266: A Century of Cookware Manufacturing and the Impact of Automation and Reshoring with David Duecker, President of SynergyOps

A century ago, two cookware companies were born 12 miles apart in Wisconsin. One was bought right after World War II by a door-to-door salesman who converted it back to cookware after it had been repurposed for munitions. Today, those two companies have merged into SynergyOps, a 115-year-old legacy manufacturer with first through fourth generation employees still walking the factory floor.

David Duecker, President of SynergyOps, joins the show from the factory floor in West Bend to discuss the company's evolution, their approach to automation, and what reshoring can look like for manufacturers. He explains how West Bend evolved with consumer demand over the decades, expanding into appliances like coffee makers and popcorn poppers, but when appliances started moving overseas in the 80s, they made a critical decision: divest and double down on their core strength, high-quality cookware.

David's vision for the factory of the future isn't lights-out automation, it's highly automated with the people they have today, just doing different jobs. He also shares why manufacturing sustainability isn't just about solar panels and water recycling; it's about corrugated boxes coming from five miles down the road instead of across an ocean.

In this episode, find out:

• How SynergyOps retains institutional knowledge across four generations of employees
• Why David looks for problem solvers who are intuitive and curious during hiring
• David's vision for the factory of the future: highly automated, but still powered by people
• How his background as a customer in the bike industry shapes his approach to contract manufacturing
• The chemistry problem the cookware industry is trying to solve around PFAS-free non-stick coatings
• Why tariffs and COVID got manufacturers seriously rethinking single-source supply chains
• How partnering with Moraine Park Technical College helps build the next generation of skilled craftspeople
• Why Synergy Ops brings retirees back to lead tours and train new hires

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Tweetable Quotes:

• “As organizations, we’re always looking to expand or go to our adjacencies to try and grow our market. Sometimes it’s important to focus on your core and what you’re really good at. Go all in on that and penetrate the market that way.”
• “The factory of the future for us is highly automated with the people we have today, who are able to solve problems and make an impact every day, but they may just be doing a different job.” 
• “We never talk about the sustainability of manufacturing in the US. People often think about it in terms of water, air and gas, but sustainability can also mean cutting down on air, freight or ocean travel time too.”

Links & mentions:

• SynergyOps, a contract manufacturer and private label partner with over a century of manufacturing history in West Bend, Wisconsin, specializing in cladded stainless steel and cast aluminum cookware for established and emerging brands.
• Moxa, delivering the reliable and secure connectivity foundation that advanced analytics and AI depend on, with solutions in edge connectivity, industrial computing, and network infrastructure.  

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.