With more than 1,000 business professionals, exhibitors and students in attendance on a sunny October day, Insight Publications’ 15th annual Manufacturing First Expo & Conference delivered on manufacturing insights, leadership inspiration and industry connections Oct. 29 in Green Bay.
The morning kicked off with a highly anticipated keynote address by author and motivational speaker Betsy Allen‑Manning, founder of Destination Workplace, who began her remarks by telling business leaders in attendance that “every single one of you here is either contributing to your culture or contaminating it.”
Allen-Manning went on to outline three focus areas for making an immediate impact on shifting culture from that of a “resignation workplace” to a “destination workplace.” She shared strategies for assessing and developing leader character, establishing purpose‑driven culture and ensuring employee growth opportunities.
“You do need the skills to be an effective leader,” she said. “But it’s your character that makes people truly want to follow you. A leader’s character is contagious. What are people catching from you?”
Purpose-driven culture is sought after, Allen-Manning said, but can be confusing or elusive to leaders.
“The thing I hear from most executives, actually 94% of executives that we’ve interviewed, [is] ‘I know I need a distinct culture for business success. I know that it gives me a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting and retaining the best talent. But I don’t know what it is or how to build it.’”
Allen-Manning concluded her remarks by explaining that 80% of people leave their companies because they feel there are no growth opportunities. She challenged employers to focus on cultivating talent and fostering leadership growth, even in environments where there may not be specific job opportunities for advancement.
The keynote address, which featured audience participation, received rave reviews, and Allen-Manning was likewise impressed by the attendees and programming at Manufacturing First.
“The best of the best in manufacturing are here,” she said of her first-ever trip to Wisconsin. “That says a lot about this conference: If you want to be the best in manufacturing, this is definitely the conference to attend.”
— Kate Bruns
Mark your calendar: Manufacturing First 2026
Oct. 28, 2026 Resch Expo, Green Bay
As heard at 2025 Manufacturing First:
“Our conversations are changing. One thing I’m seeing is that our marketing and communications leaders are becoming business leaders. They’re not servants; they’re strategic partners … They’re how your company shows up.”
— Amanda Fitzpatrick, VP of Marketing at KI,speaking in the 2025 Manufacturing First breakout session“From Silos to Scale: How Manufacturers Are Aligning Teamsto Unlock Revenue Growth” led by StokeRGA CEO Jen Fietz
90%
The proportion of rare earths refining controlled by China, which began restricting the export of seven key elements — including yttrium, dysprosium and terbium — earlier this year. Experts say China’s one-year pause on the restrictions, enacted this fall, has started the timeclock for the U.S. to build its own rare earth supply chain, but China has “had the monopoly in this space for a really long time,” Neha Mukherjee of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence told Marketplace last month.
Source: Marketplace
7
The number of consecutive years Northeast Wisconsin Technical College has been selected for the Metallica Scholars Initiative, which through the rock band’s nonprofit All Within My Hands provides 25 NWTC students with scholarships for manufacturing career fields
Source: NWTC
2 million
The number of open U.S. manufacturing jobs expected to be available in 2033, up from 400,000 today
Source: National Association of Manufacturers
2.4
The number of apprentices per 1,000 workers in Wisconsin, ranking the state 11th nationally
Source: U.S. Department of Labor
Supply chains, tariffs hot topics at WMC Business Day
Geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan, best-selling author of the 2022 book “The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization,” spoke Oct. 23 at Monona Terrace in Madison as part of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce’s annual Business Day event, where Zeihan called the country’s ever-shifting tariff policies “a background of ambient chaos.”
Speaking before a crowd of about 900 Wisconsin business leaders and manufacturing executives, he said supply chain disruption is one of the biggest challenges facing manufacturers as the year ends. Those with more complicated supply chains are feeling the greatest effects, Ziehan said, while those with fewer suppliers will have a better opportunity to adjust.
Electronics, which aren’t a large segment of Wisconsin manufacturing, have some of the most complicated supply chains, he said: “The reason that Wisconsin is the state with the highest support levels for the [Trump] tariff policy is that you rightfully don’t see it affecting you as much.”
Apricity makes moves
Apricity Contract Packaging, the workforce readiness division of the nonprofit organization Apricity which employs more than 100 people annually throughout the Fox Valley, has moved from Neenah to a new facility at 3901 W. Spencer, Appleton. It is one block from Casa Clare, which is Apricity’s women’s residential treatment center.
“This move keeps us close to our mission and our people,” said Dan Haak, president of Apricity Contract Packaging and Recovery Support. “It’s easier for those participating in the employment program to get to work, and the space is right-sized, or designed for how we operate today, with more on-time work and less need for long-term storage.”
Apricity Contract Packaging, formerly STEP Industries, offers job training and employment opportunities for individuals in addiction recovery. Hear more about its history, its mission and its latest move to Appleton by listening to Episode 97 of the NEW Manufacturing Insights podcast, featuring Haak and Apricity Business Development Director Cheryl Fritz, at insightonbusiness.com/podcasts.
