October is Manufacturing Month, a time to highlight the people and programs shaping the future of our industry. Here at Bishop-Wisecarver®, one of the ways we celebrate is by hosting our Annual Manufacturing Day, where local students explore modern manufacturing through hands-on activities, plant tours, fun games, and conversations with industry professionals in our different departments. On October 3rd, 2025, we celebrated our 14th Annual MFG Day. None of this would be possible without the support of our great sponsors, who share our belief in preparing for the next generation of makers.
This year, we’re proud to recognize Beckhoff Automation as a Gold Sponsor of Manufacturing Day. Their commitment to advancing automation and supporting STEM education reflects the values behind this event. To learn more about their perspective, we sat down with Peng Chen, Beckhoff’s USA Key Account Manager, for a Q&A:
Q: What do you hope students learn from seeing your technology in action?
A: We hope to provide some views on how modern and highly automated manufacturing is achieved with these flexible and scalable mechatronic systems.
These systems in coordination with robotics and physical AI will improve and modernize a lot of the existing processes in a wide range of industries.
Q: What skills are you looking for in the next generation of manufacturing and automation professionals?
A: We believe the manufacturing industry needs talented young professionals with a good understanding of physics (electrical, mechanical), the ability to use modern programming languages, and are prepared for Robotics/AI, energized by problem solving and love getting hands-on with technology.
Q: What advice would you give students considering manufacturing and automation careers?
A: Expand your knowledge base in multiple disciplines across electrical, mechanical, computer science, robotics, AI, and be particularly good at one or a few of them so you can always be a domain expert.
Q: What’s one thing you want every student to remember from today?
A: Manufacturing is fundamental to our lives, everything we use daily comes from some form of manufacturing. This is a cool industry that requires constant learning and is continuously modernizing with robotics, AI, and other transformative technologies.
No longer is manufacturing related only to heavy labor and intense jobs but instead you can find truly fulfilling work as engineers take things to next level.
If you think robots are cool, manufacturing is and will be the largest area where robots are being used in real applications.
Q: Any closing thoughts or comments from the day?
A: There is quite a shift happening from the academic world to industry. Re-shoring of U.S. manufacturing is crucial and will need a large pool of talent to succeed in this mission. You can be one of them!
