C (2:16)

Absolutely. Got my Wheaties ready to go. Got my coffee sitting here. Let's fire it up.

B (2:20)

Let's go. All right, really quick. Leah Kim is back with us from gorgeous Seattle, Washington. Leah, great to see you. And yeah, Trisha is encouraging everybody. Say where you're watching from, where you're tuned in from, you name it. Just like this user here, Scotland. I'm going to take a guess, but Amanda and Trisha will confirm. All the way from Scotland. Let us know you're playing golf this morning or this afternoon maybe, but great to have you here today. Okay, Richard, let's see here. We got a lot to get into before Gary joins us. We got four things. Count them down. Four things here on the Buzz, powered by Pegasus Logistics Group. First up, we had a great addition of. With that said over the weekend, Richard, we led off with a bit of a recap of our participation in the 41st annual AME International Conference in St. Louis. That's me and AME Stuff CEO Kim Humphries right there. So Amy's been around a long time, serves some 4,000 members around the world and is laser focused, Richard, on operational excellence. Now, at its core, AMEs got a really solid manufacturing component to its organization, but really it has members and speakers from across industries. They're seeing a growing contingent from healthcare, which is great to hear. All sectors need to find ways to continuously improve and innovate. Right. It's a universal thing. We included some great nuggets in with that said from a variety of friends and industry dynamos. My buddy and lean guru Mark Preston said this Help your suppliers win, and you're going to win, too. The best organizations share their lean playbook with their suppliers, so everyone gets stronger together. Love that. Cindy Hines with A.O. smith made a great point here when she said people stay quiet because we train them to. Your team already sees the problems if they're not speaking up. That's a cultural issue, not a talent issue. Great point. And then finally, our friend and dynamo, Billy Ray Taylor. Richard, I think you met Billy Ray before. He serves as chair of the AME board and he shared a great nugget here. If we're too proud to learn from others, we are the bottleneck leaders who cling to being the smartest in the room. Slow everything down, folks. We included all that and more and the links to the actual video interviews with six great people. We've got resources, live events, a Whole bunch more in this edition of with that said. All right. So Richard, did you get a chance to take a look at our newsletter over the weekend?

C (4:42)

Absolutely, Scott. And so, and actually I'm going to put you, I'm going to flip it around a little bit here because one of the things I have is. And I saw it and Amy, you know, great discussions Lean. I love the collaboration you talked about earlier, the pre show about how collaboration indexes are now kind of a thing. This is like the open source mentality. So this is of filtering in here. But the thing that I want to ask about is. And you know where this is coming from? Circular. Oh just in the overall temperament and just even data points and talking points was connecting that back into circular supply chains now and I'm curious as to why that was so glaringly missed in all of the review of everything because everything was about traditional lean and data. And I mean it's great, it's awesome. But I think looking forward, we're really about circularizing the supply chain.

B (5:26)

Yeah, that's a great point. I think two responses come to my mind. Number one, we still have so much opportunity with some of those lean tools and lean thinking and just the reduction of waste in so many different forms. And then number two, to your point, we have an equally great if not greater opportunity with circularity. And I think lean has been so much mature as a thinking despite the opportunity. And I think eventually in the years ahead, hopefully months ahead, but in the years ahead, as circularity becomes more prevalent across industry, I think that will be a big time driver, not only operational excellence, but innovation. Richard.

C (6:00)

Yep. Yeah. And again, you know, I get excited about this stuff but I'm connected to my 2 second favorite topic which is space.

B (6:07)

Yes.

C (6:07)

Because now as we're moving out into space like legitimately, Elon has got tagged it, right. We're sending the robots, they're going to Mars, you know, potentially people soon enough. But now think about what you need to do to do that. You need a circular supply chain. We've talked about this before, like doom where you gotta reuse everything. Cause there's no resources in flight. There's nothing in space for you to pull from. So the idea of circular supply chains I think gains even more significance in the need and the requirement necessity being the mother of all invention to actually allow us to enable travel, Space travel, Richard.

B (6:39)

Undoubtedly. And you and I both as big space nerds, we know the benefits that have come from the space programs, private and public sector. And I'm hoping to your point that more circularity type thinking, dominant thinking will come from the latest and the emerging space chapter as well. So we shall see. Hey, really quick, let's see here. That is Felix from Scotland. Felix, what are you doing in Scotland? And let us know, Give us a weather check from Scotland, if you would. Closer to home, we've got Rob tuned in from Ohio. Where in Ohio, Rob and are you a Buckeyes fan? That was a tough game Saturday afternoon. ROB okay, Richard, let's do this. I said four things for the sake of time. Let's skip over the pulse check. I want to share a couple resources with folks and then we've got Gary joining us here in just a minute. Now, Richard, I got to ask you, manifest 2026, you might be there, is that right? Richard yeah, that's correct.

C (7:32)

So looking, looking to get myself there. And again, same topics that we're talking about here, a lot of circular stuff, looking for a lot of the space based supply chain kind of extensions, if you will, and innovations that are going to come from that and even data centers in space. I mean the information, the supply, it's all moving in space based. And I think that's that to me gets really exciting because it's going to force us to change a bunch of stuff.

B (7:51)

Well said. And folks, here's your chance to come see Captain Donaldson in person. Perhaps join us at Manifest 2026. Is it on your calendar yet? February 9th through the 11th in Las Vegas at the Venetian. We're going to be there with bells on, just like last year, maybe hoping with Richard, The Manifest Vegas 2026 agenda, folks. It's live. We're talking 150 sessions over 150 sessions, over 400 speakers across three days of innovation, strategery and real world insights that are shaping the present and future of supply chain logistics. Big things, you see some of them there if you're watching us here today. Technology, sustainability, automation, global trade, cold chain and much, much more. But folks, I'm here to tell you and warn you prices are about to increase. But if you're a friend of supply chain now, you can save 200 bucks off the current price. Learn more via the link that's in the comments. Okay, Richard, we look forward to you making your announcement of possibly being at Manifest soon. One more thing before we bring on our esteemed guest speaker guest here today, folks. We've got to check in on what the innovative folks are doing over at easypost. Have you checked out Lori Boyer and the Unboxing Logistics podcast yet? Have you heard of that one yet, Richard?

C (9:03)

I have not.

B (9:03)

Oh. Add it to your list. It's a terrific show. It offers several opportunities from getting to know the fun side of industry leaders, which I love that. To staying updated with the latest trends, even leveling up your shipping processes. We can all get better at that. If that sounds like a jam, this podcast is for you every episode. And check out some of these latest episodes. This stuff full of insights, innovations, real life stories from people who've been on the front line doing big things for years. And better yet, Richard, it gets the prestigious five star rating from the supply chain. Now, team, the prestigious five star rating. You can find Unboxing logistics wherever you get your podcast. Or you can use the direct link that Trisha has popped right there in the comments. Good stuff, Trisha. And Richard, let us know what rating it gets from the one and only Richard Donaldson. Okay, got it. Deal. Let's see here. Rob is a Buckeye graduate. Rob, our apologies, but they had one heck of a year. And hey, they're still running for the the playoff championship. So we'll see what happens there. Felix says nothing exciting to report on from Scotland, weather wise. That's good. Oh, it says weather rather dire. Oh, man. Felix, you're going to have to send pictures or it doesn't happen. And again, as I mentioned, I believe Trisha dropped the link. Check out Unboxing Logistics from our friend Laurie, Laurie Boyer. You'll be glad you did. Okay, Richard, are you ready to get going? We've got an outstanding guest here today. Gary Bennett is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in procurement, supply chain management and industrial operations. Currently serving as the Chief Integrated Supply Chain Officer at Array Technologies, he plays a pivotal role in optimizing the company's global supply chain and procurement strategies. Now, prior to this role, Gary held leadership positions with companies such as PPG Industries and Honeywell. I want to welcome in Gary Bennett, Chief Integrated Supply Chain Officer with Array Technologies. Hey. Hey, Gary. How you doing?

D (11:01)

Good afternoon. I'm doing well, Scott. How are you?

B (11:04)

Welcome to the Buzz. Powered by Logistics. Richard, we've been looking forward to this one, huh?

C (11:09)

Absolutely, Gary. Looking forward to it.

D (11:11)

Exciting times, Richard.

B (11:12)

For sure it is. All right, so I've got a fun warmup question for you both. And last time I posed this question was on a team call about two years ago. And I'm still recovering from the fisticuffs that emerge from this, this tough question. But first, and I tie it back to a little, little, little anecdote here, right? So raise your Hand if you've heard of the Bite Shop. Well, Today's date on December 8th. Way back in 1975, Paul Terrell opened the Bite Shop in Mountain View, California.

D (11:43)

California.

B (11:44)

Now, little did Paul know his little computer store would significantly shape history about a year later as he ordered the first 50 computers from a little technology startup called Apple Computer Company. In fact, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. That's right, the was had planned on selling their computers as kits where customers had to assemble them on their own. I would have failed miserably at that. But Paul Terrell and the Bite Shop insisted that the 50 computers come fully assembled and most assuredly changing history with that demand of their order. Now, Apple's market cap is only some. As of this morning, $4.12 trillion. Holy cow. Thanks Paul. Appreciate that. With that as a backdrop, I'm going to ask both of y', all, Gary, Apple or PC? And why.

C (12:29)

Oh, oh wow.

D (12:31)

You know, historically I've probably been more of a PC guy. You know my background as an engineer, a lot of the engineering applications, you know, just required, you know, some PC formatting. But you know, as time went on, the Apple ecosystem, the way the iPhone and the iPad interact with one another, that ecochain system has really, really caught on to a new generation. So historically I've been a PC guy, but I think in the later years I've migrated more to Apple.

B (12:58)

You know what, you make a great point. I love a little bit I use with Apple. I love how everything's connected, right Richard, Same question. Apple or PC?

C (13:06)

I'm going to follow in Gary's footsteps here, which is, you know, I started off as a kid in the 80s because the apple Macintosh was the first computer doing your little step functions on and kind of building those. But then eventually I made my way to the PC and you know, living and breathing in Silicon Valley. I can tell you there's a bit, there was a bit of a cult like atmosphere that started to form around Apple. Viscerally made me want to not be a part of. So it has nothing to do with logic because I will tell you right now, six, one half dozen the other. I use PCs pretty prodigiously for most of my business work. But now I use Apple fairly prodigiously for my flying aviation. It's really the only product that aviation uses.

B (13:44)

Really? I had no idea of that Richard. That's a great point. Let's see here. Amanda says same. Gary. I would have said PC before I got an Apple laptop. But now the connectivity between my phone and my computer is amazing.

D (13:56)

It really is. Yeah.

B (13:58)

Well, I've had a different experience, Gary and Richard. So I'm a dedicated iPhone user. I wouldn't use anything else but. But when I tried to make the next shift to using an Apple Mini, I think it was for production purposes. I was told by everybody and their brother and sister, you'll love it, it'll never let you down. No glitches, no blue screens of death, you name it. The very first interview I used at Apple Mini on, I got a green screen of death. I never cranked it back on. So maybe it's just above my pay grade and I'm not meant to use it. But Gary and Richard, I'm gonna have to talk more about the aviation element there. I had no idea. So do you use it for like navigation or things like that?

C (14:36)

Yeah. So there's a program called foreflight, which is the electronic flight bag now that most pilots use. So all your charts, planning, everything, and that only is developed and deployed on Apple products. So now with web based everything though, it kind of changes the game a little bit because now we're introducing the Starlink into even your GA aircraft. So I can get 400 up and down in a small plane without any issues. So now all of a sudden that kind of opens the door to other products web based that you didn't have before. So it could be a shift. But yes, if you look at all the pilots, they're carrying Apple products.

B (15:08)

All right, so Gary, when you go up to the friendly skies with Captain Donaldson, you let us know if he's got all those Apple devices. All right, we got to get to work. But folks, a little running theme there. Apple or PC? Let us know in the comments. I'd be curious to do it in a little informal survey. All right, let's get down to work here on the Buzz, powered by our friends at Pegasus. Up first, we've got a great, always interesting story. We cover this, I think for five years we've been doing the buzz here at Manufacturing Dive. Reported on the latest ISM Purchasing Managers Index. Now just a few highlights and I want to stress this is just one set of data, right? One thing to consider amongst hopefully troves and troves of other data. But ism, let's see for November 2025 is what this data is for and showed that the manufacturing industry here in the States it contracted according to their data. In fact, the November reading came in more sluggish in October's suggesting that activity in the sector has further decreased. The main culprits were decreases in new orders, deliveries and employment. And in the broader sense, many manufacturers report plenty of uncertainty hanging around, especially with the tentative nature of trade policy and tariffs. Now, again, one set of data points to consider. Here's an interesting perfect example, because if you look at the S and P global US Manufacturing pmi, it showed domestic growth for November. So two sets that are regularly published to esteem sets of data, and they show some contradictions. So one common theme, though, market uncertainty. And gosh, we probably hear it, you know, a dozen times a day. So, Gary, in general, when you survey the manufacturing industry, what's something you're seeing out there?

D (16:46)

Yeah, so, you know, tariffs have been a, been a big, big situation for our industry the last year. You know, our particular business, you know, last quarter we had an extremely solid quarter. But, you know, looking at other, other industries across the the world and in the US We've seen a lot of softness. A lot of the companies that we are, our supply chain partners, we're really busy, but others within that supply chain are not as busy. So we are seeing some softness, you know, not only in the US but also globally.

B (17:15)

That's right. Good stuff, Gary. And by the way, Trish has dropped a link to that article right there. Y' all, check it out. Don't take our word for it. Richard, your thoughts?

C (17:22)

So I think, I mean, kind of picking up on what Gary's saying, one of the things about tariffs that I find interesting is that it, it, although it manifests in an economic discussion, I think the point of tariffs was more political from the onset. So I kind of create a little bit of separation there. It was sort of a leverage point for me in economic discussions between entities. So I think they're going to go away. And the overall uncertainty that people talk about, I think is going to give way to the inevitable inevitability of just a. Almost a perpetual demand. Right? We might have some ebbs and flows, but I mean, I'm looking forward right now and I'm sitting here saying with all the things that are going on in the world, we're still plowing ahead with adding, you know, about 60 million net new souls per year. That number's going up, right? And that's, that's based on 8 billion people. And I keep pointing out, you know, a hundred years ago it was 2 billion. Now it's at 8 billion. So the demand is perpetually growing. Therefore you will have continuous demand, right? Until you literally flatten the population curve, which ain't going to happen anytime soon, I don't think. I think that to me is sort of the bellwether that, you know, we'll have these ebbs and flows, right. But at the end of the day, it'll normalize out and there'll be. It's just like the stock market. Look at anything else. Good real estate, everything's gone up over the course of decades and we'll still continue that trend for some time.

B (18:32)

Yeah, Richard, good stuff. And economic conversations. I hope to be part of one one day. I never get invited to those types of conversations. Richard, we gotta change that next year.

C (18:41)

Yeah, absolutely. Well, it's a part of supply chain. Why wouldn't it be?

B (18:45)

I'm only kidding. I'll tell you what, economics was not my favorite subject in college, Gary, was it yours?

D (18:51)

I did enjoy economics, yeah. So I've always been tuned to the economic policies and theories. So yeah, okay.

B (18:58)

It was just me. I got kicked out a lot of those classes. All right, let's, let's dive a little bit deeper into the manufacturing industry. There's a great story from our friend Marina Mayer, one of our faves over at Supply and Demand Chain Executive. And let me share the right graphic here. She's sharing her take on the Deloitte Report. Identifies five trends that are predicted to reshape the manufacturing industry in 2026. Now, they are in no particular order here. Right. Number one, investment in smart manufacturing and operations. Two, new digital tools to offer transformative solutions. Three, new incentives, a data center boom and continued demand for semiconductors could drive investment and growth. Four, agentic aftermarket services could transform the customer experience. Already seen some of that. And five, an adaptive workforce planning framework that could help address uncertainty and increasing skill requirements. On that latter point, upskilling the workforce should be a big priority now and next year for sure and in every industry. So Gary, in light of those trends or any others that you're seeing, your thoughts on next year in manufacturing?

D (20:07)

Yeah. So it's exciting times. And probably all of those trends you just mentioned, you know, touch our, our business directly. You know, the use of AI and just the power that's needed to supply AI. You know, solar's taking a big role in that, but, but also just from a supply chain perspective, the amount of AI tools that are going to revolutionize our ability for, to optimize logistics, our demand planning, our entire manufacturing process is going to be huge. And so 2026 is a big year for us to implement more digital tools across our enterprise. And so we're super excited about where the future is going.

B (20:41)

We are too. And you know, Richard, you and I have talked about this a thousand times. And for folks that want to learn new things, right. And willing to go there, kind of get out of their comfort zone, there's going to be so many opportunities, right. To upskill and apply and promotions, new roles, you name it. But if you like doing the same thing every hour, every day, you know it's going to be tougher times. Maybe. But Richard, your thoughts on 2026 trends in manufacturing.

C (21:06)

So I'm going to piggyback yet again on Gary's comments. Right. And focus in on all five things. Scott have a common theme underneath them all which is technology driven. Every single one that you mentioned in that right in Deloitte is kind of missing the theme here, which is the technification is still something that's happening. So it's AI, data centers, chips, all is driven by the propagation of technology. More and more data centers. Now we're going into space based AI is going to start looking at the data when we connect to the entire supply chain and circularize it to the point where we're really focusing on how much net new virgin material are we extracting, refining, manufacturing versus reusing, which I think is the trend that's going to move. So I think technology's still the underlying theme that's going to be driving everything that we talk about in pretty much every facet of life from medicine to supply chain to everything. I think we forget Even though we're 20 years into this or 30 years into this, we're still kind of in baby steps of understanding what technology can even do for us.

B (22:01)

Right.

C (22:01)

And I think that's a theme that we need to kind of open up to. Back to your point about learning we don't know what we don't know.

B (22:06)

Right.

C (22:07)

And I think that we have to be open to understanding that we really don't understand a lot of things. And it's going to become more and more apparent when we get technology tools to help augment our insights into those. And we need to be open to make those changes.

B (22:19)

Richard, well said. And that's the thing you can count on. In addition to death tariffs.

D (22:24)

Yes.

B (22:24)

And we don't know. We don't know that will always be the case. And it's so amazing as we sit here in 2025, we're probably all marveling at what technology is doing today and we don't even have an inkling of the incredible things that be done just next year. Much less 2030, by the way, we're going to talk about energy. Energy was mentioned in this article. I'll pop it back up here. We're going to talk about energy and some cool things that Gary and his organization are involved in soon. But I want to pull out this little nugget because we were talking about nuclear energy in the pre show, right, Richard? And well, the article here mentions that startups focused on small modular reactors. Smart. You're going to hear that a lot more folks attracted $3.9 billion in funding in 2024. That was a tenfold increase over 2023. And I bet when the numbers come out this year it'll be even bigger. We shall see. Trisha's dropping again the link to this right here by our friend Marina. Great work. And y' all let us know your take on what you're seeing and projecting for next year. All right, Gary and Richard, now I want to get into this gorgeous shot of the blue marble as that famous space picture that was published as decades ago. And interesting story from our friends at the World Economic Forum. Get this. The Global Cooperation Barometer 2026 is set to be released in January. It provides a data driven overview of the state of international cooperation, examining key trends across multiple domains. That's too much to cover in a couple of minutes here. Those domains are pretty deep and I think there's 41 trends they track. But one element I want to get both y' all to weigh in on. Gary and Richard, a survey of business leaders, which is all part of this barometer, reports when we release next month showed that 83% of respondents claim that the state of Global cooperation in 2025 has gotten less cooperative or much less cooperative. No surprise there. While regional cooperation is improving. No surprise there. Gary, at a broad level, your thoughts on what I'll call maybe the state of cooperation?

D (24:25)

Yeah. So you know, looking at our business, so we're a, we're a multinational company. We, we have supply chain partners all over the globe. But a big part of our business is US based and we have definitely onshored or regionalized our supply chain. And so we definitely see a lot more interaction with our regional partners and a lot less influence from a global perspective or a long supply chain perspective on our projects that are focused in the US and so we do see a lot more regional and even onshore and domestic supply chains than we did just a year ago, right?

B (24:59)

That's right. Richard, your perspective on the state of cooperation.

C (25:03)

I think it's an interesting survey when again I'm going to take the technology backdrop and go back to your original post when we started the show looking at the Apple Byte Store, right? Yeah. So back then you had two mindsets of closed source software development, both at Apple and at the PC world, right? Until this Linus Torvald guy showed up and decided to open source everything. And what won? I mean, we all know the answer to that. It was collaborative development and I just don't understand why yet. We don't apply that to just about everything. So I actually look back in the survey and go, well, okay, this is interesting. But at the same time, we kind of know that collaboration is a way to win and has a winning strategy, as proven through everything that technology does today is driven off of open source. For the most part, closed source didn't win. So how is that now not further emphasized even in a report like this, which is, hey, everyone, let's figure this out. You're going to win better, faster, stronger, if you collaborate. As evidenced by every human episode where collaboration has shown up and we've won, but yet we still kind of get into this tribalism that happens. We haven't really evolved past that. So, I mean, you're opening some very deep philosophical discussions here, but at the same time, I think there's a way to kind of wrap it into something that's tangible, which is, hey, this collaboration index is actually kind of important because the better we get at collaboration, the better everyone else is going to win.

B (26:28)

So true. And of course, from a supply chain context, it's got to happen.

D (26:32)

It's got to happen.

B (26:33)

So. And again, that's why, folks, I said we're just taking the tip of the tip of the tip of the iceberg for this. Great read, y'.

D (26:39)

All.

B (26:39)

Check it out, let us know your take. I'm looking forward to getting the full report in January and kind of diving into some of the stuff there, so check it out. Trish has already dropped it right there in the links as well. All right, Gary and Richard, we got a lot more to get into, but I want to share one quick resource from our friends Tevin Taylor and the folks over at Pegasus Logistics Group, powering the buzz all month long in December. So, hey, when your supply chain demands strength and dependability, you can trust Pegasus Logistics Group to get the job done. Their contract logistics and warehousing solutions provide scale, reliability and execution, all keeping your operations, just like Tevin, ahead of the curve. Whether it's kitting, inventory management, high value storage, nationwide distribution, returns processing. We have to talk More about returns or complex project rollouts. Pegasus delivers precision, speed and execution every step of the way. Tevin and the team invite you to discover how Pegasus Logistics Group can strengthen your operation and deliver opportunity knocking at your door for your business. You can connect with them via the link in the comments and let us know about your conversation. Okay. Richard and Gary really have enjoyed it. Gary, I wish we had a couple more hours with you here today and we're still getting some really good stuff here in a minute. Before we get into some big projects, a big expansion that the Array Technologies team is leading, let's level it a little bit more around the company and your role there. Gary, can you fill us in a little bit?

D (27:59)

Sure. So my name is Gary Bennett. I'm integrated Chief Integrated Supply Chain Officer for Array Technologies. Been with Array a little over four years. Background is a civil structural engineer with previous companies, PPG, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, running P&LS and also doing senior level operations roles. Array Technologies is a publicly traded company. We're listed on the NASDAQ. We're approximately 30 years old. Array Technologies manufactures the substructure that solar modules sit on in utility size projects that move with the sun. So as the sun moves across the horizon from morning to evening, our system enables energy optimization for us to capture more sunlight, to create more electrons, to put on the grid. And so we're based officially in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but we're a global organization. We have teams in the us we have offices in Europe, South America, do a lot of work in Australia. So we're truly a multinational organization. And I have to say, you know, I think I have the best job in the world. Array, the culture at Array, the organization is the best. And so every day is a new challenge, but it never gets bored. And you look at 20, 26 and all the things that we don't know, that's what makes it super exciting to get up every day because there's new challenges and my team does a great job and we hit the ground running every single day.

B (29:26)

Well, you got to, you got to keep up with the sun, Gary, I.

D (29:28)

Tell you, you had me follow the sun, follow the sun. That's what we say.

B (29:33)

Richard, that is. He's kind of blowing me away there. It's a very unique company. What'd you hear there, Richard?

C (29:38)

So I hear a number of things. I mean, one, you got a great company that's in the middle of what I, what I would argue is of all the renewables, the one that has obviously started to really kind of stand the test of time is solar. So right place, right renewables and I think it's exciting times even. And I even think of it go back to my favorite of space travel, right? I mean what's the easiest resource in drawn is the energy of a star. And ironically I can make this connection. 3 I Atlas of All Things random random plug there going around the sun. One of the theories was it was recharging using the sun potentially as it wrapped around the sun. So there's something about solar energy that even in the cosmic level and solar system level that has relevance to even what Musk is doing, what we're doing on Mars. I know the first projects on Mars are all going to be solar based as energy. So we don't know what energy resources are available. There's so I think Gary's in a really interesting place that has the longevity that some of the other renewables may not have.

D (30:34)

You can't argue with solar.

B (30:36)

No, you can't. Again, I am not a solar engineer, but it seems like we still have tons and tons of opportunities and innovations to unlock in the solar energy arena. Is that right, Gary?

D (30:47)

We are just getting going. Every year we have new innovations and not only us, but the energy, the industry itself is expanding and so our ability to make an impactful difference is growing on a daily basis.

B (30:58)

Love that. And so this next question, it makes a lot of sense now given all of that because y' all been expanding left and right. That world class team you're bragging on, which I love to hear. Culture is so important, almost as powerful as solar energy. Tell us about the big manufacturing expansion in New Mexico.

D (31:15)

Yeah, so we have a new facility we're building in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 200,000 square foot facility. Plus it's really designed to meet, you know, our growing demand for utility grade solar while strengthening our US supply chain. You know, as we manufacture items closer to our project sites in the US we reduce shipping cost and logistics variability, we reduce lead times and we just overall streamline logistics. It also gives us, you know, tighter control over production schedules, quality, inventory. That's incredibly important to an industry where delays can impact a project's tax implications. And so our ability to really reduce variability and serve our customers in the US is huge. And so we're super excited about the new facility in Albuquerque. It'll come online sometime in Q1 of 2026.

B (32:04)

All right, Richard, sounds like there's lots to celebrate there. The array technology team. Yeah, yeah.

C (32:10)

Gary, just a clarification question. And it's both for me, and I guess for the audience as well too. You know, I think a lot of people think solar panels. You know, it's the first thing that comes to mind, which is not what you guys do. Right. And so just for a point of clarification, how does that differentiate with array?

D (32:25)

Yeah. So, you know, obviously solar panels are all part of the same value chain, but for us to optimize the utility size solar, and when I say utility size solar, we're doing large projects, you know, up to, you know, a gigawatt project or larger, that's enough electricity to power, you know, entire cities across the U.S. and so we do the substructure the steel and aluminum components that those modules sit on that enables them to track the sun, which increases the output, which further enables utilities to solve some of their energy concerns or, you know, problems that they're looking at around high growth. How do you get new electricity electrons on the grid faster? Well, solar is the answer. We're the fastest and cheapest methodology to bring on large volumes of electrons onto the grid in the shortest amount of time.

B (33:16)

Man. Okay, all that sounds like a bunch of good news to me. I got a question though for you. Aside from the innovative energy component, what you're sharing, right, manufacturing expansion with some inside baseball here, what is one of the often overlooked challenges as it relates to standing up new major manufacturing investments here in the US One of the.

D (33:35)

Things you talked about, uncertainty in the current political environment. Policy uncertainty is a major challenge when we're making multi year investment decisions. We would like to see policy have some consistency versus making an investment and then something changing just a few months later that would negate that investment. Obviously additional tariffs are a big one in some cases. The case for domestic manufacturing is really compelling. We're a big fan of domestication and array technologies has been one of the first to really develop a purely domestic US based supply chain. And so as we look at projects in the U.S. you know, domestication was big. Some of the tax benefits for us as a manufacturer, some of the 45x tax benefits have remained, which is, which is good news in the big beautiful bill. But some of the incentives for our customers have, have went away. And so navigating this scenario has been challenging. Right, because we're in such a dynamic environment around tariffs and around the big beautiful bill and tax incentives and what's in and what's out. But at the end of the day, solar's value proposition is so incredibly compelling. It puts electrons on the grid really fast in a really cost Effective manner. And so we're super, you know, excited about now and 2026 should be a really, really, really good year for us as well.

B (34:55)

Gary. I love it. I tell you, we're setting records here. We have never uttered the word electron on any supply chain show in its history. So thank you for bringing that to us, Gary. And secondly, secondly, Richard, we got to rename that bill. Big beautiful bill. I can't say it with a straight face, but. All right, Richard, what'd you hear there from Gary?

C (35:14)

So I heard a lot of things, but I'm going to kind of step on the gas here a little bit and ask Gary about. Because he's got such an interesting view at this wholesale level of solar being consumed by the world. Right. And so really kind of take a flip the script a little bit and say like, who's not using solar now? Like, like when I look out forward and I say to myself of all the renewables. And I'm a big fan of renewables, big fan of energy, but a big fan of nuclear as well too. Full disclosure, because I view that actually as a quasi renewable energy. However, with solar, I mean, again, like I said in space it's, that's how we power our vehicles, it's how we're going to power stuff on Mars. Who's left on this planet that's not using solar?

D (35:54)

Yeah, you know, we feel that, you know, solar, you know, has such a unique value driver in proposition, but the overall solution is all of the above. You mentioned many nukes and other forms of electricity. At the end of the day, energy demand is rising. You know, whether it's from AI applications or just, you know, various population growths in certain regions. And so you got to get electrons on the grid fast. And, and so I would say most people are looking at solar, the economics of solar, the feasibility of solar is very compelling. And as a result, I would say most, most utilities are looking to truly expand using solar. They're looking at other methodologies as well. But solar is such a value driven opportunity. I think most, most individuals are looking at, at solar as well.

B (36:40)

So I was just at. This is a great segue to this next question. A little anecdote with you all both. I want to pop this graphic up here because I had an outstanding time at the Innovation Summit North America 2025 which is hosted by a great company called Schneider Electric. Right. One of the big themes is just what y' all both are talking about, surging energy demand. Gary, you mentioned gigawatts earlier. I think 1 gigawatt hour can power about 750,000 homes. That community you're talking about, that's rough math, lots of moving pieces there. But to give you a figure what, what we mean by gigawatt, US is going to have to find some 200 gigawatts of new energy capacity by 2030. And I bet that's conservative. AI is driving a big part of that demand as you see here from Amer Paul with Schneider Electric who shared that data centers consume about 4.4% of U.S. electricity. That figure is going to at least double and may even triple by 2028. That is unbelievable. Now I'm hoping along the lines of what we're talking about here, renewables and new nuclear energy can be bigger sources of power supply in the months ahead. We still have lots of big coal fired power plants here in Georgia, our neck of the woods. We reported on that a couple months ago. Gary, on the good news side of this, you've got a big time, I think you've referenced it earlier, big time solar energy project that you're playing a critical role in. Can you expound a little bit more on that, Gary?

D (38:00)

Yeah, so, so we have a variety of big, big applications growing. But you know, one thing that we're in particular very proud of is that we are now offering a 100% domestic tracker as it's defined by Treasury. You know, we're working on a 200 megawatt project here in the U.S. it really highlights our ability to reshore supply chain and really create jobs in the communities where, where we operate. The project is expected to, to bring more than 250 construction jobs and a fully domestic supply chain which is, which is good. You know, it's not only about the project itself but it's about trading these long term opportunities. And earlier you had mentioned about retooling of workforce. Our ability to come in and be at times countercyclical to other industries and allow workforces to be retrained is really a big deal. And by integrating domestic content, our customers oftentimes qualify for certain tax credits on their energy projects. And so it's really a win win. Bringing the manufacturing closer to home, enabling local workforces and long term job creation, but also incentivizing, you know, utilities and developers to go out and take the risk and develop projects that bring more electrons to the grid is really huge. Us achieving 100% domestic content, you know, it required deep coordination with, you know, our U.S. suppliers. We had to do significant, you know, on shoring and you know, capital Expansions with our supply chain partners. And we're super proud of what we've done and really think that we're just now, just now getting going for now and in the future.

B (39:36)

All right, so two of my favorite parts of what you shared, beyond the fact that it's supporting solar energy, is more good jobs. Right. And then more good business for all those suppliers out there. That is terrific. Richard, what'd you hear there about the big, beautiful solar energy project that Gary supported?

C (39:54)

Well, again, I think Gary's just in a really unique position to be at the forefront of one of the energy collection and distribution methodologies, solar, that is going to be omnipresent, even back to the original slide around electrical consumption and demand going up. Right. Driven. I know the slide is conveying data centers, but that's also why I threw a link in there, because I always like to offset that with the actual energy demand. Although spiking globally is fairly consistent. Right. And data centers. In fact, I would always argue, and I've always argued since I've been in the industry, that for every watt of energy that a data center is consuming, you're probably cleaning off 10 to 20 watts of superfluous power. And the efficiency gains are never the second part of the story. Then people always like, oh, it's 3%, 4%, 5%, okay. But it also netted out 20% reduction in overall other wasted energy consumption. So that's 1, 2, though, to focus on, Gary, with solar. And here is one omnipresent. And I think the innovation has been great. But where I kind of want to kind of segue into and open, potentially a question here is, with all this energy, effort and development that's going on is what are the big wins that are coming in solar? Because it's always been about we can always be better at capturing energy, refining it, and putting those electrons in the grid. So whether it's the capture side of it, whether it's the quasi refinement side of it, or whether it's the actual pushing the electrons onto the grid, if those are the three components, Gary's in, again, a very unique position to be in a place that solar optimization is going to be happening for a long, long time. And I think it's a key component to all energy. And I'd love to even see his thoughts on what innovations are coming in solar that people should be aware of, because I think that's going to drive a lot of the demand even further.

B (41:45)

Yeah. Gary, any thoughts there?

D (41:47)

Yeah, you know, we have a lot of Exciting projects, whether it's, you know, the use of robotics to install solar modules, use of robotics to clean solar modules from a long term O and M perspective, you know, the means and methods and the new technologies that we're looking at just, you know, now, just a few years ago seem like they were something out of a science fiction novel. And so the amount of R and D and development that we're doing now that's going to be deployed in 26 and 27 is really amazing. And so it's super exciting times with new innovation and new methodologies for bringing more efficiency to the marketplace. So we're, we're so incredibly thrilled.

B (42:22)

I can tell, Gary, I can tell you love, and that is, that is always a great thing when you talk to someone, interview somebody that just loves what they do. Richard, you had, I can tell you're about to add one more. You know it, man.

C (42:36)

You can see my lips pursing a little bit where I'm, I'm fighting the urge to say or question anything but, but I can't help myself. G. So the question that's just, I'm dying to ask is, and you may not know the answer to this, but have there been studies yet on the effects our atmosphere has on the degradation of solar energy that we can collect in atmosphere versus outside of the atmosphere? So if I've got a solar panel on a satellite, it's collecting directly from the sun, do I have better energy production from that because of the filtration that occurs in our own atmosphere?

B (43:09)

Interesting.

D (43:10)

So I don't know the answer to it, Richard, but it does make sense. You know, as you come through our atmosphere, there's definitely multiple layers that potentially could filter out some of the energy. But I'm not, I'm not an expert in that space.

B (43:21)

We were talking to the green room and I bet with this, where the question stems from, Richard and Gary, we were talking about, Jeff Bezos talking about having solar powered data centers in low Earth orbit where again, not an energy engineer, but where the purest form of sunshine there might be a higher quality level and more powerful level of energy, perhaps. Richard, is that right?

C (43:42)

Yeah, exactly. And that's, and that's kind of where my brain's going. We also mentioned Sam Altman as just a, you know, you think of him, you think of AI, but because of the drive of AI and the need for data centers, he's actually now talking about investing, buying space rocket company to actually go put up data centers to feed his AI machine. So I'm sitting Here going okay, well we already got data centers in the, in the sky. We just call them satellites. We just don't think of it that way.

B (44:05)

Right.

C (44:06)

So we know how to be self sufficient. I mean hell, we got signals coming back from Voyager from God's sakes that was built in that original Bite shop back in the 80s that's still sending it back from you know, how many light years away. So it's like we can build things that can withstand and collect energy and build self sustaining. So I think that's going to get tripled down here in the very near future. And that to me is super exciting with everything we're doing.

B (44:30)

Agreed. If we only could figure out what went into Roman concrete, we'd be. That's the last big mystery. Anyway, a lot of good stuff, Richard and Gary and we're going to have to continue our space supply chain series in a series. Richard. We'll work on that later.

C (44:44)

Yep.

B (44:45)

Okay, we've got a fast and furious finish here with Gary Bennett and Richard Donaldson. I got about 10 minutes ago here on the Buzz. Folks want to hear from you. Let us know. I bet you've got a question about the solar energy or space or great companies that are hiring, you name it. And Gary, by the way, before we leave Array Technologies, I bet you are looking to hire some folks. You direct people to the website. Is that, is that the case, Gary?

D (45:07)

Yeah. So we're constantly in a growth mode. So go to arraytechnologies incorporated.com and look at our job boards. We're always looking at bringing on the best of the best to join our team.

B (45:19)

Outstanding. Good stuff. You're someone that a lot of folks would like to work for, Gary. Someone that's passionate maybe.

D (45:26)

Hopefully. I think so.

B (45:27)

Okay, now the truth's coming out, Richard. Now the truth's coming out. I'm kidding. I'm kidding folks. Trisha, is Johnny on the spot. Drop that link right there. Check it out and let us know what you think. Okay, so Gary and Richard, I've got a two part question for you here. Right. And Gary, you're going to go first here. You're the Otis Nixon okay. Of the question and answer here. So as you reflect back on 2025. Right, we're here December 2025. Hard to believe. One business trend or development that you're most intrigued with or near the top of your list from this past year. And then one bold prediction for global business in 2026. Gary, your thoughts?

D (46:05)

Yeah. So we are in a manufacturing renaissance in the U.S. you know a number of years ago, supply chains in this industry, our supply chain was not only in the US but also in, in various parts of the world. So the reshoring has been a big impact to our ability to, to serve our customers. Policy shifts in in 2025 around domestic content manufacturing, you know, it's giving our developers confidence of long term manufacturing in the US are making it worth it. Second, you know, global volatility from freight and geopolitical risk as we focus on our domestic manufacturing it really alleviates some of those concerns. And then lastly the proximately as we produce our products closer to the U.S. it just makes things easier. We have less logistics challenges. So I would say the remanufacturing and the manufacturing renaissance that's occurring in the US is a big deal. So for example, in 2025 alone in our industry, you know there was about $4.5 billion of private investment and that's a new manufacturing facilities and new capabilities. We look at the value chain, you know, solar module capacity, you know it surpassed 60 gigawatts. That's a 37% uptick. Since 2024 our ability to do solar cell capacities has tripled. And so what this is all getting at is that the domestic supply chain, whether it's our, our supply chain or others in the industry, it's really gearing up to really focus on offering more and more and more domestic capacity that's going to continue to reduce risk for utilities and developers around the world. The amount of infrastructure and investment that is going into this space is, is amazing and that's going to have long term favorable impacts to the entire country. And so really a great news story around that.

B (48:07)

Outstanding. Gary. Okay Richard, got the same two parter for you. When you look back at this year, one thing that really sticks out, development, news wise, you name it. And number two, bold prediction for global business next year.

C (48:19)

Okay, so you know I'm going to kind of stick with the space based theme here a little bit. Right. Because Gary's right there. We're talking solar and I think it is the announcement of, you know, SpaceX just announced, or Elon just announced that they're going to go public with SpaceX probably next year, early next year. Right. So that's been a long time coming. You've got Sam Altman now we've mentioned a couple times that's threatening to get into the rocket space. And this is all going to be going towards space based data centers to complement our satellites to create that data connectivity to our space exploration. That's coming. So I think that's all been kind of announced or slowly announced, you know, during the course of 2025. And I think it's going to pick up more steam in 26, 27 and through the latter half of the this decade.

B (49:01)

Outstanding, Richard. That is exciting. That is really exciting. And you know what? Again I go back to, I get stuck on the simple stuff sometimes, but it just, just, it rolls up into my additional layers of excitement. We don't know what all this innovation is going to lead to and unlock. And it's, it's one of my favorite parts of this golden era. Supply chain tech, business tech, human tech that we're in for.

C (49:24)

Sure.

B (49:24)

Okay, a couple quick points here. T Square, great to see you. He holds down the fort for us on YouTube, says this was good, good nourishment here. Leveraging solar is a slowly adapted must for many, especially folks with cogen plans. I'm going to say cogeneration, maybe with traditional and maybe renewable T squared. You're, you're operating above my pay grade, my friend. But great to see you as always. Stacy says we're currently going through an energy crisis here in Zambia. It's good to hear this conversation and just understand how to proactively look at energy and for sustainability. Stacy I hope you all have some breakthrough moments soon. I know they're coming right around the corner. And great to see you here today. Okay, Richard, we've covered a lot of ground here with Gary Bennett. We needed a bonus hour, but we'll have them back for sure. If you had one patent key takeaway to share from this wide ranging discussion with Gary Bennett and you and me, what would that thing be, Richard?

C (50:16)

Easy. Solar energy, folks. Pay attention to it. Stay in the middle of it. Array technologies are going to be driving it. I mean, this is again with all the playing that we've done. And we do need to experiment a lot, right? Whether it's wind, whether it's gravitational, whether it's maritime. I mean, all these quote, quote, renewable energies. The one that has stood literally the test of time is solar, right? So stars do make the universe grow and glow. And in this case, that's all we're kind of tripling and quadrupling down on. I think Gary's just in the middle of something that I think is going to have. He talks about a manufacturing renaissance. I think solar's going to have its own renaissance over the next five years because it is the emerging winner of the renewable races over the last 30 years, in my opinion.

B (50:58)

Wow. Okay, that's high praise on solar industry from one Richard Donaldson. Captain Donaldson. And folks, I would just add to Richard's great perspective. Keep your eye on SMRs, those small modular reactors. You're going to see tons of applications that are being reported about now, tried now and new applications coming soon, soon, soon. All right, Gary, great to have you here. How can folks connect with you and array technologies?

D (51:23)

Yeah, best way to connect with me is via LinkedIn. So I'm very active on LinkedIn. I can list my login.

B (51:29)

You know, we got you right here, Gary. We got just like that. How about that, man, you're one click away from connecting with Gary on LinkedIn or following him on LinkedIn, you name it. And you were about to add one more thing, Gary, I think the website again, is that right? Or maybe keynoting or anything else.

D (51:47)

Yeah, so websites, arraytechinc.com, you know, logo, look at that. And keep up with our news releases on what we're doing and as well as look at our job boards for those who are interested in joining our team. We're always looking to expand and we're in a high growth area and we need, we need people to help us achieve our goals. So look forward to bringing on more people.

B (52:06)

Outstanding, Gary. And folks, when you join the team, give us a full report on what it's like to work for one Gary Bennett. We'll see. I think that's a good, good thing on. Hey, Joey. David Berry via LinkedIn. Good Monday morning to you. Give us your take on today's conversation. Richard, I always enjoy your perspective. I'm so glad you're, you're back with us here on the Buzz today. How can folks connect with you?

D (52:27)

Same old, same old.

C (52:28)

LinkedIn got the link on there, always active on that. And then there's a couple other. If you Google my name, I'll poke up in a few different places, but.

D (52:34)

LinkedIn's the best place.

B (52:36)

Outstanding. Trisha's got that right there. You're one click away from connecting, following, you name it, Richard Donaldson. And folks, we want to urge if you enjoyed this conversation, go check out supply chain now, wherever you get your podcasts. All right, well folks, what a great. I feel like I've gotten a, at least an associate's degree after the last hour from the both of y', all, big thanks to our special guest here today, Gary Bennett, Chief Integrated Supply chain Officer with Array Technologies. Gary, thanks so much for being here, my friend.

D (53:02)

My pleasure. Thanks Scott. And great to meet you, Richard.

C (53:05)

Great to meet you, Gary.

B (53:06)

You bet. Good luck to the Wolf Pack and your Eagles as they seek the playoffs. Big thanks to my esteemed co host, Richard Donaldson. Richard, always a pleasure my friend.

C (53:16)

Pleasure, Scott, as always.

B (53:17)

Big thanks to Amanda and Trisha. They had their hands full today behind the scenes. Appreciate what you both do. Most importantly though, big thanks to the smartest audience in all global supply chain. I know we didn't hit everybody's comment and question. Didn't have time to, but thanks so much for doing what you do. But you know, with that, folks, you know you got homework, right? I hope you enjoyed today's show. But you got, you got homework. You got to take one thing. And you know what? Teachers don't give out homework these days. All three of my kids come home all the time, they got no homework. I'm like, gosh, they go straight to playing video games. That's a different time. But folks, you've got homework. You got to take one thing. You heard here from Richard or Gary. Share it with your team, share it with your colleagues. Put it into practice. It's all about deeds, not words. That's how we're going to continue to fuel the innovation and transformation of global business and certainly global supply chain. With all that said, on behalf of the entire supply Chain now team Scott Luton. First, wishing everyone out there Merry Christmas, happy holidays, you name it, Happy New Year, we get them all in there. Secondly, you know I'm challenging you to do good, give forward, be the change that's needed. We'll see you next time right back here on Supply Chain Now. Thanks, everybody.

A (54:13)

Join the Supply Chain now community. For more supply chain perspectives, news and innovation, check out supply chain now.com subscribe to Supply Chain now on YouTube and follow and listen to Supply Chain Now. Wherever you get your podcasts.