The Downtime | Episode 11: Party in the USA

Courtesy: WTWH Media

In this episode of The Downtime podcast, hosts Sarah Wynn and Sheri Kasprzak celebrate Independence Day by chatting with Matt Malchano, vice president of software with Boston Dynamics, an American robotics company. They also discuss World Industrial Design Day and Amazon Prime Day.

And don’t miss their game of She Said What?! in which they discuss regional phrases.

Timestamps for The Downtime

0:00 – Show introduction and July 4th opening

0:50 – Sheri introduces star-spangled lineup, including: Companies made in USA, Amazon Prime Day, World Industrial Design Day & B&R Industrial Automation shuttles, chit-chat dialect game

1:48 – Sarah and Sheri discuss Made in the USA companies

2:05 – Sheri introduces Boston and Boston Dynamics

2:54 – The Boston Dynamics interview kicks off with Matt Malchano, Vice President of Software. He discusses the company’s product line, its role in American manufacturing, and the benefits of being a U.S.-based robotics company. The Spot robot’s appearance on America’s Got Talent also comes up. Matt shares that Hyundai is ordering tens of thousands of robots for its new EV manufacturing plant in Georgia.

12:40 – Sarah talks about Amazon Prime Day and the company’s switch from plastic air pillows to paper filler in North American deliveries. The change took effect in summer 2024, eliminating 95% of plastic air pillows across the region.

15:44 – World Industrial Design Day intro (leads into B&R)

16:01 – Sarah discusses B&R Industrial Automation’s magnetic shuttles. While the video shows the levitating technology in action, she and Sheri talk through the benefits, especially for short-run packaging applications.

17:20 – Sarah: World Industrial Design Day Packaging OEM video including: B&R Industrial Automation levitating shuttles, mk North America’s recirculating pallet system, Morrison Container Handling Solutions’ Smart-Divider Combiner, Hoosier Feeder’s flexible pouch system & opposing conveyor

18:11 – Sarah & Sheri play regional dialect game “She Said What?”

26:30 – Sheri wraps up the episode

26:47 – Sheri: follow us on LinkedIn, SoundCloud, YouTube, Spotify.