Better Product Solutions Podcast

In this episode, we spoke with John Burgoon, medical sales manager for Mativ. Mativ manufactures advanced medical materials, composites, and skin-friendly adhesives. We discussed wound therapy construction, customization, and how Tapecon helps bring prototypes to scalable production. John also discusses customization options, Mativ's sustainability efforts, and future wound care technologies. 

In Episode 19, we had a great conversation about printed sensors with Brad Hull, Printed Electronic Solutions Business Unit Director here at Tapecon. In this episode, we discuss the evolution and future of sensors, printed electronics, flexible hybrid electronics, portable healthcare wearables, and consumer electronics.

In this episode of our podcast, we spoke with John Crosby, Vice President of Operations at Grand Rapids Label (GR Label). We discussed GR Label's journey toward zero-landfill, including the impetus, measures of success, reactions of suppliers and potential employees, and mentorship from other companies.   

In this episode, we spoke with Aditi Subramanian, Strategic Business Unit Manager for the Healthcare side at FLEXcon. We discussed how OMNI-WAVE™, a revolutionary biosensing technology, eliminates the need for hydrogel in medical diagnostic and therapeutic wearable devices. Aditi also explained OMNI-WAVE's benefits, applications, and testing standards, and how it is a roadmap for FLEXcon's future in the healthcare space.

In this episode, we spoke with Arlene Short, Manager of Outreach and Recruitment for Goodwill of Western New York. Arlene discusses how the Goodwill Goodskills Career Builder program is training and connecting people in our community to meaningful work in the manufacturing and tech industries.

This episode is only our second podcast face-to-face in our post-Covid world, and we were excited to get to discuss some exciting safety technology with Pjeter Berishaj.Pjeter is the Global Sales Manager for LA-CO Industries and Tempil, Inc. and uses chemical engineering to work toward both medical safety and security, two topics he's very passionate about. We sat down with Pjeter to discuss what he does for LA-CO and where their technology is heading in the future. 

In this episode, we speak with Nick LaBelle, Advanced Specialist Application Engineer from 3M. As part of 3M, Nick has worked extensively with adhesive tapes and prefers to call them “Problem Solving Adhesives.” Nick's role at 3M is to help bridge the gap between wanting a product to perform a specific way and how tape can help make that happen over more traditional manufacturing processes. He views the role of tape as solving design challenges for manufacturers in ways more traditional processes cannot. We sat down with Nick to discuss how Tapecon and 3M can help with any design challenge.

In this episode, we speak with Mary Sennett, Tapecon's quality and compliance manager. Mary has 25 years of experience in the manufacturing industry. Mary discussed Tapecon's compliance system, including documentation, inspections, and quality testing, and how we fulfill requirements for different industries. Mary also explained why a thorough understanding of process validation is valuable to brand owners. 

In this episode, we speak with Harry Moser, president of the Reshoring Initiative. Harry has 55 years of experience in the manufacturing industry, including 22 years as president of GF Machining Solutions. He received his bachelor's degree in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He spoke with us about why he founded the nonprofit Reshoring Initiative, and why he's passionate about helping companies understand the value of reshoring. 

In episode 11 of The Better Products Solution podcast, we talk to Phil Heft, the Business Development Manager of North America for Memcon. Phil's years of experience have led him to be an expert in all things connectors: connector assembly, purpose, and the functionality of connector systems. We sat down with Phil to discuss his thoughts on the evolution of his field, some things he thinks designers should keep in mind when it comes to connectors, and some of the emerging technologies he's excited about.

In episode 10 of The Better Products Solution podcast, we talk to Rafael Tudela, a fellow Tapeconian with an interesting educational background. A double major in electrical and electronic engineering, Rafael spent most of his career on the electrical side before bringing his talents to Tapecon where he is mostly working in the world of flexible hybrid electronics. We spoke with Rafael about the exciting projects he's working on at Tapecon and what he sees for the future.

In this episode Lou Brossard, the Senior Product Specialist from Curbell Plastics joins us. Lou specializes in films and tapes, and discusses the markets and applications for light management films. Lou also explains how light diffusion works, the technology behind it, and what needs to be considered with the selection of films when it's being incorporated into a new project or design.

In Episode 8, we spoke with Erika Rebrosova, the Global Technology Manager at Sun Chemical.  Erika joined us to talk about all things human machine interface (HMI), including printed electronics, a broad overview of what HMI is and how advancements in capacitive switches are changing the face of many industries. 

In our 7th episode, we talked to Mark Darby, Vice President of Sales for Lumitex, designers and developers of innovative lighting solutions. In this episode, we discuss how their flexible light technology has made them a leader in the world of lighting design. Mark also shares what markets are currently driving new business sales, how they work with customers to customize lighting solutions and what tests go into making sure all products are user ready.  

This is a unique edition of the Better Product Solutions Podcast in which we're actually just sharing Steve's appearance on the New York State Manufacturing Now podcast by FuzeHub from August 21, 2019. Steve provides an overview of Tapecon's history and capabilities in the printing and converting space. He also provides some insight into Tapecon's culture and some of the challenges it faces on the workforce development front. He was interviewed by Steve Melito from FuzeHub.

In this episode of The Better Product Solutions Podcast, we speak with Neil Bolding, Technical Manager - Autotype, Automotive & Industrial Film Systems at MacDermid Enthone. Neil discusses membrane switch technology for user interfaces, including performance characteristics like durability and cleanability, test methods and the future evolution of membrane switch technologies.

In this episode of The Better Product Solutions Podcast, we speak with Dave Shoemaker, Senior Manufacturing Engineer Manager at Tapecon. In this podcast, Dave gives us an internal perspective through working at Tapecon for over 37 years. He explains how new applications are captured based on the stage of the prospect, how to approach requests for cost reductions on products and how to address overbuilt designs.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bringing a product to market is challenging. Having confidence in your contract manufacturing partner is critical.Tapecon works with product teams to improve your market competitiveness through outsourced manufacturing solutions. Tapecon is a trusted partner of OEM contract manufacturing. We work with product teams to manufacture prototypes, components, assemblies and provide full production services involving custom materials converting and specialized application printing.Our extensive application engineering experience and collaborative partnerships enable us to assist in materials selection and process design for cost-effective functionality, performance, and reliability for medical, electronics, and industrial industries.Website - https://tapecon.com/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Tapecon/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tapeconinc/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/tape...Twitter - https://twitter.com/Tapecon--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Transcript:- Hello everyone and thanks for joining us. This is episode four of the Better Product Podcast. And I'm really excited about this podcast because we decided to try something a little bit different. We have an employee of Tapecon, a long-standing employee Dave Shoemaker joining us. And I'll just give a quick title intro for Dave and then Dave, I'll let you kinda introduce yourself on your own and tell us about yourself. But Dave Shoemaker, Senior Manufacturing and RND Engineer at Tapecon. He's been with us for a long time. Capital L or all capitals on the long so. Dave, I'll let you say the big number, but thanks for being on the podcast Dave and trying something new. Because up to this point, I've been interviewing some suppliers of our raw materials and I think this is gonna be an interesting episode because it's gonna bring a little bit more, I'd say internal perspective from Tapecon. So, I'll stop talking and just Dave tell us about yourself and your role at Tapecon.- Hello and thank you Steve. But one fun thing that I look at is every time I look out the front window, I was actually born right across Arizona. And that was in 1960. So I'm a long founding member of the area. So that's kind of a fun thing to play with. Anyways, it was 1983 when I started for Tapecon. We had, I believe it was 17 employees at the time. And my capabilities that I brought here was die-cutting. And I worked in the die-cutting department for about three years, but I always had a strong passion for all the capabilities that Tapecon had. And they'd had a lot, even at that time. And I think your father saw it as passion within me and before too long, I found myself dabbling in all the capabilities Tapecon had to offer. And as I learned, I became the go-to guy for new opportunities. I often find myself at a crossroads of the customer or prospect's needs and Tapecon's capabilities. It's my job to figure out how to combine suppliers, materials and Tapecon manufacturing processes to achieve the desired outcome.- You've been with us for such a long time and you've seen the evolution kinda through the organization of all the different capabilities coming in and out.

In this episode of The Better Product Solutions Podcast, we speak with Bill Sullivan, Executive Vice President, business and technology discovery at FLEXcon. In this podcast, Bill gives us a breakdown of more functional technologies to films and coatings, some of the capabilities, bringing new technology to the forefront and how to help brand owners launch products faster. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bringing a product to market is challenging. Having confidence in your contract manufacturing partner is critical.Tapecon works with product teams to improve your market competitiveness through outsourced manufacturing solutions. Tapecon is a trusted partner of OEM contract manufacturing. We work with product teams to manufacture prototypes, components, assemblies and provide full production services involving custom materials converting and specialized application printing.Our extensive application engineering experience and collaborative partnerships enable us to assist in materials selection and process design for cost-effective functionality, performance, and reliability for medical, electronics, and industrial industries.Website - https://tapecon.com/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Tapecon/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tapeconinc/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/tape...Twitter - https://twitter.com/Tapecon------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Transcript:- Hello, everyone for episode three, bringing you Bill Sullivan, executive vice president business and technology discovery at FLEXcon. So for anybody interested in adding more functional technologies to films and coatings, this is the podcast for you. Talking about all the capabilities at FLEXcon. Some of the interesting things that they're doing to bring new technology to the forefront and use their capabilities to help brand owners launch products faster. So without further ado here is Bill Sullivan from FLEXcon episode three, Better Products Podcasts. Thanks.- Thanks for joining me Bill on episode three, this should be an end up being episode three, and I'm so excited to have you on, and I'll just give you a quick intro and then I'll kind of let you take over and give yourself, you know, your own intro. Bill Sullivan, vice-president performance products at FLEXcon overseeing a business team performance products. I believe it's still called performance products, that is responsible for the development, marketing and commercialization of high performance adhesives, functional coatings, film castings, and the creation of functional micro structures, which I'm excited to hear more about. And recently correct me if I'm wrong, Bill, but board chairman of the Massachusetts MEP, which is the manufacturing extension partnership, I saw that press release. So that's what I have written down. And I guess I'll let you jump in, tell us about yourself, FLEXcon and I guess the functional technologies division.- Good. So thanks for having me. I really appreciate it. I consider this kind of an honor. I've known you for a few years now and certainly your entrepreneurial spirit and your willingness to try new things is exactly what technology startup community needs. So appreciate the opportunity. I've actually got an upgrade to my position, and I'm now the executive vice president of technology and business discovery. So you could see how the business team has evolved from when I first met you to where we are today. And it's all because of what you and I are passionate about, which is helping advance new technologies. So a little bit about FLEXcon. So FLEXcon is a graphics and label manufacturer films for those businesses. The division I manage is the functional technologies group, t

In this episode of The Better Product Solutions Podcast, we speak with Bret Ludwig, the Senior Product Development Engineer at 3M. Brett gives us a breakdown on Medical skin tape including the application of it, the different types of adhesives used in different types of situations, skin trauma, and insights and considerations for commercializing a wearable product.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bringing a product to market is challenging. Having confidence in your contract manufacturing partner is critical.Tapecon works with product teams to improve your market competitiveness by manufacturing functional graphics, materials, and complete products to improve look, feel, and usability. Tapecon is a trusted partner of OEM contract manufacturing. We work with product teams to manufacture prototypes, components, assemblies and provide full production services involving custom materials converting and specialized application printing.Our extensive application engineering experience and collaborative partnerships enable us to assist in materials selection and process design for cost-effective functionality, performance, and reliability for medical, electronics, and industrial industries.Website - https://tapecon.com/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Tapecon/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tapeconinc/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/tapecon-inc-/Twitter - https://twitter.com/Tapecon-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Transcript:- In this episode, we talked to Bret Ludwig, Senior Product Development Engineer at 3M. We talk a wide-ranging conversation with medical skin tapes on applications, different types of adhesives to use in different situations, skin trauma. And pretty much anybody who's looking to commercialize a wearable product, don't miss this because we're gonna cover all kinds of questions that are relevant to product teams. So enjoy this podcast. And I bring you episode two. Thanks. It's really good to have you on board, really appreciate you taking the time. And I guess, just to give you a quick introduction, Bret Ludwig, not to be called doctor, he who doesn't like it, but Bret Ludwig, Senior Product Development Engineer of 3M, PhD chemist by training, developing products at 3M for 25 years. And I'm really just kinda like lately living all the challenges with regards to sticking to skin and some of the applications there. And, of course, from a Tapecon perspective, it's exciting to have you on the podcast just because of what we're seeing in terms of new applications coming in in wearable, particularly on the skin. So welcome to the podcast. And I guess my first question is just tell us about yourself, 3M, your role at 3M Medical Materials and Technologies?- Yeah. Thanks, Steve, so much for the invitation to join you today. As you mentioned, 25 years at 3M developing products, got my PhD in Polymer Science from North Dakota State, in Fargo. So, when I moved to the twin cities in the southern half of Minnesota, I was actually moving to a warmer clim. That might be a surprise to some people who aren't familiar with the Upper Midwest. 25 years at 3M, started in the signage business, making materials that go into signs. Jumped from there to the abrasives business. And then, most recently, for the last six years, I've been in the Medical Materials and Technologies group, part of our Medical Solutions division. In those six years, I've primarily been developing solutions for stick to skin. And was hired into the group just as this concept of wearables came, started pounding on our door. And it didn't start with a knock, I swear. It went from nothing to a pounding. It's like the industry needs this. And it's been a very interesting six

In our first episode of The Better Product Solutions Podcast, we speak with Len Allison from Engineered Material Systems. Len gives a detailed perspective on the current space of flexible printed electronics, discussing a range of topics including what materials are used, durability characteristics, and ASTM standards.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bringing a product to market is challenging. Having confidence in your contract manufacturing partner is critical.Tapecon works with product teams to improve your market competitiveness by manufacturing functional graphics, materials, and complete products to improve look, feel, and usability. Tapecon is a trusted partner of OEM contract manufacturing. We work with product teams to manufacture prototypes, components, assemblies and provide full production services involving custom materials converting and specialized application printing.Our extensive application engineering experience and collaborative partnerships enable us to assist in materials selection and process design for cost-effective functionality, performance, and reliability for medical, electronics, and industrial industries.Website - https://tapecon.com/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Tapecon/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tapeconinc/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/tapecon-inc-/Twitter - https://twitter.com/Tapecon----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Transcript:Steve Davis [00:00:00] Flexible electronics is a pretty exciting space to be in right now, with a lot of brand owners looking to incorporate flexible print electronics into their designs. And there's a ton of great materials coming out right now that's going to really improve durability of taking really traditional printed thick film circuitry and really starting to infringe upon traditional flex circuits. So I'm really excited to have Len Allison, from Engineered Material Systems here. We're gonna be talking about a whole bunch of changing things on the material side, ASTM standards, and just overall durability characteristics that I guess just make all this stuff a reality. So it's a wide ranging conversation across all of those topics. And this is Episode 1, guest number one, and I'm really excited to have Len and have you all listen to what Len has to say. So my name's Steve Davis, I'm the president of Tapecon and this is the Better Products Podcast. Thanks for joining us. Steve Davis [00:00:56] Len, welcome to the show. Episode 1, guest number one. Happy to have you here. Len from Engineered Materials System. So, Len, welcome to the Better Products Podcast brought to you by Tapecon, so thanks very much for being here. Len Allison [00:01:10] My pleasure. Steve Davis [00:01:11] On your background. So tell us a little bit about yourself, and I guess your company and just wherever you want to start. Len Allison [00:01:19] Be happy to, be happy to. Well, I've always said a technical bent. I'd always get in trouble for taking watches apart at home, but I have a mechanical engineering degree from Michigan State. Been lucky enough to work in the conductive materials field pretty much all my career, which is 30 plus years of electronic materials for print electronics and other things. And 10 of those years were spent in Asia, which was a wonderful experience. I get to live in Japan and Singapore. Looking at what they do for print electronics as well. So I bring that experience back here as well. https://tapecon.com/

Introduction from host Steve Davis, President at Tapecon, Inc.