A Vision Built on Alignment: Wanek Center of Innovation Reinvents the Path to Industry 4.0 Careers

Ron Wanek - Founder & Chairman of Ashley Furniture Industries; Dr. Roger Stanford - President of Western Technical College; Dr. Josh Gamer - Vice President of Western Technical College

Love the episode? Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When the founder of the world’s largest furniture manufacturer partners with one of the nation’s most innovative technical colleges, you get one of the most unique learning centers in the world. This week, host Matt Kirchner is joined by the visionaries behind the landmark Wanek Center of Innovation at Western Technical College: Ron Wanek, Founder of Ashley Furniture Industries , Dr. Josh Gamer, Associate Vice President of Workforce Partnerships and Innovation , and Dr. Roger Stanford, President of Western Technical College.

The conversation is a masterclass in industry partnerships, future-forward educational technology, and building a true pipeline from K-12 education to technical colleges to a four-year degree.

Ron Wanek shares his uncompromising belief that focusing on STEM and technical education is the key to maintaining a positive balance of trade and competing with global manufacturing powers. Dr. Gamer details the Wanek Center's technology, including 39 connected robots and the first educational Digital Twin of its kind. Dr. Stanford discusses the essential shift required in education to break down rigid credit systems and connect learning directly to community employer needs.

This episode is a must-listen for any educator, employer, or policymaker committed to a skills-based, adaptable future workforce.

Listen to learn:

Why the 50-year partnership between Ashley Furniture and WTC was the core ingredient for this innovation.
How a manufacturing leader defines the handful of ways to build true wealth in the United States today.
The Digital Twin technology that allows students to digitally perfect process changes before implementing them on physical robotic assets.
Western’s new strategy to use a full-time position to bridge the operational gap between K-12 schools and local manufacturers.
How the college is developing an enterprise AI strategy to use data from the center for operational efficiency and curriculum change.

3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:

1. U.S. education must refocus on technical skills to compete globally. Ron Wanek warns that the U.S. is falling behind countries like Germany and China because it has deprioritized technical education in favor of liberal arts. He cites a lack of value-added training and a negative balance of trade, asserting that manufacturing is one of only four ways to build real wealth: “You manufacture it, you mine it, you grow it, or you build it.” His partnership with Western is designed to reverse that trend through STEM and workforce training.

2. The Wanek Center is a national model for Industry 4.0 integration in education. The facility includes 39 networked robots, a live IoT data infrastructure, and the first educational Digital Twin of its kind. Dr. Josh Gamer explains that this Digital Twin allows students to simulate manufacturing process changes in a virtual environment before applying them to the physical robotic cells—boosting efficiency, enabling rapid iteration, and eliminating risk. Students and employers alike now use the space to prototype real-world innovations.

3. Western has built a full pipeline from middle school to a 4-year Automation Leadership degree. Through dual credit programs, high school students in the district now earn thousands of Western Technical College credits annually. A full-time K-12 liaison connects schools and employers, supporting everything from field trips to FIRST Robotics. Dr. Roger Stanford also signed 13 new transfer agreements with UW-Stout—including a direct 61-credit transfer into the new Automation Leadership bachelor’s degree, which stacks seamlessly from credentials like SACA into advanced career pathways.

Resources in this Episode:

Learn more about the Wanek Center of Innovation: westerntc.edu/WanekCenter