Skip to content
‹ Back to IndustriesEngineering & Construction

RedTalks: Manufacturing Engineering Trends to Watch in 2021

Over the last half decade, the manufacturing industry has witnessed a slow but decisive shift toward trends such as automation, robotics and Industry 4.0 capabilities. However, the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the adoption of these trends for many companies. What does this mean for business leaders today? Josh McNeely, the Vice President of Sales and…

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Engineering & Construction teams put it to work with Partner & Channel Enablement.

·
Share
RedTalks: Manufacturing Engineering Trends to Watch in 2021

Free workspace

Turn your Engineering & Construction expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

Over the last half decade, the manufacturing industry has witnessed a slow but decisive shift toward trends such as automation, robotics and Industry 4.0 capabilities. However, the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the adoption of these trends for many companies.

What does this mean for business leaders today?

Josh McNeely, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at RedViking, and Lexi Vargo, RedViking’s Director of Marketing, provide some insight into what manufacturing businesses can expect in 2021.

“We service different industries,” said McNeely, listing markets like automotive, off-highway, military, aerospace and new energy. “And, depending on the industry, we’ve seen a varying adoption of these trends.”

“But I would say the common theme through all manufacturing has really been around simplification, automation, smart connectivity with our devices and limiting risk.”

He and Vargo also note the growing importance of Industry 4.0 in recent industry discussions.

Essentially, Industry 4.0 is “bridging the physical assets of the industry with digital technologies,” Vargo said. “The more we can do that for a manufacturer and throughout the supply chain, the better they can compete with other companies and gain market share.”

This trend in particular is changing how companies operate in areas like hiring and supply chain management, and businesses that want to get ahead would do well to incorporate this trend into their own organization.

Of course, it’s important to understand the best way to implement this trend before jumping in headfirst. McNeely observed that most companies right now are taking a “staggered approach, a strategic approach. They’re limiting their investment and testing these technologies… Each industry is figuring that out for themselves.”

Subscribe to the RedTalks podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify for the latest insights on manufacturing from RedViking leaders and other industry experts.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale

Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Engineering & Construction starts with a company putting its project engineers, superintendents, and estimators on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Owners shortlist firms they already trust, and your field leaders become the reason your name is on that list.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.
B2B Weekly

The week in Engineering & Construction, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Engineering & Construction: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Engineering & Construction buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free Trial

You just read one Engineering & Construction expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your project engineers, superintendents, and estimators into the articles, video, and social content Engineering & Construction buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Engineering & Construction Insights

Bain Capital's reported $250M minority investment values construction platform Kahua above $1B

Bain Capital's reported $250M minority investment values construction platform Kahua above $1B

Bain Capital's Tech Opportunities fund is putting a reported $250 million into Kahua at a valuation above $1 billion. The deal follows what Kahua says is $100 million in annualized revenue. The bet rests on owner-side program data, with AI features the next sign to watch for hospitals, ports and school builders.

  • 01Kahua is selling AI on the strength of the governed data owners already keep in it. That makes data quality and permissions the place to test any new AI feature it ships.

Oct 1, 2026

Element’s Charlotte lab makes tensile specimens from turbine blade roots

Element’s Charlotte lab makes tensile specimens from turbine blade roots

Element Materials Technology’s Charlotte lab wire-EDMs one-eighth-inch cylinders from the root of a turbine blade and low-stress grinds them into tensile specimens—work value stream manager Daniel Steele says he’s not aware other labs do at this size. The lab, which invested $3.2 million in 2019 according to Aerospace Manufacturing and Design, is adding creep and stress rupture frames under a lease signed in January.

  • 01The extraction know-how has a paper trail: Aerospace Manufacturing and Design reported in March 2019 that Element’s $3.2 million Charlotte investment included EDM plunge machines—and that Charlotte was the first Element lab to install them for extracting cylindrical specimen blanks.
  • 02Deloitte's November 2025 outlook put manufacturing construction spending down 7% year over year by July 2025, so a lab adding floor space and creep frames is growing inside one of the few pockets Deloitte flagged for expansion.

Sep 30, 2026

NMHC survey: 37% raised pricing on projects on hold

NMHC survey: 37% raised pricing on projects on hold

NMHC's September construction survey found 37% of respondents repriced shelved projects upward, versus 17% in June. Starts slowed too: 29% of firms started fewer projects, and a growing share saw labor and material costs outrun inflation.

  • 01Upward repricing of projects held three to six months rose from 17% of survey respondents in June to 37% in September, while downward repricing fell from 38% to 14%.

Sep 28, 2026

Explore More Engineering & Construction Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Engineering & Construction.

Browse Engineering & Construction Hub

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Engineering & Construction and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512