In this episode of 5 Minutes with Manufacturing.Net, Mike Franz, co-founder of ShopFloor Coffee, discusses why he started selling coffee to give back to workforce development programs in the manufacturing industry.Amy Teal and Mike Franz started ShopFloor Coffee as a passion project in September 2023. The pair had previously attended an industry event in Minnesota discussing the state of the manufacturing industry. They noticed that workforce development was among the industry’s top two to three critical issues every year. The pair, each with more than 20 years of industry experience under their belts, were indulging in a cup of joe when they had their “aha” moment. They would make coffee and use part of the proceeds to fund workforce development programs and initiatives in the manufacturing community. According to Franz, 20% of each sale goes towards fixing the industry’s labor crisis, so he wants to get his coffee on every shop floor across the country. Every factory in the U.S. likely has a coffee pot, and he hopes manufacturers will make his mission-driven coffee their product of choice. With less than a year in operation, the company has already forged notable partnerships with AMT, NCATC, and SkillsUSA to be the coffee of choice at industry events. ShopFloor Coffee will also have a significant presence at IMTS 2024, the “largest manufacturing technology show in the western hemisphere.”The company’s offerings include some clever names, like Red Shop Towel, Time & 1/2, First Shift, Weekend BS and The FNG, among others. For more information, visit https://shopfloorcoffee.com/.
