Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
YouTube podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconYouTube podcast player icon
Season 7

Season seven opens with a burst of grit and ingenuity as we sit down with Cathy “Conveyor Cougar” Rinne, president of FlexLine Automation. She’s built a 15-person, woman-owned integrator that moves fast, ships parts when it counts, and isn’t afraid to retool the playbook—from conveyors to robotics, from taping to a gluing-capable box erector, and from cold calls to a TikTok presence that actually drives qualified attention.

We dig into what a president really does in a family business: setting direction, teaching the team to own outcomes, and letting go of “my way” so the next generation can lead. Kathy walks us through deploying AI where it matters—automating drawings, quoting, and repetitive engineering tasks—while managing ERP fatigue and bridging generational skepticism. Her take is grounded and sharp: if an automation company won’t automate itself, the market will notice.

The conversation detours through farm country for a reason. Kathy’s lifelong ties to agriculture inform how she solves factory problems: use what you have, fix what breaks, and design for reality, not a brochure. We talk autosteer tractors, robotic milking, and why rural manufacturers are often overlooked despite carrying so much of our GDP. That’s why Kathy and her daughter host a free automation fair in southern Illinois, because you can’t Google what you don’t know, and engineers deserve to touch the tech before they buy.

We also tackle a myth that won’t die: “go direct” is not always cheaper or faster. Custom reach studies, multi-size changeovers, and hybrid conveyor builds demand an integrator’s judgment, inventory, and speed. FlexLine keeps enough parts to turn around a hundred feet of conveyor in 24 hours, answers with a human, and has literally flown urgent orders. Pair that with smart, authentic social content that meets engineers on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, and you get a modern path to trust. Person by person, plant by plant.

If you care about real-world automation (AI that saves hours, robots that fit the job, and service that shows up) this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share with a teammate who needs a spark, and leave a quick review with your favorite takeaway so we can reach more builders like you.

Support the show

__________________________________________________________________

Co-Hosts are Alicia Gilpin Director of Engineering at Process and Controls Engineering LLC, Nikki Gonzales Director of Business Development at Weintek USA, and Courtney Fernandez Robot Master at FAST One Solutions.

Follow us on Linkedin and YouTube for live videos, demos, and other content!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for episode updates, job announcements, and more!

Get in touch with us at automationladies.io!

P.S. - Help our podcast grow with a 5-star podcast review if you love us!

 

 

--------------------------------------------------

 

Want notifications of upcoming episodes & other Automation Ladies news right in your e-mailbox?

Subscribe to our newsletter!

01:34 - Season Kickoff And Hosts Reintroduced

03:27 - Guest Welcome: Kathy “Conveyor Cougar” Rennie

06:53 - FlexLine’s Origins And Evolution

10:33 - What A President Does In A Family Business

18:51 - Adopting AI And Team Buy-In

24:33 - Farming Ingenuity And Automation Parallels

30:59 - Social Media Strategy And TikTok Impact

40:28 - Direct-To-Manufacturer Myths Vs Integrator Value

51:47 - Hyper-Responsive Service And Customer Stories

56:23 - Community Automation Fair For Rural Manufacturers

01:02:44 - How To Connect With FlexLine And Closing

WEBVTT

00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:53.259
Welcome to Automation Ladies, the only podcast we know of where girls talk about industrial automation.

00:00:53.500 --> 00:00:54.859
This is season seven.

00:00:55.019 --> 00:00:56.859
It's 2026.

00:00:57.500 --> 00:00:59.179
And the band is back together.

00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:00.379
All of us are here.

00:01:00.780 --> 00:01:18.539
I am your host, Nikki Gonzalez, Director of Business Development at WinTech USA and co-host of the conference OT Staticon, which is going to be in its third year this year, as well as co-founder of Automation Ladies with my co-host here, Ali G, or Alicia Gilpin.

00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:21.180
And then Courtney has joined our roster as well.

00:01:21.340 --> 00:01:24.060
She's been around for a couple seasons, so you guys should probably know her.

00:01:24.219 --> 00:01:28.460
But for those of you that may be first-time listeners or don't know us, I neglect this sometimes.

00:01:28.539 --> 00:01:29.900
Uh, we should introduce ourselves.

00:01:29.979 --> 00:01:32.939
So, Ali, why don't you tell everyone hi and who you are?

00:01:33.740 --> 00:01:34.700
I'm Ali G.

00:01:35.259 --> 00:01:47.020
I'm co-host of Automation Ladies and uh co-founder of OT Skatacon, which is happening on July 22nd through 24th this year.

00:01:47.180 --> 00:01:53.500
Um, I also am the CEO of Process and Controls Engineering LLC, my own um engineering firm.

00:01:53.659 --> 00:02:03.819
I'm also uh co-founder of Kids PLC Kids, a nonprofit to help uh new talent find mechatronics as a career.

00:02:05.020 --> 00:02:05.580
Super cool.

00:02:05.740 --> 00:02:10.699
So Ali is a chemical engineer, turned controls engineer, um, right?

00:02:10.860 --> 00:02:16.460
And that she kind of speaks to that controls engineering realm of the industrial automation industry.

00:02:16.699 --> 00:02:20.060
And then we have Courtney Fernandez, our robotics expert.

00:02:20.219 --> 00:02:24.060
Courtney has a new role this year, working on some new stuff.

00:02:24.219 --> 00:02:26.780
Courtney, you want to say hi and introduce yourself?

00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:28.300
Yeah, sure.

00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:38.460
Uh still Courtney Fernandez and still uh involved with Fast One Solutions, although that's mostly uh my husband, Alberto Fernandez now.

00:02:38.860 --> 00:02:47.259
I am with Relativity Space now, and I get to work on like really cool stuff that I'm mostly not allowed to talk about.

00:02:47.419 --> 00:02:54.139
Um but it is it is robotic and it uh it's just bigger robots than I have done in the past.

00:02:54.300 --> 00:02:58.300
So it's been a lot of fun for me for like the last six months.

00:02:58.460 --> 00:03:13.099
But if you've noticed me being distinctly absent from social media, uh I've been head down kind of trying to fit into this new role, and it's been violently changing over at relativity space because we're gonna launch a rocket in December.

00:03:13.260 --> 00:03:16.700
Um so things are going a little nuts um here in Long Beach.

00:03:17.099 --> 00:03:18.140
Very, very, very cool.

00:03:18.300 --> 00:03:32.780
So Courtney's history involves going from being an embedded electrical engineer, right, to uh getting her master's in robotics and going into industrial automation, um, taking some time being an integrator.

00:03:32.939 --> 00:03:38.700
And so she's got like a really varied experience that worked uh as a trainer for Cobots for a while as well.

00:03:38.780 --> 00:03:40.140
So we're really lucky to have her.

00:03:40.219 --> 00:03:46.460
And we're lucky that she's still available to do the show with us, uh, even with all this craziness and building rockets and robots and stuff.

00:03:46.540 --> 00:03:47.580
So thank you, Courtney.

00:03:47.740 --> 00:03:49.500
Um Courtney's based in Southern California.

00:03:49.580 --> 00:03:53.340
I'm based in Houston, Texas, and Allie is now based in Louisiana.

00:03:53.740 --> 00:03:56.140
Can you yeah, somewhere around Lafayette, right?

00:03:56.219 --> 00:03:58.939
Is that south of Lafayette?

00:03:59.260 --> 00:03:59.980
Okay, cool.

00:04:00.219 --> 00:04:17.339
So I think that concludes uh the introduction of the host this time, and we'd love to welcome our first guest of this season to the show, uh, one of our industry favorites, um, someone that we I think uh literally and figuratively in lots of ways sometimes call mom.

00:04:17.740 --> 00:04:20.379
Um Kathy Rennie, welcome to Automation Ladies.

00:04:20.779 --> 00:04:21.899
Hey, thanks for having me.

00:04:21.980 --> 00:04:24.459
It's always great to see my girls.

00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:27.579
We are uh very glad to have you here.

00:04:27.740 --> 00:04:36.060
It I think is a comfort to us for the first episode of the season as we're figuring out some new stuff to have somebody that we're very comfortable with.

00:04:36.300 --> 00:04:40.939
And uh great to catch up, but I think also we haven't had you solo on the show before.

00:04:41.099 --> 00:04:46.540
Uh am I right to say that you and Lauren have come on in the past when we were at I think Automate?

00:04:46.699 --> 00:04:53.980
And so I think we still have some room to A kind of hear, you know, particularly your story, and then catch up on all the things you're doing.

00:04:54.139 --> 00:04:59.339
So we just know all about AI and what we're using AI for and all that good stuff.

00:04:59.500 --> 00:05:00.620
So I won't get into that.

00:05:00.699 --> 00:05:05.259
Um my career's not nearly as glamorous as uh as you guys, you know.

00:05:05.420 --> 00:05:13.019
Um I co-founded Flexline uh 42 years ago with my husband and his parents.

00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:16.139
Um, so I've been doing this for a long time.

00:05:16.300 --> 00:05:19.900
I've been president of the company since 1999.

00:05:20.540 --> 00:05:24.300
So um literally raised my daughter Lauren.

00:05:24.780 --> 00:05:27.500
She's now 40 with 40 years of experience.

00:05:27.660 --> 00:05:33.019
She doesn't like me to throw that number out there, but you know, she's not here to kick me or give me a glaring look.

00:05:33.180 --> 00:05:35.819
So so we've been doing this for a while.

00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:47.420
And um I I really don't know what to say that that you know, every year is a challenge, and there's always something on the bingo card that I didn't anticipate.

00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:54.379
And so it's um it's a position that's required a lot of uh growth.

00:05:55.180 --> 00:05:57.819
So can you tell us for those that don't know?

00:05:57.980 --> 00:06:02.139
I know a lot of people in our ecosystem in our audience, they know you, they know flex line automation.

00:06:02.300 --> 00:06:05.660
But for somebody that doesn't know, what does Flexline do?

00:06:05.819 --> 00:06:09.500
Um, and you know, what kind of size company and where are you located?

00:06:09.819 --> 00:06:14.220
Well, we are um a small family-owned company.

00:06:14.300 --> 00:06:20.220
We're woman-owned, actually, and we're located in southern Illinois, actually closer to St.

00:06:20.379 --> 00:06:21.420
Louis than Chicago.

00:06:21.500 --> 00:06:26.060
A lot of people think Illinois all we're northern for some reason.

00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:27.980
So we're in the very southern end.

00:06:28.220 --> 00:06:48.620
Um, FlexLine began all of those years ago as a conveyor integrator, and probably about 15 years or so ago, I started to recognize that the market was shifting and um the role of conveyance was changing.

00:06:48.860 --> 00:06:53.740
And I knew that we were gonna have to do something else if we were gonna remain relevant.

00:06:54.220 --> 00:07:05.900
And so we got into robotics integration at that time, and we've since then have our own patented uh box erector, robotic box erector, which is a pretty popular item.

00:07:06.139 --> 00:07:10.860
And we're working on um a gluing mechanism for that.

00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:14.860
So it won't all only do taping of boxes, it'll be able to glue some boxes.

00:07:14.939 --> 00:07:20.379
So, you know, I mean the biggest part of my job is trying to think of ways to keep us relevant.

00:07:20.540 --> 00:07:25.259
That's that's usually what I get up thinking about, what I go to bed thinking about.

00:07:25.579 --> 00:07:26.300
Yeah, yeah.

00:07:26.459 --> 00:07:42.939
So the the role of president um for people that aren't really in business, uh at least for me, it took me some time to realize like what's the difference between who the CEO and the owner and the president and the chairman, and you know, larger companies have a lot more levels to things.

00:07:43.180 --> 00:07:54.220
Um how would you describe your sort of journey into the role of president and and why is what do you do as a president of a company?

00:07:54.939 --> 00:08:02.220
Well, you know, I think you're right, larger companies have a lot of layers, and Flex Line is not a layer cake.

00:08:02.300 --> 00:08:26.780
We're kind of that sheet cake that your grandma bakes you for your birthday, you know, and it's um pretty much the same flavor from the top to the bottom, you know, there's not a whole lot of icing, there's not a whole lot of fluff in between, and um I honestly I think that when the company started, my father-in-law and my husband were the primarily the engineers of the company.

00:08:26.860 --> 00:08:32.139
And so basically I did everything that they didn't have time or want to do.

00:08:32.299 --> 00:08:46.059
So I was packing up boxes, I was turning wrenches, you know, they would go out and sell a project, and then I would be building it in our shop and helping with all of that and managing the inventory and just um from that moved into bookkeeping.

00:08:46.139 --> 00:08:49.899
And so I was doing all of our billing and all of our ordering and and everything.

00:08:50.059 --> 00:08:54.139
So basically I just did every role that nobody else wanted.

00:08:55.179 --> 00:08:58.059
And I I think that's how I wound up to be the president.

00:08:58.139 --> 00:09:07.980
I think that, you know, um, and if you ask my husband this question, he'll tell you it's because I'm naturally bossy, but I don't know that that really has a whole lot to do with it.

00:09:08.059 --> 00:09:19.979
But anyway, um, I have more of the organizational, um, my background is in business management, so I had more of the business and the organizational skills than either of them.

00:09:20.219 --> 00:09:26.539
And my mother-in-law, her role was basically to take care of Lauren, you know, so that was her contribution to the company.

00:09:26.699 --> 00:09:32.620
Um, she made the working mom of kids, like having someone taking care of your kids.

00:09:32.859 --> 00:09:33.739
Right, yeah.

00:09:33.899 --> 00:09:42.699
And and you know, and the beautiful thing about that was she had her own office here, Lauren was here on site, Lauren was able to travel with us.

00:09:43.019 --> 00:09:50.059
So um, when you when you just start a business, it requires so much time and so much energy.

00:09:50.299 --> 00:09:59.500
And there were times that, you know, I wouldn't, you know, see my husband, we'd wave at each other in the airport, you know, as as he was going to his gate and I was coming back for mine.

00:09:59.899 --> 00:10:02.379
And it was just that time consuming.

00:10:02.459 --> 00:10:13.500
So having her here and having her be able to take care of Lauren and still having me feel like I was a part of Lauren's life, you know, I think was was instrumental.

00:10:13.819 --> 00:10:17.179
And that contribution often gets overlooked.

00:10:17.500 --> 00:10:17.899
Right.

00:10:18.299 --> 00:10:24.859
Um, so the role of president, as I understand it, is kind of the person that sets like is the backbone of the operations, right?

00:10:24.939 --> 00:10:29.899
You you know the day-to-day, you are in charge of kind of what happens, what runs.

00:10:30.699 --> 00:10:36.699
Basically, I I you gotta consider me more like the the captain of the ship.

00:10:36.939 --> 00:10:37.099
Okay.

00:10:37.419 --> 00:10:43.339
You know, I'm mapping out where the where we're sailing, what ports we're gonna stop at.

00:10:43.739 --> 00:10:50.539
Um and it's really my team though, that make the ship move and and do all of the things.

00:10:50.620 --> 00:11:01.179
I'm I'm more the the thoughts behind it and um make a lot of suggestions that when you're in a family company don't always get followed.

00:11:02.459 --> 00:11:09.179
So I feel like I have an atypical presidential role because sometimes I can be vetoed instead of the other way around.

00:11:11.419 --> 00:11:12.219
Also, right?

00:11:12.539 --> 00:11:12.939
Yeah.

00:11:13.259 --> 00:11:22.699
So, you know, um I am the majority shareholder of the company, but uh sometimes that's used as a weapon against me and not not anything.

00:11:22.859 --> 00:11:23.979
But um, it's fine.

00:11:24.139 --> 00:11:25.579
It's fun in a small company.

00:11:25.659 --> 00:11:40.539
It's fun that I have such a great team that I can count on that, you know, really are trying to listen and work together with me and Lauren, because Lauren is basically um next in line for the throne, right?

00:11:40.779 --> 00:11:55.659
So a lot of what I do these days is trying to one get the business to the point where I can pass it off to her and not be quite as crazy for her to pick up and and take forward as it was when I did.

00:11:55.899 --> 00:11:59.899
Um, I became president when my husband's dad retired.

00:12:00.139 --> 00:12:09.179
And so he decided to leave the company and it left this big hole, and there was nobody else in the organization that had really worked in every avenue.

00:12:09.419 --> 00:12:17.979
My husband is excellent, I mean, best problem solver, engineer, crazy science guy, terrible businessman.

00:12:18.139 --> 00:12:19.819
You know, I'm just terrible.

00:12:20.059 --> 00:12:26.539
Um, so it it really was a natural thing for me to step into that role.

00:12:26.699 --> 00:12:32.779
And then, you know, I try to use it more to educate and to bring everybody else along.

00:12:32.859 --> 00:12:38.779
So, you know, it's not like a dictatorship where I sit in my office and I say, okay, this is the policy and everybody's gonna follow it.

00:12:39.019 --> 00:12:41.979
You know, in a small company, it doesn't work that way.

00:12:42.139 --> 00:12:43.659
You know, everybody has to buy in.

00:12:43.739 --> 00:12:49.259
I have to do a lot of listening, I have to do a lot of sales, you know, to to my own team.

00:12:49.500 --> 00:13:00.699
So it's um it's a unique business model to work so closely with your husband and your child and your child's spouse, and my brother-in-law works here also.

00:13:00.939 --> 00:13:05.979
So um, you know, it makes for some very tense holidays sometimes.

00:13:06.699 --> 00:13:14.379
And um, you know, sometimes at Christmas dinner we have to tell each other, hey, this is this is our day off, you know, stop talking about work.

00:13:14.620 --> 00:13:21.899
So it's it's challenging, but it's it's a it's a role that I think I am naturally inclined to do.

00:13:22.059 --> 00:13:31.259
Although, I mean, I wake up a lot of days and I think that there is in no way that I'm prepared or capable to make some of the decisions that I make.

00:13:31.419 --> 00:13:41.019
So, you know, sometimes I struggle with that because I I have to teach myself a lot as I go and learn as I go, because you know, things are a lot different now than they were 40 years ago.

00:13:41.179 --> 00:13:49.899
So the world is changing, business is changing, and if you refuse to evolve with it, you know, you're just gonna go by the wayside.

00:13:49.979 --> 00:14:01.819
So a lot of what I do is trying to learn every day so that I can help bring that information to the rest of my team and give them resources so that they can do what they need to do.

00:14:03.099 --> 00:14:03.819
Wonderful.

00:14:04.059 --> 00:14:06.219
I guess there's a real life moment here.

00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:11.339
Um, we in the earlier seasons we used to have cats um come into the show sometimes.

00:14:11.500 --> 00:14:13.579
Uh, we may still have that on Allie's side.

00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:14.219
I don't know.

00:14:15.179 --> 00:14:21.259
I have a blind dog over here that somehow always needs to go out as soon as I start recording.

00:14:21.500 --> 00:14:28.299
So I'm gonna head out here and and take my blind dog outside and let uh Allie and Courtney get get a word in.

00:14:28.620 --> 00:14:44.059
What's what's something that you've learned recently, Kathleen, that's uh that you brought back to your team that you feel was actually like, I don't want to say monumental, but like what's the biggest thing that you've brought back in the last couple of years that you think's helped your team like run with it?

00:14:44.379 --> 00:14:57.819
I know we were talking um a little earlier about AI and how I think it's really important to, especially as a small business, learn how you're going to leverage that technology within your organization.

00:14:58.379 --> 00:15:15.419
And, you know, we're looking at using it to help a lot more with maybe automating drawings and quoting and engineering and freeing up my engineering team from a lot of the mundane tasks and some of the things that can be easily automated, uh, using an AI agent for that.

00:15:15.659 --> 00:15:33.739
And, you know, I think when I it it was a couple of years ago at Automate, I think I saw a robot and and it was the um it was the one that you guys probably saw too, that you could talk to it and and she was writing her own code, and you know, you would talk to her like Naura.

00:15:33.899 --> 00:15:36.059
Yeah, Neuro, I think it was Neuro Robotics.

00:15:36.539 --> 00:15:37.339
Neuro, yeah.

00:15:37.579 --> 00:15:37.819
Yeah.

00:15:37.979 --> 00:15:43.739
So I came back to the team and I'm like, okay, guys, this is where we're going as an industry.

00:15:43.899 --> 00:15:48.219
This is where everything is going, and they laughed in my face, right?

00:15:48.459 --> 00:15:58.779
My engineers were like, that's 10 years away, that's just for the show, nothing like that is ever going to happen.

00:15:58.939 --> 00:16:01.979
You know, you're crazy, that's way down the road.

00:16:02.219 --> 00:16:04.779
And I was like, no, I I really don't think it is.

00:16:04.939 --> 00:16:09.739
I think that this this technology is just growing and expanding exponentially.

00:16:10.139 --> 00:16:15.099
And um, I take every opportunity that I can to tell them I told you so.

00:16:15.339 --> 00:16:19.179
Because, you know, now AI is embedded in pretty much everything you do.

00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:25.739
You know, you can't you can't have an app on your phone that doesn't have um AI included.

00:16:25.979 --> 00:16:31.339
Um so, you know, the the I think it's like the next big frontier.

00:16:31.419 --> 00:16:50.699
And I know it's a buzzword and people get tired of hearing about it, but you know, I think in a small company like ours, what I'm doing is trying to figure out, you know, how can we incorporate AI into our workflow to make it easier for the for the team and to make a better experience for the customer?

00:16:51.019 --> 00:16:53.979
How do you think your team feels about using it so far?

00:16:54.459 --> 00:17:00.699
Is it like a productivity booster, or are they or do or do they just hate you for like brow beating them with it?

00:17:01.179 --> 00:17:07.180
You know, it's kind of a mixed bag because my team spans several generations.

00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:32.380
I've got I've got the boomers, I've got uh my older millennial, um, I've got some Gen Z, and um, you know, you would really, I guess, see the most hesitancy coming, surprisingly, not from my boomer, but from my older millennials who are like, oh, I don't know, you know, I we like to do things our way in this way and that way.

00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:39.500
And of course, the young kids, they're very adaptive, you know, they're like, sure, I think that's a great idea, and you know, we should try working on it.

00:17:39.660 --> 00:17:42.299
And so it's pretty much a mixed bag.

00:17:42.380 --> 00:17:54.539
I won't say that everybody is bought in because there's still a lot of fear, there's still a lot of skepticism, but I feel like you know, it's happening whether we want it to or not.

00:17:55.100 --> 00:18:00.779
You can bury your head in your sand all you want, but it it's still going to happen.

00:18:00.940 --> 00:18:09.340
And if you don't find ways to incorporate that and to make those changes, um, somebody else is going to.

00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:20.060
And so, you know, especially in in the automation industry, you know, you know, I think it's very important for us to live what we do.

00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:25.740
And that's, you know, if we're not automating our own internal processes, are we really an automation company?

00:18:25.900 --> 00:18:26.860
But it's a mixed bag.

00:18:26.940 --> 00:18:34.299
I'm getting some pushback and some that are just like, well, I'm gonna wait and see, you know, what you come up with and how it works, and you know, we'll we'll see from there.

00:18:34.460 --> 00:18:40.060
But we're also deploying a new um ERP system right now, so they already hate me.

00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:45.180
So the ERP is a four-letter word, right?

00:18:45.500 --> 00:18:46.460
Yeah, right.

00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:53.100
So yeah, this is this was a big adjustment, and it's not quite doing everything the way we wanted or thought that it should.

00:18:53.180 --> 00:18:56.380
And so I'm already not the most popular person in the building.

00:18:56.460 --> 00:19:02.299
And when I bring them the idea of more technology, they're just kind of like, Oh, I don't know about you.

00:19:03.100 --> 00:19:05.660
How many people work for Flex Line?

00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:07.340
Uh 15.

00:19:08.380 --> 00:19:09.180
Beautiful.

00:19:09.500 --> 00:19:09.980
All right.

00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:15.660
Is it mostly like engineering shed in the middle of a cornfield here in southern Illinois?

00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:20.539
Actually, we have three facilities, but uh, you know, it's just a small handful of us.

00:19:20.779 --> 00:19:26.299
You know, I've seen this meme popping up a lot uh with people who work in tech.

00:19:26.539 --> 00:19:30.940
Uh, like the longer you're in tech, the more you just want to throw away like all of your tech.

00:19:31.100 --> 00:19:35.180
And when you said being in the middle of a cornfield in Illinois, I was just kind of like, yes.

00:19:37.019 --> 00:19:38.620
That sounds amazing.

00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:41.980
It is nice, it is nice.

00:19:42.140 --> 00:19:47.980
But I also live on a 320-acre farm, so my day is crazy before I ever get here.

00:19:48.220 --> 00:19:52.779
So, you know, I'm I'm looking for ways to automate a lot of those tasks too.

00:19:52.860 --> 00:19:55.820
And and you know, that's one of the things that I point out.

00:19:55.980 --> 00:19:59.900
Being from a rural area a lot, you know, you would get a lot of pushback.

00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:07.340
And then I'm like, yeah, but the farmer down the road, you know, I mean, he hasn't drove his own tractor for years, you know, he's used auto steer.

00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:14.460
So come on, guys, really, you know, I think some of the coolest innovation in terms of automation has come from farmers, yeah.

00:20:15.580 --> 00:20:24.060
And like people who don't have, you know, engineering degrees in the middle of rural areas who are like, I have no support, I can't call the electric company.

00:20:24.140 --> 00:20:26.299
Uh, nobody's coming to fix anything for me.

00:20:26.460 --> 00:20:31.500
Um, like those people are geniuses and they find ways to automate things that blow my mind.

00:20:31.820 --> 00:20:34.620
It requires a lot of ingenuity to be a farmer.

00:20:35.019 --> 00:20:35.340
Yeah.

00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:44.140
And um, you know, I think that that part of I was born and raised on a farm, um, have lived on a farm my entire life.

00:20:44.299 --> 00:21:00.940
So I think a lot of that ingenuity, problem-solving skills, um, willingness to try new things, I think was born out of um that upbringing, you know, because as a farmer, you you have to be able to solve your own problems.

00:21:01.100 --> 00:21:03.180
You can't always go to town and get a part, you know.

00:21:03.259 --> 00:21:04.620
Sometimes you got to make your own.

00:21:04.860 --> 00:21:12.060
And, you know, so it it has made us have a lot more ingenuity, I think.

00:21:13.340 --> 00:21:18.060
So Allie and I both come from dairy farming backgrounds, or dairy backgrounds.

00:21:18.299 --> 00:21:23.980
Although, yeah, Allie, I don't know, your grandparents didn't did they do the farming or they just made the butter in the milk?

00:21:24.299 --> 00:21:25.100
They made the butter.

00:21:25.340 --> 00:21:25.980
Yeah, okay.

00:21:26.380 --> 00:21:29.420
So I I come from um two different sides.

00:21:29.580 --> 00:21:31.100
One of them is dairy farmers.

00:21:31.660 --> 00:21:34.860
The other side, my grandpa worked in the dairy and made the butter.

00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:37.900
Um similar to Ali's grandpa.

00:21:38.620 --> 00:21:44.779
And then we have this friend Vinny Endress, who is a dairy farmer turned controls engineer, who's one of our speakers uh at OT Skatacon.

00:21:45.180 --> 00:21:46.620
He talks about ag automation.

00:21:46.779 --> 00:21:57.420
And yeah, I think it opens a like a lot of people are surprised at the ingenuity and you know, some of the things that they automate in farming and then some of the things that they don't, that like industry folks would think are obvious.

00:21:57.580 --> 00:21:57.820
Yeah.

00:21:57.980 --> 00:22:03.180
Um, they're very different on a farm than they are in a factory, I would say.

00:22:03.420 --> 00:22:03.820
Absolutely.

00:22:03.900 --> 00:22:10.620
But yeah, I mean, I'm impressed with with the amount of automation that takes place in dairy and that has taken place, you know.

00:22:10.779 --> 00:22:18.060
Um, the dairy farm of my childhood is completely gone now, you know, and and it's it's really cool.

00:22:18.140 --> 00:22:24.220
I watch a lot of videos and reels and things, and I see a lot of the tech that they're doing, and and it's amazing.

00:22:24.380 --> 00:22:32.700
And there's this stereotype that you know, farmers are just you know, hayseeds, dumb, dumb farmers, but they're some of the brightest individuals you will ever meet, you know.

00:22:32.940 --> 00:22:33.740
Oh, absolutely.

00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:36.220
And um innovative.

00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:44.220
And what they're doing as far as automating the the milking process and all of that is really phenomenal.

00:22:44.380 --> 00:22:46.700
I mean, it's there's a lot going on.

00:22:47.580 --> 00:22:49.420
Yeah, I would love to visit more.

00:22:49.580 --> 00:22:55.180
I've only been to close to my hometown in Iceland, there is a dairy farm that has opened a cafe.

00:22:55.420 --> 00:22:59.820
And so they have a upstairs portion that overlooks the dairy barn.

00:22:59.980 --> 00:23:06.299
And so as you eat and drink there, you can actually see the cows and you can see them going to get their massage whenever they want to.

00:23:06.460 --> 00:23:08.220
They can go get milked whenever they want to.

00:23:08.380 --> 00:23:10.140
They can Yeah, fully automated.

00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:13.019
Automated for them, but at their at their leisure.

00:23:13.180 --> 00:23:23.820
Like they um and I think it's a super cool thing to be able to use automation to make the whole operation like more humane and better for the cows and then for the consumer.

00:23:23.980 --> 00:23:33.340
Like that's also really great to know and then to see, and then to be able to go there and like see where your milk is coming from and um that sort of stuff.

00:23:34.299 --> 00:23:51.100
And I I think, yeah, my grandpa back when he was on a dairy farm actually made his he built his own electric, like power electric, hydroelectric dam power station, because there isn't always electricity or different things that you need, especially at the time like way back then.

00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:54.380
Um and so they just you know took care of it.

00:23:54.620 --> 00:23:55.580
Yeah, absolutely.

00:23:55.740 --> 00:23:59.660
You know, and I mean that was that was pretty much how I was raised, you know.

00:23:59.740 --> 00:24:06.860
I mean, if there was a problem, you you just solved it and you you looked around and you used what you had at hand.

00:24:07.259 --> 00:24:11.980
And um, you know, I think I bring a lot of that to Flexline.

00:24:12.299 --> 00:24:18.860
I know my husband does as well because, you know, when we're not here, we're we're farming together.

00:24:19.019 --> 00:24:20.779
And we don't do row crops anymore.

00:24:20.860 --> 00:24:35.500
We've leased our our row crop land because that was just way too much, but we still have cattle and we still have um make some hay and stuff like that, and we'll help the farmer out that leases our our acreage for row crop and stuff.

00:24:35.660 --> 00:24:48.140
So, you know, I get to play in it enough just to kind of keep me interested and um satisfied without having the full-time responsibility of that because you know that's a that's a tough, a really tough career.

00:24:48.380 --> 00:24:49.500
Yeah, yeah, I know.

00:24:49.660 --> 00:25:02.539
And I don't know if if people who thinks that farmers are raking it in hand over fifth, other than maybe the big, big corporate, you know, farm operations, which I wouldn't call farmers necessarily in the same way that like a family farm is, right?

00:25:03.180 --> 00:25:10.779
Um but volatility, there's been a lot of craziness going on in nobody had tariff on their bingo card, right?

00:25:11.019 --> 00:25:27.180
So, you know, and and when you look at the way that it affects agriculture, their input costs have risen exponentially as well, kind of the same as you know, ours in in my field, you know, I'm looking, I'm paying a lot more.

00:25:27.340 --> 00:25:33.340
Um, I'm seeing anywhere from 10 to 25 percent increases in raw materials.

00:25:33.660 --> 00:25:50.620
And um, you know, so that really I think has complicated things for not just agriculture, but for all business, small business especially, um, since we don't often have the margins to be able to absorb that that kind of a hit.

00:25:50.860 --> 00:26:02.860
2025 was a really interesting year to be a business owner and to be a farmer, and to be, I think, you know, um pretty much plug anything into that uh sentence.

00:26:03.019 --> 00:26:05.180
It was it's it was an interesting year.

00:26:05.420 --> 00:26:08.299
Um it was definitely trying.

00:26:08.620 --> 00:26:12.940
I um I wasn't really prepared for for that.

00:26:13.100 --> 00:26:20.779
It's been again one of those, well, here we are, gonna have to figure something out right away, kind of experiences.

00:26:20.940 --> 00:26:24.060
So, but we're seeing it um on the farm end as well.

00:26:24.220 --> 00:26:29.980
Cattle prices are up, you know, then corn is down, and you know, it's it's just always it's always something.

00:26:30.220 --> 00:26:30.860
I got a question.

00:26:31.180 --> 00:26:33.420
What what made you study business?

00:26:34.140 --> 00:26:36.299
Well, I wanted to be a veterinarian.

00:26:37.500 --> 00:26:42.700
And um, you know, I still that's still a big hobby of mine.

00:26:42.779 --> 00:26:46.779
I read a lot of um books on veterinary medicine and things like that.

00:26:47.420 --> 00:26:56.220
Uh, you know, it just wound up that uh it's like, what can I do that I'm gonna get a return on my investment?

00:26:56.460 --> 00:26:58.539
You know, basically.

00:26:58.940 --> 00:27:17.340
And it was interesting because my generation, when we went to school, you know, guidance counselors were like, well, you can be a nurse or a teacher, or um you could be a homemaker, or or you know, nobody ever really said um anything about having an opportunity in STEM, right?

00:27:17.580 --> 00:27:29.100
So I think that's probably what kept me on the business side of things is because I didn't have anybody to guide me in that direction.

00:27:29.340 --> 00:27:36.299
I mean, obviously, um, you don't work in automation for 42 years without having some aptitude, some mechanical aptitude.

00:27:36.380 --> 00:27:43.259
And as I said, I did a lot of the building, um, quoting, I mean, basically every element of the company I've I've been involved in.

00:27:43.500 --> 00:27:46.779
So um that's how I ended up in business.

00:27:46.860 --> 00:27:51.820
It was like, you know, hey, you want to be a teacher, you want to be a secretary, what do you want, what do you want to do?

00:27:51.980 --> 00:27:54.220
And you know, I didn't really want to be a secretary.

00:27:54.299 --> 00:27:59.820
If I'm gonna be in business, I you know thought I wanted to do a little more than that.

00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:07.420
So not to say that, you know, because secretaries, I think, one of the most critical roles in any company.

00:28:07.500 --> 00:28:14.460
So, you know, I'm not trying to belittle any any role at all, because especially in a small business, every role is super important.

00:28:14.779 --> 00:28:24.700
And I would never say that just a secretary, because it's like, you know, I've got an administrative assistant that I don't know what I would do without.

00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:27.580
So yeah, I'm uh there right now.

00:28:27.660 --> 00:28:42.940
Like I we're in the process of finding the one because I I didn't there was a period in my career where I didn't respect executives needing that type of help because I think my life was simple enough that I could juggle it all and I could manage it.

00:28:43.180 --> 00:28:48.940
And I worked for a manager that also could um but just taking every phone call yourself.

00:28:49.100 --> 00:28:55.580
I mean, I mean I get a million phone calls a day because everybody will get my number and be like, oh my god, I've got the president's number.

00:28:55.740 --> 00:28:58.380
I want I want them to buy my whatever.

00:28:58.620 --> 00:29:01.820
And I'm like, you know, I'm the last person you need to call for that.

00:29:01.980 --> 00:29:07.900
You know, I am where your sales pitches come to die, guys, because I buy coffee and toilet paper.

00:29:08.140 --> 00:29:17.660
Those are the two things that I have a really strong um opinion on, and where I really um will, you know, throw down my authority.

00:29:17.900 --> 00:29:22.539
It's like if we don't have the sharmin and we don't, you know, somebody's gonna be in trouble.

00:29:23.019 --> 00:29:26.140
So it's like, don't bring me the store brand stuff.

00:29:26.220 --> 00:29:27.900
You know, I don't want the two ply.

00:29:27.980 --> 00:29:29.180
I want, you know.

00:29:29.580 --> 00:29:35.900
So unless you're selling uh Charmin or really good coffee, I'm probably not who you need to talk to.

00:29:36.060 --> 00:29:50.380
And so what I love is that um they can redirect those calls to where you know they'd be better off and save my time, save their time because I am I am not it.

00:29:50.460 --> 00:29:54.539
You know, I might be I might be at the head of this ship, but I don't tell everybody what to buy.

00:29:54.620 --> 00:30:03.340
You know, I mean I I expect that you know they know what they need and they're making those purchases, and I, you know, and I don't work for your firm.

00:30:03.500 --> 00:30:09.820
So, you know, don't expect me to patch pass your sales pitch along to my team, you know, unless I'm gonna get a commission.

00:30:09.980 --> 00:30:11.340
I'm not I don't work for you.

00:30:11.420 --> 00:30:13.180
I'm not a salesperson for you.

00:30:13.500 --> 00:30:21.740
Well, there's this lovely gradual onset of like experience and age, and I don't think they necessarily have to go together.

00:30:21.900 --> 00:30:26.860
I know young people with a lot of experience, but you know, not the smartest engineer anymore.

00:30:27.019 --> 00:30:34.060
I don't know that I ever was, honestly, but like I like I can tell other younger, smarter engineers like, oh, that, that, that, and that need to be done.

00:30:34.140 --> 00:30:42.220
But if you want me to do that math, uh, you know, prepare for it to be wrong, or like I'm not afraid to be like wrong or an a-hole anymore.

00:30:42.299 --> 00:30:55.340
Like, I'm okay with you not liking me, which, you know, is is a weird thing to cross into, but like that sounds like everything you're saying where you're like, I know what has to happen, but I'm not necessarily the best person to be doing the actual things.

00:30:55.580 --> 00:30:57.340
Yeah, my ship has sailed.

00:30:57.420 --> 00:31:00.460
I'm not the actual person to be doing things, you know.

00:31:00.539 --> 00:31:07.340
I mean, I can still run airline and I can still do all of that stuff, but I don't get up and down as easily as I once did, you know?

00:31:07.580 --> 00:31:16.860
And and I I think that the hardest part for me was when we started the company and I was doing almost everything myself.

00:31:17.180 --> 00:31:21.740
I was very passionate about things being done a certain way, my way.

00:31:21.980 --> 00:31:31.420
And one of the hardest things that I've had to learn in taking this role was to let people express themselves and the way they go about doing things.

00:31:31.500 --> 00:31:38.779
And it doesn't always have to be exactly my way, and we can still get to the same point, and I I can be a little more chill about it.

00:31:38.860 --> 00:31:53.180
And so um having this position has required a level of maturity that I didn't think I was ever gonna get, and sometimes still don't feel like I have, you know, because I want to be like, no, no, no, I'll just do it myself, you know.

00:31:53.340 --> 00:31:53.660
Yeah.

00:31:53.820 --> 00:31:58.140
Um, but yeah, I I totally get that.

00:32:00.460 --> 00:32:05.500
This episode is brought to you by WinTech USA, or WineTech as you might know them.

00:32:05.660 --> 00:32:08.220
And yes, I know what you're thinking, I work there.

00:32:08.380 --> 00:32:11.019
But that's exactly why I wanted to talk about them.

00:32:11.420 --> 00:32:14.620
WinTech has been in the HMI business for over 30 years.

00:32:14.779 --> 00:32:19.740
And what keeps me excited about this company is that they build hardware that actually holds up in the real world.

00:32:19.980 --> 00:32:24.060
On the plant floor, in data centers, and packaging lines that never stop running.

00:32:24.299 --> 00:32:27.740
There's millions of them installed all over the world and they've been running for decades.

00:32:27.980 --> 00:32:32.380
These HMIs are paired with innovative, flexible software that is completely free.

00:32:32.940 --> 00:32:42.779
Supports over 425 different protocol drivers natively, which means no middleware, no recurring license fees, just a device that connects and works.

00:32:43.100 --> 00:32:52.539
And with over 2 million HMIs manufactured every year, if you're an OEM, panel builder, or anyone who needs secure orders in high volumes, you can count on them to deliver.

00:32:52.860 --> 00:32:55.580
Check them out at wintechusa.com.

00:32:55.820 --> 00:33:00.700
That's W-E-I-N-T-E-K USA.com.

00:33:03.740 --> 00:33:13.820
I feel like I'm mature enough to say yes and no to things and let other people do stuff now, but I don't know when I'm supposed to get to the level of maturity that I'm supposed to be at in my 40s.

00:33:13.980 --> 00:33:22.539
Today I learned of a product line whose abbreviation is E D, and I laughed for like five minutes on the meeting.

00:33:22.620 --> 00:33:27.420
I was camera off, but uh like I don't know where the level of maturity is supposed to happen, you know.

00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:31.900
Well, I mean it's like nobody notices all the minion toys behind me, right?

00:33:31.980 --> 00:33:33.820
Yeah, okay.

00:33:33.980 --> 00:33:36.940
Um gotta hang on to that childish part of us.

00:33:37.340 --> 00:33:38.539
Level of maturity.

00:33:38.700 --> 00:33:41.420
Uh I'm I'm basically a 12-year-old, you know.

00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:42.940
I still laugh at fart jokes.

00:33:43.100 --> 00:33:45.019
I mean, I don't I don't know.

00:33:45.340 --> 00:33:50.060
Um I I don't think you ever want to use lose your sense of youth, though.

00:33:50.140 --> 00:33:54.140
I mean, if you're not having fun in what you're doing, you're doing it wrong.

00:33:54.220 --> 00:34:01.420
I mean, when you do when you have a career that spans 42 years, if you don't enjoy it, I mean, come on.

00:34:02.060 --> 00:34:04.779
You know, so I I try to have fun.

00:34:04.940 --> 00:34:09.579
Lauren gets a little um aggravated at me because I'm kind of like hurting a cat.

00:34:09.739 --> 00:34:11.820
Now, you'll know exactly how that is.

00:34:12.059 --> 00:34:20.699
You know, it's kind of hard to keep me focused sometimes because you know, I'm I I'm playful like that, I guess.

00:34:21.659 --> 00:34:31.980
I think that also poor memory for me watching you run around recording Lauren carrying uh stuff into and out of an exhibitor booth uh for TikTok.

00:34:33.099 --> 00:34:33.739
It was just like that.

00:34:33.820 --> 00:34:37.500
Like she was annoyed, like, no, don't help me carry the stuff, please make your TikTok.

00:34:37.579 --> 00:34:40.059
But it was so amazing to watch you guys interact.

00:34:41.019 --> 00:34:42.299
Definitely poor memory.

00:34:42.539 --> 00:34:45.500
Well, you know, if she would have done TikTok, I wouldn't have had to.

00:34:45.579 --> 00:34:47.259
So, you know, that was on her.

00:34:47.500 --> 00:34:49.980
I would have been the one carrying in the stuff, right?

00:34:51.019 --> 00:34:53.099
You know, hey, that that was all her.

00:34:53.340 --> 00:34:57.259
So are you like your TikTok presence?

00:34:57.339 --> 00:34:59.019
So let's talk about that for a minute.

00:34:59.259 --> 00:35:15.659
Your um your nickname on TikTok, uh, and I guess it also on LinkedIn, the the moniker, the conveyor cougar, clearly conveys that you're of the older generation than maybe the the rest of the folks that are jumping on the trends of TikTok and things like that.

00:35:15.739 --> 00:35:24.139
And yeah, I I I I feel you with like us millennials kind of being stuck in the middle because now we're all of a sudden in this like huge place of responsibility.

00:35:24.299 --> 00:35:26.219
So we can't quite play.

00:35:26.460 --> 00:35:33.500
Um maybe the same way that like the the earlier in career folks can that are younger, it comes more natively to them.

00:35:33.579 --> 00:35:40.139
And then maybe someone like you who's like, I now I'm at a point where I don't, you know, I don't have to care as hard like that.

00:35:40.219 --> 00:35:54.299
But have you found that to be something that bridges, you know, creates opportunities for you to get across to people that are colleagues or customers or kind of of our industry and of the people that are making decisions?

00:35:54.460 --> 00:36:01.739
Or is that purely for trying to attract and engage kind of the younger generation that is more likely to be on TikTok?

00:36:02.059 --> 00:36:06.379
I think it's trying to help me stay relevant.

00:36:06.460 --> 00:36:07.899
You know, I talk about that a lot.

00:36:08.059 --> 00:36:12.779
It's like, you know, you you've got to be aware of what the other generations are doing.

00:36:12.940 --> 00:36:17.579
And, you know, I mean, these are these are people that are now in our industry.

00:36:17.819 --> 00:36:19.500
They're doing purchasing.

00:36:19.579 --> 00:36:21.339
This is these are the engineers.

00:36:21.579 --> 00:36:24.059
You have to be able to speak to them where they are.

00:36:24.379 --> 00:36:28.539
And really, there's no better place to find out where they are than TikTok.

00:36:28.699 --> 00:36:36.779
You know, I mean, you get a um a real cornucopia of uh of information from that.

00:36:36.940 --> 00:36:41.019
But I think that it keeps me young, you know.

00:36:41.259 --> 00:36:53.500
Um, it definitely helps when you know somebody is communicating, you know, with the with the Gen Zs or something, and they'll throw in some slang and I can throw it back, and they're like, wow, you know.

00:36:53.819 --> 00:36:57.419
But you know, we TikTok was really accidental.

00:36:57.579 --> 00:36:59.179
It was kind of a joke.

00:36:59.339 --> 00:37:09.579
Our we were spending a ton of money doing these really nice marketing, and some of them were really clever and witty, and you know, our flamethrower video and our robot emporium video.

00:37:09.659 --> 00:37:13.099
I mean, they were great, but they were sitting out on YouTube and they were just like crickets, right?

00:37:13.259 --> 00:37:20.299
Yeah, and the social media company that we had employed at that time was like, well, what you really need is a TikTok account.

00:37:20.379 --> 00:37:24.460
And of course, Lauren, being my millennial, was like, not it, right?

00:37:24.779 --> 00:37:25.899
Not it at all.

00:37:26.139 --> 00:37:33.659
And so uh I looked around and there was really nobody else in the company that was willing to step up and do it.

00:37:33.739 --> 00:37:40.859
And so being the typical Gen X that I am, I am uh the old, old, oldest Gen X.

00:37:41.419 --> 00:37:43.099
Um, I was just like, sure, I'll do it.

00:37:43.179 --> 00:37:50.699
So, you know, I found myself a 12-year-old, taught me how to basically make a TikTok, and off I went, right?

00:37:50.940 --> 00:37:57.819
And I just had fun with it, and I still have fun with it, and it's never about really content, nothing.

00:37:57.899 --> 00:38:04.779
It's it's just more about it's a fun way to connect, it's a fun way to get your name out there.

00:38:05.019 --> 00:38:11.899
Um, we did see like a 300% increase in web traffic right after I started the the TikTok.

00:38:11.980 --> 00:38:25.259
And you know, I'm not like wildly popular TikTok like you know, some of these guys, you know, I certainly can't retire and monetize my TikTok, but I've got like 1500 followers or something.

00:38:25.339 --> 00:38:50.379
And for automation videos, I think that's pretty good because, you know, I mean, it takes a certain person to want to watch, you know, robots or conveyors do something, you know, it's not you know the most exciting um content out there, but I have a lot of followers that that really enjoy that kind of content and enjoy my sense of humor and enjoy my um musical tastes and things like that.

00:38:50.619 --> 00:38:53.419
So, you know, I'm just out I'm just having fun with it.

00:38:53.659 --> 00:39:00.779
And and it has really, I think, helped um shine a light on Flexline as a company.

00:39:01.019 --> 00:39:03.659
Um, because people feel like they know me.

00:39:03.819 --> 00:39:04.059
Yeah.

00:39:04.539 --> 00:39:20.379
And through social media, I think what is so important about social media in today's market is you know, having that sense of familiarity and feeling like you have a relationship and you build trust with somebody before you actually do business, I think is really important.

00:39:20.859 --> 00:39:27.019
And I mean, you girls have have known me for a number of years, you've met me in person, you've seen me online.

00:39:27.579 --> 00:39:28.859
Is there a difference?

00:39:29.099 --> 00:39:33.419
No, what you see is what you get right here, you know.

00:39:34.539 --> 00:39:37.179
And I think people have appreciated that.

00:39:38.059 --> 00:39:47.659
And um, you know, even when I I do corny or stupid stuff or I share things on LinkedIn that Lauren will be like, Mom, that's really not LinkedIn appropriate.

00:39:47.739 --> 00:39:51.099
And I'm like, Well, I'm here to break the rules, you know.

00:39:51.739 --> 00:39:58.219
It must be LinkedIn appropriate if I post it, by golly, and you know, um, if you don't like it, scroll on by.

00:39:58.619 --> 00:40:01.019
I mean, I yell that to her in her office all the time.

00:40:01.099 --> 00:40:04.379
You know, if you don't like it, scroll on, girl, scroll on.

00:40:04.619 --> 00:40:06.379
So, you know, right.

00:40:06.539 --> 00:40:09.659
There's a lot of content out there, and people don't need to engage with all of it.

00:40:09.739 --> 00:40:14.539
But that's very cool that you have 1500 people engaging on TikTok or or watching automation videos.

00:40:14.699 --> 00:40:17.179
I know I would be one of them if I was on TikTok.

00:40:27.179 --> 00:40:41.579
Well, the one time I started on TikTok, I it I I watched cleaning videos and people restocking their carpet cleaning videos, or um, there's a guy out there that trims cow hooves, and I'm like, this is fascinating.

00:40:41.739 --> 00:40:48.379
And I will watch this for hours, and I'm thinking, was that the guy that finds like the problems in the hook and excavates them?

00:40:48.779 --> 00:40:49.899
I watched that guy too.

00:40:50.139 --> 00:40:51.659
Uh why I keep watching that.

00:40:53.659 --> 00:40:57.339
You know, so I will say you gotta be really careful and really disciplined.

00:40:57.500 --> 00:41:05.259
Um, but mainly I have used uh TikTok as kind of a springboard to other social media.

00:41:05.339 --> 00:41:12.460
So a lot of the things that I'll create on TikTok, I will share to Facebook or I'll share to Instagram or to LinkedIn or whatever.

00:41:12.779 --> 00:41:31.899
Because I feel like you know, you have to have um a pretty diverse social media presence because you know, not everybody's on TikTok, not everybody is doing um, you know, Facebook, not everybody, so you you know, you have to throw a little bit of content out there everywhere and kind of keep up with it that way.

00:41:32.059 --> 00:41:39.179
And you know, if I if I were doing social media right, I'd probably be on it all day.

00:41:39.419 --> 00:41:48.539
But as it stands, you know, I'll go on, I'll make a video, I might watch a few for research, you know, reasons.

00:41:48.779 --> 00:41:53.819
Um, when I get yelled at for scrolling too much on my phone, I'll be like, well, I'm just working, you know, sorry.

00:41:54.059 --> 00:42:00.859
Um, but I think it's important because I think that's how these generations find out about things.

00:42:01.019 --> 00:42:07.099
I mean, I was really surprised at the percentage of Gen Z that make their purchasing decisions based off social media.

00:42:07.339 --> 00:42:09.659
You know, it's it's completely different.

00:42:09.899 --> 00:42:17.500
People buy differently now than they did back when I was working in sales, you know, 30 years ago.

00:42:17.659 --> 00:42:19.819
Um, it's a completely different animal.

00:42:20.059 --> 00:42:31.339
And if you're still trying to use the same techniques that you used 20, 30 years ago, you're doing it wrong because people are changing.

00:42:31.419 --> 00:42:35.019
And you know, you have to change the way that you engage with them.

00:42:35.579 --> 00:42:41.099
And to me, social media kind of keeps me aware of of that.

00:42:42.460 --> 00:42:42.940
Yeah.

00:42:43.659 --> 00:42:57.179
It's um I feel like social media serves the can serve the purpose of like kind of getting to know somebody as an entity, as a person, before you engage with them on something complex, like an engineering project, right?

00:42:57.259 --> 00:43:01.259
You want to know that they're trustworthy, that they have a team that can perform.

00:43:01.500 --> 00:43:09.500
Um, you feel like you know enough about them that they, you know, if they're doing bad work, that that reputation would, you know, build credibility.

00:43:09.739 --> 00:43:09.980
Right.

00:43:10.139 --> 00:43:17.980
But for purchasing on TikTok is something I think of more as like a consumer experience, like, hey, I saw something, I'm interested in it, somebody recommended it.

00:43:18.059 --> 00:43:22.299
I'm just gonna go ahead and click and buy that without talking to a person.

00:43:22.779 --> 00:43:24.619
User-generated content.

00:43:25.739 --> 00:43:31.419
Yeah, but you guys do custom integration, but you also have these standard products like the box easy.

00:43:31.579 --> 00:43:39.579
Does that ever just get like somebody saw it online and looked up the specs and figured out they want it and they just call in them or or go online and want to buy it?

00:43:39.659 --> 00:43:44.219
Or is that always a very heavily engineered, you know, sort of led conversation?

00:43:44.460 --> 00:43:52.219
Well, the box easy is always kind of heavily engineered because it really depends on box sizes and the location of the box magazine.

00:43:52.460 --> 00:43:56.139
That's going to determine the reach of the robot and the size of the robot.

00:43:56.299 --> 00:44:10.139
So um, because we try to um do multiple box sizes from a single pick point so you don't have to change over end of arm tooling, anything like that, or make a lot of program changes.

00:44:10.219 --> 00:44:32.219
You know, we like it to be very simple, and so it's it's always pretty much um an engineered uh product, but we do we stock a huge inventory of flexlink conveyors here, um, conveyor parts, Dorner parts, Bosch Rex Raw, things like that.

00:44:32.379 --> 00:44:35.019
So we do a tremendous amount of parts business.

00:44:35.179 --> 00:44:35.339
Okay.

00:44:37.899 --> 00:44:45.099
And people will see those and we'll call because, like, hey, I know you handle this particular product.

00:44:45.259 --> 00:44:46.940
And so, not everything is a system.

00:44:47.419 --> 00:44:52.139
We do a lot of parts or engineered parts sales along with system sales or systems integration.

00:44:52.379 --> 00:45:05.579
So um that's definitely something that again, it's it's not a oh my gosh, I just saw this really cool um lip liner that never wipes off or something like that that I might impulse by, right?

00:45:05.659 --> 00:45:13.179
But I I have impulse purchased some things off my Facebook um feed that I seriously regret, right?

00:45:13.339 --> 00:45:20.059
Um, you know, so I try to resist that because you know, not everything they say is true.

00:45:21.019 --> 00:45:22.219
I have found that out.

00:45:22.379 --> 00:45:26.299
Not all of these sales pitches are uh factual, yeah.

00:45:26.539 --> 00:45:35.899
But yeah, for I mean, mainly we're using social media to funnel people to our website or to make the phone call to call in and speak to us.

00:45:36.139 --> 00:45:40.379
You know, we're not really doing the direct, you know, buy online kind of thing.

00:45:40.779 --> 00:45:46.219
Also very much speaks to we don't really have the opportunity to to manufacture demand for anything.

00:45:46.460 --> 00:45:46.699
Right.

00:45:46.940 --> 00:45:54.539
If people don't need a conveyor part, they're not we're not gonna be able to convince them to buy it with a video and some unsubstantiated product claims.

00:45:54.859 --> 00:45:58.219
Yeah, so it's it's different, you know, it's a different type of marketing.

00:45:58.460 --> 00:46:05.819
And so for for us in the automation business, is TikTok ever going to be, you know, exactly what you're saying?

00:46:06.219 --> 00:46:07.419
No, probably no.

00:46:07.659 --> 00:46:13.179
Um, but do people see some of the stuff that I throw out there and are curious?

00:46:13.419 --> 00:46:20.379
And maybe they see an application that we've done, and then all of a sudden they're working on a project and they're like, oh my God, I saw somebody that did that.

00:46:20.779 --> 00:46:22.379
Oh, yeah, it's the conveyor cougar.

00:46:22.460 --> 00:46:27.179
I'll go look that up, or I'll I'll go back and see, and I'll give them a call.

00:46:27.419 --> 00:46:35.099
And so it's it's really trying to um just to get that content out there and available.

00:46:35.419 --> 00:46:54.059
People might not use what they see today, but you know, you plant that seed, and you know, maybe next year, or they move jobs and they're in a different position and they run across something and they're now like, okay, I need this, and I know somebody who really knows a lot about this or who has uh a lot of resources in this area.

00:46:54.219 --> 00:46:57.980
And I think that that's it's it's an informational tool for us.

00:46:58.219 --> 00:47:01.899
Yeah, and it's easy enough to remember different, honestly.

00:47:01.980 --> 00:47:05.819
I'll say, like, so flex line automation is the name of your company.

00:47:05.899 --> 00:47:09.980
Yeah, flex link conveyors is one of the brands that you represent, right?

00:47:10.299 --> 00:47:15.099
And early on, like when I didn't deal with those two, I mixed the two up a lot.

00:47:15.659 --> 00:47:20.699
Um, and so like there's a lot of names and technologies and things in our industry that are very similar.

00:47:20.940 --> 00:47:29.259
Um, I found this out, like also working nationally, there's just a lot of regional companies that sound exactly the same or they're off by one letter or something.

00:47:29.500 --> 00:47:37.419
Whereas like your identity and your personality and you're the conveyor cougar, you know, like that, you don't mix that up with anything else.

00:47:38.779 --> 00:47:48.619
Well, one of the things that I always try to point out about, you know, a lot of people will be like, well, you know, you you sell flexlink conveyors, why shouldn't I just go directly to FlexLink?

00:47:49.019 --> 00:47:51.819
Um, you know, I'll get a better price, I'll get a whatever.

00:47:51.899 --> 00:47:58.219
And you know, if if you're ordering something standard off the shelf, yeah, maybe.

00:47:58.460 --> 00:48:11.500
Um, but if you're looking at an integration project and maybe uh a product, a standard product needs to be customized for you, you're not gonna get that at the manufacturer level.

00:48:11.739 --> 00:48:29.419
So I think that there's always going to be a reason to have a partnership with a good integrator because you know, we'll take some of these uh flex link items and and you know, we've turned them into magnetic conveyors or air conveyors or backlit conveyors and things that are not standard.

00:48:29.579 --> 00:48:35.099
You're not going to get that if you call flexlink, you know, because what we're looking at is solving your problem.

00:48:35.500 --> 00:48:44.779
Yeah, and if we can do it with a standard product offering, of course, that's economical the best way to go, but that's not always possible.

00:48:44.940 --> 00:48:51.739
So the fact that we have the ability to customize the solution, I think gives us an advantage.

00:48:52.059 --> 00:48:57.739
Yeah, I'll also say just coming from the manufacturer side of things, I work for Wintech, we're a manufacturer.

00:48:57.819 --> 00:49:02.460
I've worked for uh Festo and Keynes in the past, which are also the manufacturers.

00:49:02.859 --> 00:49:05.659
Um, we're not always faster at shipping.

00:49:05.819 --> 00:49:07.739
Sometimes we're slower.

00:49:07.980 --> 00:49:20.619
Wintech in this case, we we have a good warehouse, we ship next day, but I've bought from many manufacturers that will take up to a week to ship out an order because they're used to handling large quantity orders from their distributors and you know bigger companies.

00:49:21.099 --> 00:49:28.699
And so A, you're not necessarily likely to get a faster response or better service, and B, you're not necessarily likely to get a better price either.

00:49:28.859 --> 00:49:34.139
Uh in some cases, it'll be worse than you can get from a good distributor or integrator.

00:49:34.619 --> 00:49:40.940
Um and yeah, I think that's kind of a perception that I don't know, you know, I think it probably depends.

00:49:41.099 --> 00:49:43.579
Depends on the manufacturer and the distributor of each one.

00:49:43.739 --> 00:49:45.899
There's there's you know pros and cons there.

00:49:46.059 --> 00:50:00.940
Um, but that would be an interesting, I think I should do an episode on that topic just because like having worked across the aisles of these different relationships, distributors, systems, integrators, manufacturers, there's a lot of, you know, sort of nuance there um that maybe not everybody knows.

00:50:01.019 --> 00:50:12.539
And some of those things seem very counterintuitive unless you know kind of the reasoning or or you know, the reasoning behind them and then different scenarios in which you want to make sure that you have all those relationships.

00:50:13.099 --> 00:50:27.259
Well, I have uh like you know, three quarters of a million dollars worth of conveyor parts sitting on my shelf back there, so that if somebody calls flex line automation, the first difference you're gonna notice is a human is going to answer your phone call.

00:50:27.419 --> 00:50:27.659
Yeah.

00:50:27.819 --> 00:50:34.859
You know, you're gonna actually speak with a person who is going to be able to get you to who you need, what you need.

00:50:35.099 --> 00:50:44.059
And I mean, there have been instances when we're not here, our phones ring to my cell phone, my husband's cell phone, or Lauren's cell phone.

00:50:44.219 --> 00:50:46.059
So it's like we're always on call.

00:50:46.139 --> 00:50:51.179
I've come in on Saturday before and packed up parts for a courier to pick up.

00:50:51.899 --> 00:50:56.460
Um, actually, uh, I was a private pilot for for quite a while.

00:50:56.779 --> 00:50:58.619
No way, I did not know this.

00:50:58.779 --> 00:51:03.099
Yeah, we have no new careers, but I here I've just learned something completely.

00:51:03.579 --> 00:51:05.739
My my husband and I both used to fly.

00:51:05.899 --> 00:51:18.859
His dad um was a helicopter flight instructor, and so we it was a uh aviation was really big in his family, and so um I kind of got sucked into that, and we both flew quite a bit.

00:51:18.940 --> 00:51:25.980
And and at that time, you know, hey, I would throw a box you know in into the plane and fly it out, you know, at different places.

00:51:26.139 --> 00:51:34.699
So that level of customer service you don't get from a big company, from a manufacturer, because it's kind of like that layer cake we talked about.

00:51:34.779 --> 00:51:39.739
You know, there's lots of layers, there's lots of icing, there's lots of fluff in between those layers.

00:51:39.980 --> 00:51:51.019
And, you know, when you call flex line, you're gonna get a person, you're gonna get a decision maker, somebody that's gonna be able to act on your request immediately.

00:51:51.339 --> 00:51:59.099
And, you know, I keep enough conveyor that I can build a hundred foot of conveyor and turn it around in 24 hours if I need to.

00:51:59.419 --> 00:52:06.379
And um we have, you know, we've we've gotten orders before and they've they're like, I need this, and I need this in two days.

00:52:06.539 --> 00:52:07.339
Can you do it?

00:52:07.579 --> 00:52:08.059
Sure.

00:52:08.619 --> 00:52:18.539
You know, so I think that would be a great episode because there is a big misnomer that you know, going direct is is the way to go.

00:52:18.779 --> 00:52:19.419
Yeah.

00:52:20.379 --> 00:52:21.179
Absolutely.

00:52:21.419 --> 00:52:25.339
So I think we're we're running, you know, pretty close to time here.

00:52:25.500 --> 00:52:28.059
We should probably uh start wrapping things up.

00:52:28.219 --> 00:52:33.419
I could go on forever on tangent and other things that I thought of that I that I want to ask you.

00:52:33.899 --> 00:52:39.339
Um, Kathy, is there anything that you want to talk about that we haven't asked?

00:52:40.139 --> 00:52:41.980
I you know, I don't know.

00:52:42.219 --> 00:52:49.659
Um I mentioned that we're working on a gluing application for the box easy, so kind of keep an eye out.

00:52:49.739 --> 00:52:52.059
That's gonna be coming, coming soon.

00:52:52.379 --> 00:52:55.739
And we're doing that at Pac Expo.

00:52:56.139 --> 00:53:06.139
Uh, I don't know if we'll be taking it to a trade show yet this year or um definitely won't be ready for automate, but we will be at automate.

00:53:06.379 --> 00:53:11.579
We are going to be hosting our own um automation fair again.

00:53:11.739 --> 00:53:16.059
We're looking at doing that maybe sometime in in late April, early May.

00:53:16.219 --> 00:53:21.179
We haven't set the date exactly for that, but that's always a really wildly popular event.

00:53:21.500 --> 00:53:32.460
Um yeah, I actually wanted to mention that because that is something that, you know, in your area, right, of rural southern Illinois, there's not a lot of opportunities to go to these trade shows.

00:53:32.539 --> 00:53:36.859
Um unless you really have, you know, a big reason to travel and the expense and stuff.

00:53:36.940 --> 00:53:41.179
So is that something that you guys put on for the community to see what automation is?

00:53:41.419 --> 00:53:44.779
Or uh is it is it more of just like a hey, come see what we have to sell?

00:53:44.940 --> 00:53:48.699
Like, what's the motivation behind how long have you been doing it?

00:53:49.019 --> 00:53:54.460
Lauren and I, this will be our our third, third year, third or fourth year, I don't know.

00:53:54.859 --> 00:54:03.819
Um, but Lauren and I were were leaving automate one year, and I was walking behind these two gentlemen, and they were like, Oh my god, did you see this?

00:54:03.980 --> 00:54:06.460
And you know, I didn't even know they made those.

00:54:06.619 --> 00:54:10.460
And and I'm it it just kind of resonated with me.

00:54:10.699 --> 00:54:15.179
People, you can't Google what you don't know, yeah, right, right.

00:54:15.500 --> 00:54:28.299
And a lot of the businesses, a lot of the small to mid-sized rural manufacturers, they don't have the budgets to send people to Vegas or send people to Chicago or wherever.

00:54:28.460 --> 00:54:33.500
And so these guys are basically relying on catalogs and the internet.

00:54:33.819 --> 00:54:35.259
And it just really struck me.

00:54:35.339 --> 00:54:37.419
You how do you Google what you don't know?

00:54:37.579 --> 00:54:39.339
You how would you even begin?

00:54:39.500 --> 00:54:46.139
If you can't go to a trace show and see some of the things that are there, how do you even know where to begin to look?

00:54:46.379 --> 00:54:58.059
And so that was why we started having our own automation fair because there are so many small, mid-sized rural manufacturers in this area that just don't have access to that information.

00:54:58.219 --> 00:55:05.659
So it's our goal always to put on a show with a very diverse group of um of exhibitors.

00:55:05.819 --> 00:55:06.779
You know, it's really weird.

00:55:06.859 --> 00:55:07.739
It's in our facility.

00:55:07.899 --> 00:55:08.940
I don't have a booth in it.

00:55:09.099 --> 00:55:11.899
We really aren't even promoting our products.

00:55:12.139 --> 00:55:41.899
It's it's it's my way of trying to bring the trade show to people that don't have an opportunity to go that I feel like need to have that experience and they need to be able to, you know, to touch and feel and look at some of these things that are available and and then begin to get an idea of what to Google, you know, when they need to, or at least have some contacts and some resources available so you know they can call or they can, you know, be like, hey, uh we're doing this.

00:55:42.059 --> 00:55:43.980
Maybe it's not something I know anything about.

00:55:44.139 --> 00:55:46.299
Somebody at a trade show asked me, can you do this?

00:55:46.379 --> 00:55:49.339
And I was like, Well, that's not the right question because yeah, I can.

00:55:49.500 --> 00:55:50.379
The question is, should I?

00:55:50.460 --> 00:55:53.500
And that's no, but here's the number for the guys who should.

00:55:53.980 --> 00:56:06.139
And so, you know, we're we're matchmakers a lot in that area, but it's it's something I'm really passionate about because I think that these small, mid-sized rural manufacturers are underserved and overlooked.

00:56:06.460 --> 00:56:14.219
And uh a lot of the bigger companies, they don't want to spend their resources because you know you're driving an hour, two hours or more in between companies.

00:56:14.299 --> 00:56:18.940
So these guys don't get any sales calls, they don't, they don't get anything, you know.

00:56:19.259 --> 00:56:29.339
And yeah, if you look at our GDP, if you look at what's most of manufacturing, they're small, mid-sized rural manufacturers.

00:56:29.500 --> 00:56:36.460
So if there's anybody that we should be supporting right now, especially um it's those guys, you know.

00:56:36.619 --> 00:56:47.099
So that's something that's super important to Lauren and I, and the reason why we do it and why we invite anybody who wants to come, set up as an exhibitor is welcome.

00:56:47.339 --> 00:56:49.500
We don't charge an exhibitor fee.

00:56:49.659 --> 00:56:55.419
Um, you know, you can make a donation if you'd like to help pay because we buy everybody who comes lunch.

00:56:55.500 --> 00:56:57.099
You know, we have a food truck on site.

00:56:57.339 --> 00:57:01.659
So, you know, do you want to write us a check to help offset the cost of food?

00:57:01.899 --> 00:57:11.819
Fantastic, but it's it's not a requirement because what we want to do is bring that technology to these companies that wouldn't otherwise have access to it.

00:57:12.059 --> 00:57:12.539
Yeah.

00:57:12.859 --> 00:57:20.859
Well, that I think is a fantastic way to end this interview um with four minutes to spare.

00:57:21.019 --> 00:57:34.299
Um, so what I would love to do is make sure that when you guys have uh the information finalized, the dates, the you know, registration page, whatever that is, that we get you up on our uh Automation Ladies uh events calendar.

00:57:34.539 --> 00:57:35.500
Oh, that would be fantastic.

00:57:35.739 --> 00:57:43.099
Well, that is something that we're putting together this year, um, both events that we are gonna be at and just events that we think you know people should know about.

00:57:43.259 --> 00:57:54.059
And I would now like to try uh to make an effort to get more smaller regional events onto that page and there to be a some sort of you know finder of what based on location.

00:57:54.139 --> 00:57:55.980
So that yeah, that'd be awesome.

00:57:56.299 --> 00:58:02.940
For me now as a single parent with two kids, like it's I love going to these events and you know, flying out and everything.

00:58:03.099 --> 00:58:10.619
Luckily, it is something I get to do as part of my job, but it's also a you know, it's a real challenge uh with scheduling and other things.

00:58:10.699 --> 00:58:22.139
And so whenever there's something I realize I can drive to and don't have to spend the night, for instance, um, that's always like a real nice treat for me, something that I can do without being spending the night away from my kids.

00:58:22.299 --> 00:58:38.619
Um, and so I I can imagine there's plenty of other people out there with whether it's an employer restraint that they don't have the budget, or maybe it's just even if you could go on your employer's dime, you have caretaking responsibilities or absolutely whatever that is that keeps you from traveling too far.

00:58:38.779 --> 00:58:44.219
And so if we can bring these little mini events to more people's attention, you can go find something locally.

00:58:44.619 --> 00:58:48.699
We invited people from about a 200, 250 mile radius.

00:58:48.940 --> 00:58:58.299
And I had one company that sent 11 engineers, and they thanked me personally before they left because they were like, this is the only opportunity we have.

00:58:58.619 --> 00:59:11.419
And then we had another company that I overheard two gentlemen talking, and one of them was like, and they had drove probably an hour, hour and a half, and he was like, I thought this was gonna be so lame, and I figured this probably wasn't even gonna be worth the drive.

00:59:11.659 --> 00:59:16.859
There's so much cool stuff here, and that's that's the feedback that I want.

00:59:17.019 --> 00:59:24.460
I want there to be so much cool stuff that these people that don't have an opportunity to see it are just floored.

00:59:24.619 --> 00:59:27.500
And already I've got people reaching out saying, When is the next one?

00:59:27.579 --> 00:59:28.299
When is the next one?

00:59:28.379 --> 00:59:29.179
We want to come.

00:59:29.419 --> 00:59:41.579
So it's I think it's super important to promote those small uh events for all the reasons you mentioned, because it's it's important that we support that section of manufacturing.

00:59:42.299 --> 00:59:42.859
Absolutely.

00:59:43.019 --> 00:59:56.699
So, where should people go to anything we haven't mentioned yet in terms of how should people reach out to you, if they want to do business with Flexline or if they want to take part in the event, um, or anything else that you want people to know that they should contact you or your company about?

00:59:57.019 --> 01:00:04.699
Well, you know, our website is always a great place to start, and it's uh flexlineautomation.com, and flex line is hyphenated.

01:00:05.099 --> 01:00:07.579
Um or you can always call in.

01:00:07.739 --> 01:00:11.659
Uh, the number is 618-826-5086.

01:00:11.980 --> 01:00:14.539
There's always gonna be a human that answers your call.

01:00:14.699 --> 01:00:21.500
You're gonna get to speak to somebody that will be able to address your your needs right away.

01:00:21.819 --> 01:00:28.699
Um, email, uh follow me on LinkedIn, just look up Conveyor Cougar.

01:00:28.779 --> 01:00:29.739
I think I come up that way.

01:00:29.899 --> 01:00:41.179
Follow me on TikTok, you know, I'm on Instagram, I'm on Snapchat, I'm on Reddit, I'm on, you know, you name it, X, uh threads, Facebook.

01:00:41.419 --> 01:00:42.219
Okay, social media.

01:00:43.739 --> 01:00:44.539
Yeah, yeah.

01:00:44.779 --> 01:00:53.019
And and everybody should know now, you know, what type of person you are, how to approach you, uh, what not to tell you about, right?

01:00:53.419 --> 01:00:56.299
Just you know, hey, if you've got a question, um, let me know.

01:00:56.379 --> 01:00:58.699
If I don't, I I've been doing this a long time.

01:00:58.859 --> 01:01:05.019
I might not know everything, but I I know how to use resources, and I think that's the important thing.

01:01:05.179 --> 01:01:07.659
I might not know it, but I know a guy who does, right?

01:01:07.899 --> 01:01:08.859
So, you know, definitely.

01:01:09.179 --> 01:01:13.179
And then Lauren Vandemark, your daughter, is the sales and marketing manager.

01:01:13.419 --> 01:01:14.139
Is that correct?

01:01:14.619 --> 01:01:15.099
She is.

01:01:15.339 --> 01:01:21.259
Um, so you guys can also find her on LinkedIn, um, touch base with her if you're looking for project support.

01:01:21.500 --> 01:01:22.940
So thank you so much, Kathy.

01:01:23.259 --> 01:01:25.579
I am so glad to have you back on the show.

01:01:25.739 --> 01:01:28.299
I I really looked forward to, and I think I told you this.

01:01:28.379 --> 01:01:29.419
I thought about it last year.

01:01:29.500 --> 01:01:32.299
I was like, man, I just want to fly out, go to Kathy's farm.

01:01:32.379 --> 01:01:39.179
But then I thought about the drive, and then I was like, I'm not sure which airport, and then that sounds complicated, and I probably shouldn't show up on your doorstep.

01:01:39.259 --> 01:01:40.379
So I'm in the St.

01:01:40.460 --> 01:01:42.619
Louis and you have an open invitation.

01:01:42.940 --> 01:01:44.460
I will make it out there one day.

01:01:44.539 --> 01:01:46.940
And in the meantime, thank you so much for coming on the show.

01:01:47.019 --> 01:01:56.460
Um in the audience, man, if you you know, just want there there's like no scenario in which you shouldn't connect with Kathy, really.

01:01:56.619 --> 01:02:10.699
I mean, if you're in the interview, and uh you're gonna find that it will be an enrichment to your feed, to your career, to your relationships, um, to learn from her and and what she's doing out there and flexline in general.

01:02:10.940 --> 01:02:13.980
We'll see you guys at Automate, we'll see you guys at PacExpo.

01:02:14.539 --> 01:02:17.579
Um and have a great rest of your Tuesday.

01:02:17.899 --> 01:02:18.059
Bye.

01:02:18.619 --> 01:02:19.980
Thank you, bye everybody.

01:02:20.539 --> 01:02:22.779
Thank you for listening to Automation Ladies.

01:02:22.940 --> 01:02:34.619
If you like our content and you want to stay in touch, please connect with us on LinkedIn, follow the show page, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and you can send us a message or a copy on our website, automationladies.io.

01:02:35.179 --> 01:02:37.099
We look forward to getting to know you.

01:02:37.579 --> 01:02:42.219
Our producer is Veronica Espinoza, and our music is composed by Daniel J.