This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with returning guest Sachin Shivaram, CEO of Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry.
The conversation centers on federal funding for the national Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which provides funding in turn to state-level programs such as the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing & Productivity. Shivaram chairs the board for the WCMP, which aims to deliver “low-cost and cutting-edge” consulting services to small and medium manufacturers.
He discusses recent uncertainty around federal support for the program, as one cohort of state manufacturing centers were notified their funding had been slashed amid federal costcutting efforts.
The administration then moved to extend funding for that cohort following a “public backlash,” Shivaram said, but “the message to everyone else, the other 40 states, is that, you know, this program is on the chopping block.” WCMP’s funding isn’t up until the end of the year.
Along with providing a historical view on the federal government’s support for small to mid-sized manufacturing, Shivaram shares how the WCMP’s assistance can help with market competitiveness, process improvement, deploying new technology such as AI and more.
“We are in the business of making aluminum castings, we don’t know much about artificial intelligence,” he said. “But we do know that that technology can make our work so much more efficient, so we turn to the experts so that they can guide us in solving this tough issue. And that’s exactly why this service is so important.”
He notes the “vast majority” of the U.S. industrial economy is made up of small and medium companies, adding the Trump administration’s stated policy is to encourage domestic manufacturing.
“There are big companies all across America who are scrambling to replace their offshore sources with American manufacturers, and they are unfortunately being shocked to find that we’re not as competitive as their other sources,” he said. “Not because we’re not as good … we hadn’t had to compete in this way, and so the whole economy, and the biggest companies in America, need their small and medium-sized companies to be more competitive.”
Listen to the podcast below, sponsored by UW-Madison:
See a recent related story and podcast as well as Shivaram’s previous appearance on the show.
