Ford's Next Model T Moment, MEPs Are 'Do' Tanks, Not Think Tanks: So That Happened

Editor’s note: Welcome to So That Happened, our editors’ takes on things going on in the manufacturing world that deserve some extra attention. This will appear regularly in the Member’s Only section of the site.

MEPs: ‘Do’ Tanks, Not Think Tanks 

Reaction is rolling in to our Nov. 18 story on the Trump administration’s planned defunding of nonprofit Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEPs).  

Chris Baichoo, CEO and executive director of Wisconsin’s MEP, WMEP Manufacturing Solutions, wrote: 

“WMEP’s purpose is straightforward: we help small and mid-sized manufacturers improve productivity, strengthen operations, and build capabilities they need to compete. The work is practical, hands-on, and tailored to each company’s priorities.” 

Baichoo shared three recent case studies from Wisconsin manufacturers that WMEP supports: 

• Basin Precision Machining: Developed a targeted automation plan that increased throughput, relieved bottlenecks, and allowed employees to focus on higher-value work. 

• Kuhn North America: Achieved $130K in annual savings and enhanced employee engagement by applying Lean principles and empowering teams to solve problems directly. 

• SharkCrates: Nearly doubled production efficiency and created capacity for additional growth by redesigning plant layout and improving material flow. 

“These examples reflect what we see across the manufacturing community: companies are looking for practical support that helps them run better, adapt to changing customer needs, and build stronger foundations for future growth,” he added. 

“Manufacturers come to us for assistance with issues such as workforce development, productivity improvements, quality systems, new technologies, and export readiness. The needs vary, but the goal is always the same: strengthening their competitiveness and their ability to serve customers.” 

Sachin Shivaram, CEO of Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry, wrote in to highlight how WMEP has helped the Manitowoc, Wisconsin-based non-ferrous casting company: 

• Improving efficiency on our production lines 
• Exploring how AI can be applied in our operations 
• Assessing our readiness for ISO and other quality standards 
• Identifying new export opportunities for our products 

“These are not academic exercises,” he added. “They are practical projects that sharpen our competitiveness and support good manufacturing jobs here in the Midwest … Americans are tired of theoretical stuff.  

“The MEP isn’t a think tank - it’s a do tank. That’s what makes it so valuable. It’s policy with a hard hat on. Defunding it would be like cutting funding to your local fire department in the middle of wildfire season.” 

—Laura Putre

The Modern Manufacturing Misconception

Twenty-five percent of women and 20% of Americans say they are not familiar at all with modern blue-collar work, according to new survey research from the Manufacturing Corporation of America (MCA), an investor-owned industrial manufacturing firm. This research indicates more work is needed to educate the population about what skilled trade jobs truly entail and change the stereotypical perceptions of this work.

“Modern manufacturing jobs are not defined as working on an assembly line or doing heavy lifting. Instead, they often involve highly skilled work that involves interfacing with modern tech,” says Jerry Bailey, president of manufacturing at MCA. “Manufacturing jobs are much more mentally challenging and less physically demanding, embracing innovation, safety, flexibility and opportunity.”

Sixty percent of 18- to 24-year-olds reported believing that their generation looks down on blue-collar work. Other generations seem to agree with this sentiment, as 62% of respondents think society and schools push Gen Z away from the trades.

When asked what could make skilled trade careers more attractive to the younger generations:

• 38% say higher starting pay
• 17% say modern tools and tech
• 13% say less negative stigma and greater social respect

“Because of outdated perceptions, Gen Z has been taught to reject blue-collar work,” says Bailey. “The challenge now is to reshape the narrative and show that a modern trade career offers stability, creativity and real opportunity.”

—Anna Smith

Chart Industries CEO on the Move

Jill Evanko is stepping down from her position as president, CEO and board member of Houston-based Chart Industries, a manufacturer of process technologies and equipment, the company announced Nov. 17. The move is effective in early 2026.

The announcement of Evanko’s impending departure follows late July news that Baker Hughes would acquire Chart Industries, which operates 65 manufacturing locations and more than 50 service centers, for $13.6 billion.

That deal, which has been approved by Chart shareholders, is on schedule to close by mid-2026, subject to customary conditions, according to Chart Industries.

Evanko isn’t leaving Chart Industries entirely in early 2026, however. She will act a senior advisor to the company until the acquisition is completed. The Chart Industries board said it intends to appoint an interim CEO from within the organization.

Evanko’s next move is unclear. The news of her departure states that she will join a privately held company as an executive, but the name of the firm wasn’t provided.

Energy technology company Baker Hughes, whose operations include well construction, drilling, advisory services and much more, reports more than 57,000 employees globally. In October it reported third-quarter revenue of $7 billion.

—Jill Jusko

Deloitte’s Manufacturing Outlook for 2026

Shocker, a new manufacturing report says we should have our eyes on agentic AI as a rising technology across varied use cases. How’s your agentic deployment going?

Deloitte on November 14 released its 2026 Manufacturing Industry Outlook report and identified five key trends:

• Investment in smart manufacturing will likely continue next year. The report cites agentic AI as a key area for investment growth that may also drive the adoption of physical AI, or robots with increased autonomy. 
• Digital tools to handle supply chain complexity, risk and agility might be on the way. Agentic AI can evaluate trade routes, find cost savings, model scenarios and identify risk.
• U.S. manufacturing investment and growth could be tied to data centers and semiconductors. Component manufacturing is a specific growth area to watch. New tax incentives to support advanced manufacturing will also help spur investment.
• Agentic AI could serve as an aftermarket service provider, performing tasks like detecting component wear on machinery and autonomously ordering maintenance, adjusting service level agreements based on usage and risk patterns and evaluate telemetry data.
• Adaptive workforce planning with a build, buy or borrow framework, and tech adoption like knowledge and SOP capture, could help manufacturers manage workforce uncertainty. 

The report also notes that even if manufacturing turns heavily to AI, people-specific skills like creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and adaptability will keep people in the loop, as well as the need to hire operators for skilled, hands-on work for which automation is not appropriate. Manufacturers need to make sure employees see AI as an augmentation of, not a replacement for, their labor.

—Dennis Scimeca

Ford Eyes 15% Efficiency Boost With Electric Small Pick-Up

Ford Motor Co. executives are staking a massive amount of the company’s future—at least the part that won’t be using internal-combustion engines—on the planned 2027 launch of a small electric pick-up truck, the first vehicle built on the company’s new Universal EV platform. That’s not an overstatement: Leaders have talked about the launch as “a Model T moment” for months.

The truck is expected to come to market with a price tag around $30,000 and thus essentially create a new segment for EVs in the United States, whose manufacturers have until now focused far more on the higher-margin part of the car market. Starting several years ago with a California-based design skunkworks, Ford teams have been reimagining their processes to help deliver that price point, and next year is when the manufacturing part of the journey needs to kick in.

Speaking at this week’s Scotiabank Transportation & Industrials Conference, Andrew Frick, president of the company’s ICE and EV divisions, lifted part of the veil on what that will look like at Ford’s Louisville manufacturing complex. Building on the California group’s vision, he said, the new pickup will be made on three subassembly lines—for front and rear unit casting and the battery structure—before coming together on a final assembly line. That process, he added, will pay the required attention to safety, quality and speed, and be far more efficient than the plant’s other lines are today.

“We’ll have 20% less parts, 25% less fasteners,” Frick said. “At the end of the day, we’ll be able to increase the line speed by 15%, which is a lot in the world of manufacturing.”

The Model T moment approaches.

— Geert De Lombaerde