00:00 – Marty: I’m going to get my straw out. Uh, Johnny Ferry, thanks so much for taking some time to come hang out with us. Appreciate it.

00:05 – Johnny: You bet, Marty. I’m glad to be here.

00:06 – Marty: Uh, I want to talk about manufacturing because I’m really interested in Utah’s manufacturing sector. But before we get there, I want to talk a little bit about you and make sure our audience gets to know, uh, you a little bit better. So, with that in mind, what-you’ve been in manufacturing not-this isn’t like, oh, suddenly I’m in charge of the manufacturers association. Like, you have been in manufacturing for a long, long time. Basically, your whole career, is that right?

00:32 – Johnny: That’s true. I, uh, right out of college, I, I don’t know what you-again, it comes down to what do we define as manufacturing? But for me, specifically, I think what most people define it as is one of those buildings that has steam coming out of the top of it. Like, that’s been 25 years of my life.

00:48 – Marty: Yeah.

00:49 – Johnny: And, uh, yeah, um, I started, um, after, so, I maybe even I’ll step back and can kind of prep-prepared me and people who get into the industry usually have some backstory that led them to, you know, their, their opportunity. And for me, it was growing up in Box Elder County, uh, a little place called West Corinne, which is out, uh, way, way out west. Um, my family are five generations of cattle farmers and ranchers. So, my upbringing was, uh, work in the farm, ranching, and, and, uh, we had hunting grounds and, uh, it was, it was a great operation, and it continues to be so. Um, it’s, uh, this is, again, like I said, five generations of that. But I, I learned how to work. I learned that, uh, the value of trying to figure things out yourself. It’s true when it comes to that, that, uh, that type of work. As I, um, I attended Box Elder High School, and I’ll, uh, Go Bees! Yeah, it is. And I’ll mention this because I’ll shout out to my wife because I met my wife in seventh grade, and she became the future of everything for me. Um, growing up on the farm and, and thinking that I was going to be a farmer and a rancher the rest of my life, she changed that. She, her family, um, owns a company by the name of Honeyville. Honeyville Grain is, uh, it’s now, this is the 75th anniversary of Honeyville Grain. Her great-grandfather started it. He was in Southern California when he started as, um, and worked in the, in the food industry. He had an opportunity during, at the start of World War II, uh, families of Japanese descent were being put into internment camps. And as an alternative program to that, um, they were offered land grants in places, remote places like Idaho and, um, Colorado and Utah.

02:37 – Marty: Box Elder County.

02:38 – Johnny: Box Elder County. And so, he helped-he literally got in the truck and helped drive families, uh, and, and became a sponsor of these families to get them into these new locations. And on one of those journeys, he came-he went to Honeyville, Utah, which is in Box Elder County. Um, saw a milling operation there and fell in love with it and purchased it. And so, he started to, uh, develop and build a grain commodity business of selling grains into, into different, um, different, uh, companies, and mainly into Southern California. Um, he hit it off big in the corn industry. Corn is a, is a, um, not porn, corn.

03:16 – Marty: Corn, yeah. We’ll put it-we’ll put a graphic on the screen. C-O-R-N, yeah, very good.

03:19 – Johnny: Yes, yes. Corn industry, which is a, s-, s-, s-, you know, the number one ingredient in, in the Latino diet. So, you can imagine how much corn product is going into Southern California. Uh, today Honeyville is the largest seller of corn product in Southern California. Move about 200 million pounds of corn annually that we grow and, and produce out of Cal-, out of Texas and Nebraska, ship it to Southern California, clean, process it, ship it into the local tortillerias. And that was-that continued to grow until I entered the scene because I, I, um, after serving a, an, uh, LDS mission, I returned back, went to BYU where my future wife was as well. We got married, and her grandfather offered me-not me, but he went to my grandparents and asked them if he could pull me away from the farm.

04:05 – Marty: Hmm.

04:05 – Johnny: And, uh, they said, please, please take him. And I was taken and, and, uh, jumped into my first job in manufacturing. It was a production line supervisor, nighttime shift, uh, running trail mix for the USDA. And I remembered it well because, cough at the time, we had a Z-conveyor that would take the, the dried cranberries that went into this trail mix up a conveyor and they were dropping all over and I had my hard hat and they’d land on my hat, onto the floor, and onto the bottom of my shoes. And at night, I’d have to go in and scrape them off and, uh, that was my first job. I remember it and I remember it well, and it served me well because it takes me back now, 25 years later, and in, in the position where I am and, and decision making, I think back to that time that I spent in those late nights working hard, and those people around me and how important they were to the process. Um, as I developed from there, I started to think about different ways that I could, um, you know, improve our processes. It was brand new division for Honeyville. We had never done consumer packaged goods, and I was asked to kind of run with that. And that became, you know, my passion. And, and what really connected was, I, I learned this, and so, back to the defining what manufacturing-a definition of manufacturing. cough There is that moment of manufacturing that most people think of, and it, it-you can relate to it, whether you see it how it’s portrayed in the media or on, in movies, of that production line where things are falling apart and, uh, product’s falling off, and it’s the I Love Lucy chocolate thing where they’re trying to keep up with production. And that’s true. There is always going to be that, the, the moment of manufacturing and there’ll be days like that. But what’s really interesting is that to get to that moment, it is also part of the manufacturing process. So, start from the very beginning. Think about how something is made. You have to be able to think it first, so the R&D and the, uh, con-, conceptual part of it that helps you to prepare for, uh, moving it to supply chain and quality and regulatory and all the steps that have to align-scheduling. All of those steps that have to align so that at that moment of manufacturing, you have the employees ready to go. You have your workforce there. You have your maintenance. You have your parts. You have everything you need because the most important, um, moment is that on-time, in-full getting it out the door, laughter that the manufacturers live by. Then there’s everything downstream. It’s the delivery. It’s the getting your product to the, um, to the end consumer. So, it’s the quality checks, the staging, the delivery, the freight itself. All of those are part of manufacturing. So, when I, when I, when I think about manufacturing, and as we discuss this, we should be thinking of it not just in that, that moment when something changes from one state to the other, which is the definition of manufacturing. cough But it is the whole process. And when you start thinking of it in those terms, you’re like, oh my goodness, that is so many more people, so many more resources, so much more, um, involvement than just that single moment that makes that happen. But give credit to everybody from start to finish, up and down the line, those who make manufacturing happen. And, uh, it’s just like we’re s-, we’re sitting here drinking a Swig soda. In food manufacturing, think about all those ingredients that had to come together so that you could enjoy that sip of that, uh, Swig drink and then get it delivered to the location wherever you purchased this, and then out the door, uh, as, cold and, and, this-and it has that same experience every time you eat it. So, in thinking manufacturing, as we’re discussing that today, think of the whole process. Think of what that means, and that’s what I have learned over the past 25 years is, is what each, how important each one of those steps are to, um, be successful, to be profitable, um, or whatever measurements you might have when it comes to, uh, what, what a, what, what real manufacturing is.

08:24 – Marty: Yeah. So, it’s interesting when you say, you know, you sort of went farming to manufacturing, um, even though the manufacturing side was probably as close to f-, the, the agricultural industry as you can get in manufacturing. And at, at the same time, farming, as you describe it, there’s like a, a process to that as well where you’re sort of taking raw materials, turning them into something, and then shipping them. So, in a way, it feels like you’ve been, uh, maybe, u-, if there’s a spectrum there, you’ve been on both sides of the spectrum of manufacturing, but also in highly related areas. Have you thought about it that way where it’s like, ah, geez, this was all very similar?

09:00 – Johnny: Every time I eat a hamburger, I think of it because laughter my family was-it was, it was not just the farming, but it was the beef. So, we would grow the food that would feed the beef that became our cheeseburgers. Uh, that is, so yes, every time I get a moment, I think how, the, seeing the whole process all the way through. We just, we think about that moment we’re eating that cheeseburger, but the reality of it is the manufacturing get it to that moment so that all those components come together. Uh, yeah, that’s been, I really-that’s kind of been my life. That’s what it is. And, um, as we, as you take advantage or take opportunity to for those moments, then you start to realize, you know, this is something bigger. And, um, and when you start putting it on a state level, so put some boundary to it. The Utah Manufacturing Association, that part of it came about when I, um-so as, as we were, as Honeyville was growing, uh, we had several different brands that we started to develop for. And, um, uh, one of the earliest brands that we worked with was the Kodiak, uh, pancakes. And, uh, I had-I remember some very, very, very first, um, interactions and business bills that we did with them, um, product, product development and everything else. Uh, I remember being part when Costco came knocking at the door. I was giving a tour to Costco and they asked me-they, they saw the box of Kodiak cake coming off the line, and they asked me, “What’s that?” “That’s a Kodiak cake. Would you like to know more?” You know, those kind of experiences and moments that connected, watching those brands build, watching how they came together, um, just kind of helped me in my background of understanding how it all works and came together. And then seeing the importance of marketing, the importance of product development, and then the importance of promotion and getting the name out there, getting the people out there to see and try your product. Uh, as we work with Costco, you got the, you know, you got road shows, you got the, the tasting to go on that we all love. All of that is, uh, again, it falls back in making sure that Costco can’t sell anything if they don’t have product on their shelf. Um, and so, we had to make sure that we got things delivered on time and full. Um, all of that was, was an interesting part of what we’re-so when I think about the, the, the process, I think about all of those things.

11:13 – Marty: You can tell just from talking to you laughter that you’re-you’re really passionate about manufacturing. What is it that you love-like, what is it that you love most about it?

11:21 – Johnny: I love the-I love that it creates. It creates from the very beginning. It starts off with ideas. So, you can-this is where, let me just give a shout out to how AI is going to continue to impact manufacturing. Manufacturing requires thought. You have to, because many times, manufacturing leads to an investment. So, before you invest, you’re very cautious and careful with those resources. And that resource means then you need to know and get as much information as you can to be able to put a, um, to put an idea together that becomes the next big thing. And so, um, as I, as I think about the, that process, um, all of it requires just, you know, just, the, the creation side. So, it is going from an idea to a concept to a finished good and to a satisfied customer. And that’s what I’ve lived by. That really has been success, where I found success is following that process.

12:17 – Marty: So, you find some satisfaction in like the completion of the process and at the end of the day or the end of that process, you have something tangible.

12:25 – Johnny: Oh. I, I think about this, too, um, back a farm analogy here. Dad, my dad used to always talk about getting water to the end of the row. You’ve heard the analogy. Literally, in farming, w-, when we would set those corn rows up and we would have, you know, watering all the way down, if you shut that water off too soon, especially on that first watering, that whole end of the field is going to die. It doesn’t get to the end, and you lose out on all of that, um, product that you could have produced. But that’s definitely something that I think about that getting all from start to finish. And then, you know, there’s nothing like the satisfaction at the end of the day of watching what you’ve created, um, have it, have it to see what it, it did. You know, the, the end result. And, uh, and I, I seem to get that in manufacturing, and many people get that over and over again. And that’s why they’re in it.

13:14 – Marty: Uh, give us just an overview of what the manufacturing sector looks like in Utah. It’s, it’s bigger than I think most people would think. In Utah, you might say, oh, it’s agriculture, um, I, you know, it could be defense, and, and some of those things have some overlap, uh, as we’ve talked about. But give us just an overview of like, what does the manufacturing sector look like in Utah?

13:38 – Johnny: Yeah, that’s a good question. Thinking about because going back to what we were defining manufacturing, if you think about all of the process that takes, and you define your manufacture, so defining what manufacturing is and you say, okay, let’s dive in further. There’s three parts that really impact manufacturing. One is those direct manufacturers. So, you actually make something, you’re a primary manufacturer, you live for that moment of manufacturing. But then think about-well, I’ll just, let’s just comment on that. In the state of Utah, so we have to register with the federal government. Well, we don’t, everyone does. You register your business with the federal government, and then you give what’s called an NAICS code, a code that defines what kind of manufacturer that you are. In, uh, manufacturing, we’ve got codes 31, 32, and 33. And those codes, uh, define all of these inner industries, and that can be anything that makes something. So, it can be jewelry manufacturing, it can be pet food manufacturing, food manufacturing, it can be cabinet making. I mean, anything that is classified, your main thing that you do is manufacturing, is under one of those codes. In the state of Utah, we have over 5,000 registered, um, manufacturers that are tied to those codes. So, we know, we can see that there is businesses of anywhere and then they classify them by number of employees, anywhere from one to five, one-five to 10. It goes up, you know, just scales up from there up to s-, tens of thousands. And so, when you look at those, uh, when you start to look at it that way, oh, you’ve got, um, you, you’re starting to in-that’s where you start to see-remember, that’s just to identify what kind of business you are. Then take all those that serve manufacturers, all the businesses that serve manufacturers. And the best way to kind of put that is to think of it this way: if I’m a small and building business, a midsize, small and midsize business, um, I may not need in-house, uh, accounting. I may not need in-house marketing. I may not need in-house, you know, specific, uh, uh, services. So, I go to a third party. I hire them out, and as I grow my business, maybe I pull that in-house at some point. But there are the, the most, um, most of the businesses out there utilize some type of a service provider. And so, by classifying those codes, you can then get to see how big of an impact they are. There’s over 85,000 registered service providers to manufacturers that sell some service in some way in the state of Utah.

16:08 – Marty: Uh, so with all that-gets to be a big ripple then.

16:09 – Johnny: Oh, yeah. Think of the ripple effects that go with that. One more category group is your peers. Um, as you grow in manufacturing, you’re impacting other industries for sure. Uh, when you go look at the state and you see the number, um, uh, where most employ-number of industries that employ the most people. Number one is healthcare and services. Number two is retail. And right there, right behind it, is manufacturing, number three. And then that impact and the impact on GDP in the state is tremendous. We’re kind of a quiet giant. People don’t don’t know us, they don’t talk about it because we’re the guys who pull up to the building, we put our hard hats on and our hairnets laughterand, uh, and we-

16:53 – Marty: And you go inside a building that no one can-that nobody can see in.

16:55 – Johnny: No. laughter You don’t see it, and the walls are all up, and you’re like, oh, they’re they’re making things in there. Oh, there’s steam coming out of the top. Oh, what’s that? Like, yeah. And we don’t realize how impactful that truly is here in the state.

17:06 – Marty: Yeah.

17:06 – Johnny: And so, when I think about, uh, the impact that the, that manufacturing has, I think of it in those terms. Uh, those are everyday people. I remember my, the founder, the, one of the, the president of our company used to say, he pulled me to the window and say, “Look out in that parking lot. Look at all those cars. Every one of those represents a family. And every one of those families represents a neighborhood. And so, our impact in making sure that they’re here, they’re safe, that they’re paid well, um, is, is going to impact how we live, uh, and, and our communities, and our state.” So, I, I think, I think manufacturing has a bigger role to play. And, uh, but we do it quietly. And, uh, my job is to get it out there, let people know, and promote it.

17:51 – Marty: Uh, when I think of manufacturing, and I think as more of sort of an everyday Joe who doesn’t do the manufacturing, um, sector all the time, you know, I would think, uh, folding tables and chairs, laughter kayaks, basketball hoops, right? That’s sort of almost one company, right? Yeah.

18:07 – Johnny: That’s Lifetime, yeah.

18:07 – Marty: Yeah, yeah. Uh, I would think of medical devices, and then I would think of aerospace. So, I’d love to just kind of walk through some of those other-are those-is that a fairly decent representation of a way to say like stuff that people use, consume? So, let’s say throw food in there, so food in there. Yeah, okay, so food in there. So, those are-those are sort of like, not a-not a comprehensive way to look at it, but broad categories. Tell me about the, the aerospace. This is one that like, it feels like for the past 5 to 10 years, we’ve been hearing so much about we want to be big in advanced, um, advanced manufacturing, aerospace manufacturing, composites is a word you hear a lot. Um, how big is that in Utah, and is it sort of the one that’s got all this potential to continue to grow because it’s sort of-I mean, when you type, put the word “advanced” into it, it’s like, well, it’s advanced, that means it’s only going to get more and more advanced as we go.

19:12 – Johnny: Yeah, um, a great, uh, great, uh, way to kind of look at this, too, and, and shout out to all of those industries. Aerospace and defense has a very specific niche here in Utah. A lot of it’s driven because of Hill Air Force Base. But we also have a lot of innovators, innovation that touches well into that space. And it’s kind of like, if you think about it, look back the history of that, of how it’s kind of fed itself, that as ideas have been created, usually there needs to be money behind it to create some of those bigger projects, and that’s where government steps in, and then you get aerospace and defense that allows, you know, that industry and the big players here in the state of Utah to build the things that they do. Um, it’s also fun and exciting. It’s, it’s, uh, you know, we didn’t-our generation before us experienced, like, building a rocket to the moon. We’re now building cars that will fly-

20:06 – Marty: I’m much more of a space shuttle age. I don’t know laughter Just to clarify, space shuttle. You may have been around for the moon landing, I don’t know. laughter

20:16 – Johnny: We better go-we better go two generations there. laughter But yes, uh, when I think about the, that, that is the kind of the new and exciting thing, uh, the idea of drones, the idea of, you know, automation and robotics. Like, that-

20:30 – Marty: Well, the aerospace has had sort of a resurgence, right, with the Artemis mission and now it’s like, it used to sort of be NASA, and now it’s NASA, and it’s SpaceX, and it’s Blue Origin, and all of these that that seem to have a younger generation a little more thinking about this than than even like my generation did that was maybe sandwiched in between the moon missions and, you know, these, these new moon missions.

20:53 – Johnny: Yeah, I, I was, uh, yesterday we went to an event that was held by Union Pacific Railroad and, um, NASA, and it was-and Northrop Grumman. And the two of them were came together because Corinne-and they were out in Corinne, my hometown. And, uh, they brought the two together because it was all about they they were, uh, they were introducing a new train, which was the Donald Trump train. And then they had, um, the, the rockets that they that that, uh, Northrop Grumman had built out of Thiokol, and they were, you know, saying, “Hey, these rockets built in Utah are now going to go on this train and it’s going to take it for the 250th anniversary. These are parts for the Artemis program. We’re sending these to Florida to get assembled.” But they were things that were built right here in Utah. How exciting is that? As a kid growing up, I remember seeing those rocket, um, the tests that they do. All of a sudden, we’d be out, you know, working in the field and all of a sudden the ground starts shaking. And we’re like, “No, not an earthquake.” And then we look over and we see a great big cloud of smoke coming out of Thiokol’s direction because they were testing the rockets that would, you know, send people to the moon, um, and up in-and, and satellites up into space.

22:04 – Marty: And even like the solid rocket boosters, right, from the space shuttle were out there, if I remember.

22:07 – Johnny: Yeah, that’s right. And so, you know, just, just that kind of-think of, uh, Utah is, we were-you know, they, the, our forefathers came out here to be remote and laughter and get away from everybody. That also led to the ability for us to kind of be remote and do our own thing where we have these incredible aerospace and defense companies that can-they have the space to do the things that they need to for safety, but also just, uh, for privacy and protection and everything that goes with that, too. But the, um, you know, we have now-we have generated innovators who have come up through and grown up through that in these different companies here in Utah. And, and they can be small ones, they don’t have to just the big names. These are the small ones that feed the big ones, and, and it all kind of synergizes together at Hill Air Force Base. We’re pretty lucky to be where we are when it comes to that s-, that, that, uh, that, that arena.

23:03 – Marty: What’s the biggest challenge Utah manufacturers face today?

23:08 – Johnny: Um, one, one of the-I, I would say the prop-, the most common thing, I ask the same question of both members and manufacturers throughout the state. Uh, instability. It’s the idea that, because manufacturers, again, we’re very rigid in how we do things, just like a machine.

23:26 – Marty: Yeah.

23:27 – Johnny: And, uh, businesses like predictability. I imagine manufacturers like predictability laughter even more.

23:31 – Johnny: Even more, exactly, because we, we have, you know, we have our-we have our goals, we have our deadlines, we have these things that we have to meet. So that discipline of getting something done on time, in full, out the door is how we live. It’s how we’re measured. It’s how we’re successful. We, we measure our own success that way. Anytime you throw in, um, something that changes that, that, uh, you know, the equation, then you’re throwing people-you’re throwing a wrench into this discipline. And so, for manufacturers, they need that. Uh, things like, um, the tariffs that we don’t know where they’re going to land, that, in a way, that was meant to help manufacturers, but because of the inconsistencies there, that caused a lot of problem in the supply chain. Um, you know, s-, there were some great, neat-I mean, there was some great things that were attempted to try and bring manufacturing back to the US, and, uh, and to do more of that. But what’s caused, because of the tariffs’ effect, then just that, that unknown, that uncertainty.

24:32 – Marty: And to an extent, I imagine like it-there are tariffs, and then there are different level tariffs, and then there is a court saying no tariffs, and now we’re back to this, and the, the, the back and forth of that is what causes as much problem as anything.

24:44 – Johnny: And, and think about also the input of, of energy. Gas and, and oil and, in things that drive our machines, the energies that drive our equipment, we’re very much impacted by the ebb and flow of that. So, as energies’ prices spike, manufacturers who are used to the consistencies see that. We try to then have to-we’re the start of having to pass that on to the customer, and figure out a way, or how are we going to eat that cost? And so, you take away the consistency, and that’s the biggest challenge that manufacturing faces right now, um, as, I would-and I hear that over and over again.

25:21 – Marty: What about workforce? Are-are we seen as a place that we got a lot of young people? Uh, traditionally, we’ve had-we have fewer young people than we used to have, but we still have probably more than most places in the country. An advantage, a disadvantage? Something we’re obviously very focused on.

25:35 – Johnny: Yeah, I would, uh, you know, for, for us, definitely, that’s, I’d say, that’s probably the number two is that workforce, and then also it’s not just the workforce having a body, it’s having, you know, the intelligence that goes with that body about how to operate the equipment, the machines. But not just that moment of manufacturing. Remember, we need all of those people to do all those other jobs that make that moment happy. So, for us, when we think about the workforce, it’s developing all, everybody. So, your accountants, um, your, your R&D people, supply chain people, like, all of them are just as important as those that operate the equipment. The quality, the maintenance people, like, all of those people are so important to making that moment happen. And that’s why I always go back to that is, we’re not just manufacturing, we’re all of the above because, uh, if one of those goes down, or we don’t have top-level talent that’s, uh, you know, doing their jobs, we, we lose out. We miss out on that discipline as, as we get to that moment of manufacturing.

26:40 – Marty: What do you look at then, you know, we talk about challenges, what about biggest opportunities? What do you look at and say, “This is why we’re positioned to really go launch from here”?

26:49 – Johnny: Yeah, I, I would say that, uh, s-, specific-, specifically for manufacturing in the state of Utah, um, our opportunity, we, we have a very strong foundation, and we’re already top game. We’re already top and with-and sometimes when you get to the top, it’s a little bit wobbly because you got there for, you know, maybe you had some energy bursts and you’re there. We’re not that. We are that slow grow, that slow build, that discipline that got us to where we are. I don’t see that going away. I see that, you know, probably the biggest threat to the workforce is cost of living. Cost of living is a challenge for, uh, and, and that’s, that’s all around for all workers and that whole process that they go through. Um, but yeah, that cost of living is going to be a challenge for. If we can’t-if we can’t get to where we can keep and retain talent in our state, we’re going to lose it. That, that’s probably the biggest threat that we have going against us right now, is, um, is having that, having, uh, good people leave because they can’t afford to be here.

27:51 – Marty: Yeah, tell me about your professional transition from, uh, Honeyville, where you were working in manufacturing, and now suddenly it’s like, “All right, now be, to a certain extent, responsible for the, for the, uh, continued march forward of the manufacturing sector in our state.” Clearly, like I said, you’re very passionate about it, laughter but, uh, how has that transition been from like, “I get to focus on this company and what we’re doing,” to all of the manufacturing?

28:18 – Johnny: So incredible, like, the-all my dreams coming true, right? It is, um, something where I had a passion and I, I, I helped to to create something, and then I get to now go out and, and see others who have done the same. But more, if there’s any way that I can take what I’ve learned and impart it to others and help, um, in their, in those processes, um, we exist-the Manufacturing Association exists simply to provide a value to its members. We’re a non-profit. We’re not out there trying to sell some product. But the way that we do that is, and, and this is taken, so I’ve now been in seat about, um, just over six months. And for me, the way that I look at the world going, the, in this space, um, for an association, what does a value-why would-why would somebody want to be a a member of an association? It’s got to bring a value, and that value comes in, um, in five areas. We offer benefits, so take the combined voice of all manufacturers, what can you do with that? Well, you can combine your, you pull together your benefits. Um, you can offer trainings that everybody needs. You have advocacy up at the state legislature for regulatory issues and other things that, that you, you know, you provide for the members. Um, you have networking, so events and ways to connect and bring people together, ideas together, and then you bring services, the fifth one, services to manufacturers as they need them. By taking that approach and identifying that, I can see like that, that has-that has benefited our company, but then as it benefits the manufacturers, that, that becomes a natural fit for the position and, uh, what I’ve learned in just this few time, this little bit of time that I’ve been involved with the Manufacturing Association.

30:11 – Marty: Do you approach it a little bit like the same process you used at, at Honeyville to say, “Okay, here’s what we’ve got, we know the output we want, this is our raw material, how do we go manufacture it?” What-what from your background is like helped you most in this new type of role?

30:26 – Johnny: Yeah, that’s-it’s exactly what we’re structuring with the Manufacturing Association right now. I look at this and I say, “Okay, what is the flow process that the members get the experience, so manufacturers get their experience all the way through?” It really does start with awareness, which is the marketing piece. Awareness of what programs are available, uh, awareness of, of ways that we can help as a combined group as manufacturers, each other. Um, so there’s the marketing piece. Marketing moves to business development. That means we’ve got to go out and connect. We’ve got to, we’ve got to hunt down and find those that want to be a part of the Manufacturing Association. Then that leads to, um, once they become converted, then it’s the account management, and it’s taking care of those accounts, giving them every opportunity to participate in all of the offering that the UMA has, and providing customer service. So, uh, those offerings, again, the benefits, trainings, the, uh, advocacy, and the networking, plus the service, all of that is then the responsibility of the account managers who work with the manufacturers. So, I followed-that process is just a mirror image of what I did as a manufacturer, is, you know, going from marketing and promoting the product, going out and hunting the sales, uh, converting those sales, and then keeping them happy. Um, that whole process continues with the association. And I think that helps speak the language to the, the members and future members, those that want to join or be a part of us, uh, because they speak that. That’s what they do, that’s how they live their life, and I think it helps us in, um, connecting, speaking the language for sure.

32:14 – Marty: We’ve talked a little bit about where manufacturing, uh, is in our state economy and our overall picture right now. Where do you want it to be in five years?

32:23 – Johnny: laughter So, the, the, uh, the Department of Workforce Services puts out a, a chart that basically predicts the next 10 years, where, where are we going to be? And if you look at where manufacturing is, we continue to see tremendous growth in our area. And that’s exciting. So, I would-I would mirror that and, and not just, not just by what the statistics are telling us, but also what I’m seeing in the eyes of the manufacturers. They’re saying, “We’re going to get there,” and, and you have some incredible leaders that are based here in the state of Utah, who are leading their companies, and I believe in them. When I see them and I see what kind of products they’re putting out, and they say we’re going to get there, I believe they’re going to get there. So, I see as a goal for us is to support them in that process of getting them to their goals. I see nothing but upside to the manufacturing space here in the state of Utah.

33:17 – Marty: You did touch a little bit earlier on on AI and its impact, and I wanted to talk not only about AI, but AI plus, say, robotics, automation. How does that play into manufacturing in our state right now and, and how does that impact the industry going forward?

33:32 – Johnny: Yeah, great question. I, I’ve wrestled with this one because when you first think of AI, you’re thinking, “Oh, I’m going to use it help in making my PowerPoint, I’m going to use it to help me write my emails, or do my, you know, data research.” Yes, that’s all part of it because, again, manufacturing touches so many places, AI can be applied there.

33:50 – Marty: Right.

33:50 – Johnny: But let’s talk specifically to the manufacturing moment. Where, how can AI help me produce a product better, on time, in full? The first thing you look at is to get to that moment, you had to create the environment for it to happen. What I mean by that is you needed the production line, you needed the equipment, you needed to think through the build that you were going to make this production line. Um, in my experience, Honeyville had several, you know, production lines. And when we didn’t have AI back in the day, I would have to go out and research that or get somebody to do that for me. Now, you can instantly create a digital twin, a digital, like, a, uh, you can create it digitally before you can, you know, actually have to invest in it. And because of AI, suddenly I have so many options on the table to think about, and it just processes all of those what-ifs so much better than, um, we’ve ever been able to do.