MFG Podcast Ep 18: Bret Boyd, CEO of Sustainment
Manufacturing Austin Podcast
Sustainment & the Digital Infrastructure Behind Re-Shoring American Manufacturing
Host: Kevin Fincher | Published: 4/21/2025
In this episode of the Manufacturing Austin Podcast, Kevin Fincher, President and CEO of the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association (ARMA), sits down with Bret Boyd, CEO and co-founder of Sustainment, to discuss the critical role of digital infrastructure in re-shoring American manufacturing.
Boyd shares his journey from serving as an Army Ranger to launching a mission-driven technology company that’s redefining how U.S. manufacturers connect and grow.
This episode covers:
- The impact of globalization, COVID-19, and geopolitical risk on the American supply chain.
- How Sustainment is using AI and smart data to solve the supplier discovery challenge.
- How the shrinking industrial base caught the attention of the Department of Defense.
- The role of MEPs and local manufacturing support organizations in strengthening the supplier network.
- The urgent need for a resilient, decentralized manufacturing ecosystem.
- How better tools and data-driven platforms can enable agility, flexibility, and growth across defense and commercial supply chains.
- How policy shifts like tariffs are influencing re-shoring, and why the future of U.S. manufacturing depends on coordinated, tech-enabled efforts to unlock the capacity of small and mid-sized manufacturers across the country.