Manufacturing Champion of the Month
MEPCA is excited to celebrate Jake Hall, better known as the Manufacturing Millennial, as our Manufacturing Champion for April. Ahead of his UK debut at Automation UK this May, Jake talks to our editor about his journey from the factory floor to being a respected manufacturing influencer.
With 100,000 followers and in excess of 150,000,000 views on his content, Jake Hall is a rising star amongst manufacturing personalities, delivering keynote presentations across the world. Speaking to our editor Oliver, Jake explained his remarkable career trajectory.
Jake: “My background in manufacturing started when I was 15 years old. I went to go work as a summer job for a custom automation machine builder in the summertime. And I was sweeping floors. I cleaned the bridge ports of the CNC and the equipment. I learned how to grind and weld. It was a great experience for me. I learned how so many things were made and the tools and how to use the tools that were never taught to me in school. And so that inspired me to continue my passion into what I saw as the engineering field.”
After graduating Grand Valley State University with a Bachelors in Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering and a Minor in BioMedical Engineering, Jake spent the next 10 years working in automation distribution and systems integration. When the pandemic hit, everything changed, and Jake found himself at home thinking of other ways to contribute to the industry.
Jake: “I started posting on social media, on LinkedIn as my platform … then people outside of my own connections at the time started liking what I did. And it just grew.”
Oliver: “So it wasn’t something you ever intended, you never sat down and went, ‘I want to be a manufacturing influencer’?”
Jake: “Not even in the slightest. I still honestly don’t see myself as an influencer because I’ve been in the industry for way longer than I was being an influencer. I still view myself as an engineer who just enjoys working in the industry.
“My goal now as a full-time Manufacturing Millennial influencer is I want to do two things: I want to help companies learn about technology that’s going to change the way they work and make them more productive and make their industry more attractive to work in. I want to do a better job of teaching companies that you need to go out and find your workers.”
Oliver: So, the advice you’d give manufacturing and engineering companies that are struggling to attract talent is to go find them?”
Jake: “Exactly. I’m a fan of when manufacturing companies are actively engaged in their community. That’s what solves problems, right? Companies, when they hire people, they’re hiring typically from a local talent pool.”
Jake is making his UK debut this May at Automation UK for which his expertise in industrial automation, robotics and machine vision will greatly suited.
Oliver: “What can attendees expect from you at Automation UK?”
Jake: “I want to highlight two things: I want to highlight how automation is impacting so many different industries right now where automation is no longer just what we think of as typical automotive automation. Robotics is, is in CPG it’s in pharma. It’s in food production. It’s in, agriculture. So I would be showcasing a wide variety of different ways that we’re leveraging robotics or automation and a wide variety of industries.”
Due to Jake’s unmatched passion for the manufacturing sector, his key note speech at Automation UK will surely be unmissable. For further details of the event, turn to the Automation UK preview, page 58.
https://www.themanufacturingmillennial.com/
