3D and OTTO Fleet Manager.
Running the anchor leg of the relay was Dan DeYoung, Vice President & General Manager, Design & Control. We saw him later showing off the ControlLogix 5590. This session focused on the future of software-defined automation. Rockwell sees the future of industrial automation as one where control systems can rapidly adapt and grow as new disciplines emerge. “With software defined automation, we are rethinking how robotics, vision, AI and ML come together with the core strengths of our multidiscipline control. Our focus is on creating an environment where these technologies can be integrated with speed and simplicity, shaping a future where automation is more flexible, scalable and ready for what’s next.”
It was at this point that a question from the audience asked about adoption of IEC 61131 programming and especially about the PLCOpen nirvana of write once/run anywhere. That is, write control code in your IDE of choice in a 61131 language and then target control platforms from any vendor. There was no comment. (Something I expected.) As Ed Sheeran put it, I was Thinking Out Loud on this longer thought piece about that topic.
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