Josh Delforge, vice president of engineering and operations at Cruisers Yachts in Oconto joins co-hosts Kate Bruns of Insight on Manufacturing and Ann Franz of the NEW Manufacturing Alliance on this week’s new episode of the NEW Manufacturing Insights podcast, sponsored by Rice Companies.
Delforge talks with Bruns and Franz about how the Columbia space shuttle disaster altered his career plans, why the North Coast Marine Manufacturing Alliance’s mission is vital for the next generation of boat builders, and what NCMMA does for its members.
Delforge says his original plan when he went to college was to find his way to the space program. “Unfortunately, my senior year was the Columbia shuttle disaster,” Deforge recalls. “So that really changed the plan. That whole program really shut down. So it was time to pivot. I ended up back at home.”
He landed substitute teaching role until he found his way into the boat building industry. “I knew nothing about it really going into it,” he says. “I didn’t know port to starboard, any of that stuff. It was just one of those things where there was an opening and engineering position and I got into it.”
The recession a few years later further changed his trajectory, causing a shift to Gulfstream, which he enjoyed. “But one of my bosses originally said, ‘Once you get into boating, it gets in your blood and it’s really hard to get it out.’”
Deforge says as a young person he drove by the Cruisers plant every day and didn’t know what happened there, which was one of the reasons why he wanted to be involved with NCMMA — to share the industry with young STEM enthusiasts.
“Any time I was ever presented with, ‘Hey, do you want to talk to some kids? If somebody’s got questions, you want to do a tour?’ I mean, my answer is always, ‘Absolutely bring it on.’ I love to talk about it because I just never felt like all my options were really presented. There are a lot of cool jobs, and this is just one of those.”
NCMMA, which formed 16 years ago, also offers its members the chance to connect with fellow boat builders about common issues they encounter in the industry.
“I think that you find out pretty quickly that our problems are the same as your problems and their problems,” Deforge says. “And there’s definitely power in numbers to each company. … Anytime you’re able to sound things off of somebody else, usually you get to a solution, maybe a bigger solution when you’re sitting in your room by yourself.”
Listen to all of the insights from Deforge, including what his favorite projects have been at Cruisers, by downloading the full episode on Spreaker or anywhere you listen to podcasts. NEW Manufacturing Insights is produced by Woodward Community Media; new episodes are released on Thursdays.
Contact your Insight account manager for sponsorship information or contact Kate Bruns at kbruns@insightonbusiness.com to suggest topics and guests.
