American Made starts from a hard line: American manufacturing rises or falls on workers at the plant, not on headlines about reshoring. Ops leaders win or lose their week at the moment a shift either has a full, skilled crew or runs short.
This channel is built for U.S. manufacturing leaders who own output, uptime, staffing, and safety in single-location plants with 100 or more employees. Hosted by Joel Zimmerman, President and CEO of MADICORP, and Michele Vincent, Vice President, the show turns 30 plus years of labor experience into practical moves for keeping production running in a thin tal
Deploying 200 workers to a plant in 72 hours sounds impossible, but Joel Zimmerman and Michele Vincent walk through how they actually do it.
In this episode of American Made, they unpack the real world scenarios that trigger large scale deployments, from seasonal surges in the Midwest to urgent plant expansions that local hiring cannot cover. Joel and Michele explain how MADICORP’s supervisors, travel logistics, and tablet based timekeeping system work together to move people from all over the country, onboard them smoothly, and avoid chaos on day one. They close with hard-earned lessons on how rapid deployments can either destroy trust or build it for both clients and workers when the process is executed with discipline.
In this episode:
When manufacturers actually need 100 to 200 outside workers on the ground fast
How to plan travel, housing, and intake so logistics do not become the bottleneck
The role of supervisors, tablet systems, and clear staging in large scale onboarding
Why execution quality in a 72 hour deployment directly shapes long term trust
25 Feb 2026
Why Contract Labor Is No Longer a Dirty Word
Contract labor has a reputation problem, and Joel Zimmerman and Michele Vincent are out to separate bad temp experiences from structured, high-skill staffing that actually reduces risk. In this episode of American Made, they lay out the difference between dumping a hundred unvetted locals on your supervisors and bringing in experienced contract crews with their own leadership, training alignment, and clear quality expectations. They explain why contractors should go through the same plant specific safety orientation as your own employees, how to measure rework and productivity for outside crews, and where seasonal and surge staffing can protect core teams from burnout. The conversation closes with practical guidance on vendor selection, OSHA joint responsibility, and how the right partner turns contract labor into a strategic lever instead of a last minute gamble.
In this episode:
When contract labor becomes a true risk reducer instead of a headache
How to align safety training and standards for contractors and full time employees
Ways to measure quality, scrap, and productivity for outside crews
What to look for in a staffing partner before trusting them with your plant
11 Feb 2026
The Real Reason Your Factory Can’t Find Skilled Labor
Joel Zimmerman and Michele Vincent break down why the manufacturing labor crisis runs deeper than “no one wants to work” and how it is reshaping decisions about where factories get built. They connect demographic realities, addiction, pandemic-driven retirements, and years of steering people away from the trades to the talent shortages manufacturers feel on the floor every day. The conversation moves from national security and reshoring pressures to practical options like contingency staffing, traveling workforces, and realistic use of visa programs, then lands on what it takes to hire for aptitude while keeping people long term. The episode gives plant leaders a framework for planning labor needs across their own facilities and their supply chain instead of waiting for the next crunch to hit.
In this episode:
Why labor availability now drives factory location decisions
How demographics, addiction, and reshoring fuel a structural skills shortage
Short term options like traveling workforces and visa programs versus long term training pipelines
Practical steps for contingency staffing and retaining workers you train
28 Jan 2026
Why 3rd Shift is Your Secret Weapon (and Biggest Risk)
Third shift can make or break a plant, and Joel Zimmerman and Michele Vincent are tired of seeing it treated like an afterthought. American Made tackles how nights become both a production advantage and a magnet for burnout, safety concerns, and turnover when they are staffed from the same shallow local pool. Drawing on years of running traveling third-shift crews, Joel and Michele break down why most manufacturers struggle to add nights, where traditional temp models fall apart, and how outside workforces, incentives, and culture choices change the story. They also react to Procter & Gamble’s “dark shift” experiment and what automation on nights really means for operators and crews.
In this episode:
Why so many plants cannot staff third shift from local hiring alone
The hidden risks of traditional temp staffing models on nights
How traveling workforces and incentives stabilize a new third shift
What automation and “dark shifts” signal for the future of night work
14 Jan 2026
The Contract That Could Shake U.S. Fuel
The 2026 oil and petrochemical pattern agreement could reshape U.S. fuel supply, and Joel Zimmerman and Michele Vincent want operators ready before talks turn into trouble. In this episode of American Made, they pull from decades of strike staffing and strike security experience to explain what it really takes to keep a refinery or petrochemical plant running during a labor dispute. They lay out how to plan for replacement workers, why 24 hour rolling extensions wreak havoc on readiness, and where security decisions can quietly raise your risk instead of lowering it. The conversation gives manufacturing leaders a clearer view of what genuine preparedness looks like when 30,000 USW members and more than 200 bargaining units sit down at the table.
In this episode:
How the 2026 USW pattern agreement could affect U.S. energy production
What effective strike contingency planning and replacement staffing actually require
Why rolling contract extensions and shared talent pools increase risk for employers
The specialized role of strike security and how poor choices create legal and safety exposure
7 Jan 2026
Welcome to American Made!
American Made is the show for U.S. manufacturing leaders who carry the weight of output, uptime, staffing, and safety every week. Hosted by Joel Zimmerman, President and CEO of MADICORP, and Michele Vincent, Vice President, it turns three decades of labor experience into clear moves for running plants with thin crews and rising expectations. Episodes tackle the labor crisis on the ground, from shorthanded shifts and third shift fatigue to contract crews, rapid ramps, and high stakes negotiations. If you run a plant with 100 plus employees and feel the labor crunch every day, this show is for you.
4 Dec 2025
American Made
American Made starts from a hard line: American manufacturing rises or falls on workers at the plant, not on headlines about reshoring. Ops leaders win or lose their week at the moment a shift either has a full, skilled crew or runs short.
This channel is built for U.S. manufacturing leaders who own output, uptime, staffing, and safety in single-location plants with 100 or more employees. Hosted by Joel Zimmerman, President and CEO of MADICORP, and Michele Vincent, Vice President, the show turns 30 plus years of labor experience into practical moves for keeping production running in a thin talent market.
Episodes focus on the labor crisis as the core constraint on growth: missed deadlines from empty roles, third shift fatigue, contract labor decisions, high-speed ramps, pattern agreements, and pressure from private equity or executives to scale faster with fewer people. Every conversation aims at one outcome for the listener: a clearer way to staff, schedule, and lead workers so American manufacturing can actually deliver on the promise of reshoring.
Subscribe if you want straight talk and real-world playbooks that put People First, backed by Expertise and smart use of Tech, with zero time wasted.
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