MFG Austin Ep. 18: The Path to Manufacturing Resilience with Sustainment CEO Bret Boyd

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. The conversation explores the impact of globalization, COVID-19, and geopolitical risk on the American supply chain, and how Sustainment is using AI and smart data to solve the supplier discovery challenge.

This episode covers how the shrinking industrial base caught the attention of the Department of Defense, the role of MEPs and local manufacturing support organizations, and the urgent need for a resilient, decentralized manufacturing ecosystem. With insight into both defense and commercial supply chains, Boyd explains how better tools and data-driven platforms can enable agility, flexibility, and growth across the industry.

Listeners will also gain perspective on 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.