By Tony Gunn | The WorldWide Machinist Ask somebody what they think of when you say South American manufacturing. Coffee? Agriculture? Raw materials? Maybe a container ship leaving port with something that gets turned into the “real product” somewhere else. That picture needs an update. I spent the week moving through Argentina and Colombia, visiting manufacturers, talking with people on shop floors, attending an industrial show, and seeing what companies here are actually bu

The cameras had barely cooled down after filming at ALIGN Precision in Clearwater when the suitcases were zipped, the batteries were recharged and the airport once again began calling my name. Next stop: Chicago for IMTS 2026. If you have never attended IMTS, imagine placing several million pounds of machinery inside one building, inviting the smartest and most wonderfully obsessed people in manufacturing, adding enough caffeine to power a small country, and then asking every

The Protecnic event in Querétaro had wrapped, the handshakes had been exchanged, and nine technical conferences had left my brain running more programs than a five-axis machine with an unlimited tool magazine. Naturally, this meant it was time to head back to the airport. There was no extended vacation, no ceremonious unpacking and certainly no dramatic movie scene where I stared thoughtfully across Mexico while inspirational music played in the background. There was another

When the JASPER filming wrapped in Willow Springs, Missouri, there was no triumphant return home, no quiet weekend and absolutely no opportunity for my suitcase to unpack itself. There was simply another boarding pass. We left Missouri and headed east toward Washington, D.C., carrying camera equipment, freshly recorded stories and enough airport snacks to survive a small manufacturing recession. Missouri had been about horsepower, engine blocks and giving hardworking componen

Another day, another airport, another opportunity to discover how something the world depends on is made. This journey began at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, trading palm trees, ocean air and South Florida traffic, which occasionally resembles a demolition derby, for a flight of roughly 1,100 miles to Springfield, Missouri. There are currently no direct flights between Fort Lauderdale and Springfield, so reaching the Ozarks requires at least one connection.