John Derzy and Michael Lipcsik with Hirata
Industrial Talk is onsite at MD&M West and talking to John Derzy and Michael Lipcsik with Hirata Corporation about “Manufacturing efficiency solutions”.
The conversation features Scott Mackenzie from the Industrial Talk podcast, discussing the MD&M West event with John Derzy and Michael Lipcsik from Hirata. John celebrates his 50th year in the industry and highlights Hirata’s 50-year history, starting with handcarts and evolving into a company specializing in automation and robotic solutions. Michael shares his background in manufacturing and automated testing. They discuss Hirata’s diverse clientele, including automotive, electronics, and medical devices, and their focus on long-term customer relationships. Hirata’s expertise in automation and predictive maintenance is emphasized, along with their integration of robots and systems for efficient manufacturing.
Lisa Brownlee with Leader’s Imago
Industrial Talk is onsite at SMRP 2025 and talking to Lisa Brownlee, Founder at Leader’s Imago about “Real-world leadership simulation”.
Scott Mackenzie promotes Elevotec’s ERP, EAM, and business intelligence solutions on his industrial podcast. At the SMRP conference, he interviews Lisa Brownlee of Leader’s Imago, who discusses her company’s leadership development program for manufacturing supervisors and managers. The program, a two-and-a-half-day leadership simulation, focuses on real-world challenges and provides high-quality feedback and coaching. Brownlee emphasizes the importance of managers supporting their employees’ growth and the need for vulnerability-based trust. She also highlights the significance of continuous improvement and emotional intelligence in leadership. Brownlee’s contact information is provided for further inquiries.
Vineet Thuvara with Fluke Corporation
Industrial Talk is onsite at Xcelerate 2026 and talking to Vineet Thuvara, Chief Product Officer with Fluke about “Busting the AI myths with reliability”.
Vineet Thuvara, Chief Product Officer at Fluke, discussed his journey from mechanical engineering to leading product development at Microsoft and Amazon, and his current role at Fluke. He emphasized the importance of breaking myths about AI, particularly in industrial reliability, and highlighted Fluke’s efforts to enhance technician efficiency using AI and AR. Thuvara shared that Fluke’s new sensors and software aim to reduce unplanned downtime, which costs $50 billion weekly, by providing real-time, accurate data and insights. He also discussed the potential of AR glasses to improve safety and efficiency in technical fields.
Bryan Christiansen with Limble CMMS
Industrial Talk is onsite at SMRP 2025 and talking to Bryan Christiansen, Founder and CEO at Limble about “Human centric CMMS platform”.
Scott Mackenzie from Industrial Talk Podcast interviews Bryan Christiansen, CEO of Limble, a maintenance management solution. Limble empowers maintenance professionals by making CMMS systems user-friendly and efficient. Christiansen highlights the company’s 10-year history, starting its first customer seven years ago. He emphasizes the importance of ease of use, citing the mobile application’s design based on plant floor insights. Limble’s AI capabilities streamline troubleshooting, PM plan setup, and scheduling, reducing technician trips and improving efficiency. Christiansen also discusses the company’s integration with third-party solutions and its adaptability across various industries.
Jay Hack and Navin Kulkarni with Fluke
Industrial Talk is onsite at Xcelerate 2026 and talking to Jay Hack and Navin Kulkarni about “eMaint and the impact AI has on asset management”.
At Fluke’s Xcelerate 2026 event, Jay Hack and Navin Kulkarni introduced new AI features in eMaint, a maintenance management system. They highlighted four key features: AI-driven email data interaction, SOP generation from OEM manuals, natural language work order creation, and multilingual document translation. The AI features received significant interest, with 40 customers eager to join the beta test. The system ensures data quality, supports structured data ingestion, and allows for real-time updates. Future plans include enhancing work order management and leveraging historical data for better decision-making and asset management.
