In today’s episode we interview, Sean Bannon Ska Fabricating’s New CEO on Packaging Automation, Talent Development and Market Trends  

Alex Fordham interviews Sean, discussing his decade-long progression from engineer to CEO, and his support for a customer-close organisation.  

Sean describes how an engineering mindset shapes his problem-solving approach and Ska’s culture of creativity across teams and explains efforts to address the labour gap through challenging work, engagement, and intentional knowledge transfer.  

He explains how customer demand is centred on flexibility and future-proofing capital equipment, including handling varied containers and pallet specifications.

Ska is seeing strong activity in retrofits and line optimisations to reduce labour, although there is still market hesitancy around new capacity expansion.  

Sean highlights new Ska innovation and market commentary on the evolving craft beer market into broader craft beverage trends.    

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Enjoy the show!  

Time Stamps 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 00:20 Sean’s Journey to CEO 01:35 Leadership Style and Structure 02:33 Engineering Mindset at Work 04:59 Labour Gap and Talent Pipeline 08:56 Knowledge Transfer and Culture 10:34 Customer Demands and Market Mood 13:29 New Product Innovations 16:23 Growth Beyond Palletizers 19:22 Craft Beverage Market Shifts 21:07 Automation Mistakes and Future Vision 23:37 Closing Thanks and Wrap Up