Armstrong World Industries set a goal, nearly a decade ago, to be an outlier, the kind of company that maintains 5% profit growth for five or more years. Those efforts have paid off with the ceiling-tile and architectural components making landing No. 2 in IndustryWeek’s annual IW U.S. 50 Best Manufacturers list.

Vic Grizzle, CEO of Armstrong, sat down with IndustryWeek’s Robert Schoenberger to discuss the management philosophy behind that performance. Some key elements:

• Investing in the business: Armstrong dedicates more of its cashflow to operational improvements than many of its peers, part of an annual push to increase productivity by about 3% every year
• Championing stability: Customers and employees know what to expect from a company that has stable management and rarely changes big-picture strategies
• Adaptability: While it champions stability, Armstrong also looks for adjacent opportunities, experiments with new technologies and constantly updates its processes

In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, Thomas Wilk, chief editor of Plant Services, is joined by Blair Fraser, the VP of technology at UE Systems to discuss how ultrasound tools are evolving. Many maintenance technicians use machine condition monitoring technologies for two related goals: detect a problem, and diagnose the root cause. However, Fraser argues that these technologies are evolving quickly to help teams achieve the next-step goal of deciding on the best corrective course of action that fits overall plant goals.

David Brown, vice president and CTO of Transportation Solutions at TE Connectivity, shares how AI is driving faster product design, smarter factories, and a better-trained workforce. From generative design to predictive maintenance, learn how TE's AI strategy keeps them ahead in a rapidly evolving industry. Visit te.com for more information. Read TE’s 2025 Industrial Technology Index here.

Joe Kuhn, CMRP, former plant manager, engineer, and global reliability consultant, is now president of Lean Driven Reliability LLC. He is the author of the book “Zero to Hero: How to Jumpstart Your Reliability Journey Given Today’s Business Challenges” and the creator of the Joe Kuhn YouTube Channel, which offers content on starting your reliability journey and achieving financial independence. In our monthly podcast miniseries, Ask a Plant Manager, Joe considers a commonplace scenario facing the industry and offers his advice, as well as actions that you can take to get on track tomorrow. This episode explains some of the problems that can go wrong when you are starting your reliability journey, and what folks should be on the lookout for along the way.

• Prioritize reliability by choosing where to excel—get a C on less critical tasks to focus on what truly drives plant performance.
• Reliability success demands active operations ownership—learn failures, engage on the floor, and earn credibility.
• Promote small wins visibly—selling reliability outcomes prevents loss of sponsorship and ensures long-term buy-in.
• Without structured problem-solving, best practices fall short—embed it into your process to triple reliability results.

In this episode, American Machinist editor in chief Robert Brooks analyzes the current state of the additive manufacturing (AM) sector, after several years of organizational turmoil among the top suppliers of AM systems. Brooks argues that this turmoil had virtually nothing to do with AM processes or technology developments, arguing that investors have been impatient with the rate of worldwide AM adoption.

Chris Williams, executive director of the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association (VPPPA), offers a preview of the upcoming Safety+ Symposium, to be held August 11-14 in St. Louis. This annual event provides attendees with the opportunity to see safety from all angles and better understand its role in the modern workplace.

EHS Today's Safety Leadership Conference is an official media sponsor of this event.

Fluid sealing is critical to the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of industrial equipment across industries like oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation, and manufacturing. In this podcast, we’ll explore how fluid sealing practices have evolved to meet modern demands for environmental compliance, equipment longevity, and cost-effectiveness. We’ll discuss the latest material advancements, emission-reduction technologies, and digital monitoring tools that are reshaping the landscape. Listeners will gain insights into how companies are balancing traditional reliability practices with the push for sustainable solutions, such as low-emission mechanical seals, advanced gaskets, and innovative air seal designs. We'll also touch on common challenges end users face today — from supply chain constraints to skills gaps — and how industry leaders are adapting their approaches. Whether you're an engineer, maintenance manager, or reliability professional, this episode offers a practical look at the future of fluid sealing.