America is in a Blue Collar Crisis (w/ Kory and Ali Anderson)
America spent 40 years telling young people not to go into the trades. Now we are paying for it.
Get The Exit Code Blueprint (Free):
https://exitcodeblueprint.com/ [https://exitcodeblueprint.com/]
This conversation between Jason Sisneros, Kory Anderson, and Ali Anderson breaks down one of the biggest threats most business owners are not paying attention to: America’s skilled trades crisis.
Foundries are closing. Generational knowledge is disappearing. Young people are not replacing the tradesmen retiring out. And the same industries we depend on for defense, infrastructure, energy, transportation, manufacturing, and national security are running out of people who can actually build, repair, cast, weld, machine, and produce.
Kory and Ali Anderson are on the front lines of that fight.
Through Anderson Industries, Dakota Foundry, Muncie Castings, and Iron Warrior Academy, they are working to preserve American manufacturing, rebuild the skilled trades pipeline, acquire and strengthen foundry operations, and inspire the next generation to step into work that actually keeps the country running.
What’s covered:
→ Why America’s lack of skilled tradesmen is becoming a national security issue, not just a labor issue
→ How 40 years of deindustrialization weakened our manufacturing base and drained generational trade knowledge
→ Why the U.S. has lost massive foundry capacity — and why that matters for defense, infrastructure, and domestic production
→ The real reason foundries are closing: succession problems, lack of reinvestment, regulation, and no replacement pipeline
→ Why every retiring baby boomer tradesman creates a gap America is not prepared to fill
→ How Kory went from a 9-year-old with a dream to build the world’s largest steam tractor to building and acquiring foundries
→ Why Kory bought his first foundry in 2014 and how that became part of a larger mission to preserve American manufacturing
→ How Ali brought marketing, PR, branding, and operational thinking into one of the oldest industries in the world
→ Why SOPs, documentation, and training are critical when the old masters of the trades are retiring out
→ How AI is being used inside foundries to speed up SOP creation, training, and operational consistency
→ The vision behind Iron Warrior Academy and their goal to help bring 100,000 skilled tradesmen into the industry by 2030
→ Why the AI boom may actually increase demand for electricians, HVAC techs, construction workers, concrete crews, manufacturers, and builders
→ What business owners need to understand about the coming labor shift: the future belongs to people who can actually build
→ What it takes to run a mission-driven business as a married couple
→ The role faith plays in Kory and Ali’s marriage, leadership, business decisions, and ability to keep going when the pressure gets real
Connect With Kory and Ali Anderson:
https://madebyanderson.com/ [https://madebyanderson.com/]
Chapters:
0:00 – Intro: The 2,700°F work America depends on
1:27 – Meet Kory and Ali Anderson
1:46 – Kory’s childhood dream to build the world’s largest steam tractor
4:15 – How Ali met Kory at a steam threshing show
6:08 – Why a business has to be treated like a machine
8:26 – What Ali learned moving from corporate consulting into manufacturing
9:21 – SOPs, training, and surviving generational transitions
11:23 – Why losing American manufacturing capacity threatens national security
17:24 – The regulatory pressure small manufacturers face
19:18 – Billy the Lost Boiler and inspiring kids into the trades
21:19 – The mission behind Iron Warrior Academy
27:33 – What Anderson Foundries is looking for in future acquisitions
32:51 – How foundries are using AI to build SOPs and train faster
38:50 – Ali’s vision for scaling skilled-trades training
40:02 – Kory on AI, data centers, and the coming skilled labor shift
45:13 – Building a business as a married couple
49:17 – The role of faith in business, marriage, and leadership
52:43 – Final advice for business owners
#entrepreneur #sellingyourbusiness #businessexit #builttoexit #americanmanufacturing #skilledtrades #manufacturing #foundry #smallbusiness #businessownership
