#6 - Does Your Factory Create Value or Waste?

In the 14th and last episode of the Connected Shopfloor Podcast, we sit down with Laurens van den Berg, Chief Operations Officer at Läderach, to explore the high-stakes world of luxury chocolate manufacturing. With a background that spans electromechanical engineering, global management, and an INSEAD MBA, Laurens brings a uniquely analytical perspective to one of the world’s most coveted Swiss chocolate brands.

In this episode, Nuno Silva shares strategies for managing a global industrial group with seven business units. He explains how diversifying into the mining and naval sectors builds resilience against market volatility, how to compete with China through precision, and how AI will augment human intuition on the factory floor.

In this episode of the Connected Shopfloor Podcast, we welcome Robert Moak, a veteran who truly understands the meaning of "command and control" in both a literal and industrial sense. Bob spent 22 years in the US Navy before transitioning into the trenches of manufacturing, bringing a unique perspective on leadership, discipline, and the high-stakes reality of shopfloor operations.