THE WORLD OF
Derek
DeGeest
The future of manufacturing still starts with people
A painter’s practiced movement. A team’s hard-won knowledge. Derek explores how automation can carry that expertise forward—and give more people the tools to build.
Derek DeGeest
President · DeGeest Corporation / LestaUSA
Manufacturing, robotic finishing and workforce developmentPage settings
DEREK DEGEEST / ON MARKETSCALE
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Manufacturing a Stronger Standard
In the latest episode of the podcast “Manufacturing a Stronger Standard,” host Derek DeGeest , President of DeGeest Corporation and LestaUSA , talked about robotic finishing and what needs to be discussed prior to creating painting programs and after. Despite the advanced technology available to support programming, there are still challenges we need to be aware of.
Notes & credits +
In the latest episode of the podcast “Manufacturing a Stronger Standard,” host Derek DeGeest , President of DeGeest Corporation and LestaUSA , talked about robotic finishing and what needs to be discussed prior to creating painting programs and after. Despite the advanced technology available to support programming, there are still challenges we need to be aware of.
Published articleOriginal on MarketScale ↗Manufacturing a Stronger Standard
With Tyler Kern
On this episode of Manufacturing a Stronger Standard, a DeGeest Steel Works podcast, President Derek DeGeest joined host Tyler Kern for the third installment of the duo’s series on upskilling your workforce. Upskilling refers to giving employees additional tools and skills, elevating their knowledge and capabilities – and often your entire operation.
Notes & credits +
On this episode of Manufacturing a Stronger Standard, a DeGeest Steel Works podcast, President Derek DeGeest joined host Tyler Kern for the third installment of the duo’s series on upskilling your workforce. Upskilling refers to giving employees additional tools and skills, elevating their knowledge and capabilities – and often your entire operation.
Published articleTyler Kern · Host
Original on MarketScale ↗Manufacturing a Stronger Standard
With Tyler Kern & Brad Ruppert
Derek DeGeest, President, DeGeest Corporation & LestaUSA, and Brad Ruppert, Engineering Manager and Applications Specialist for DeGeest, provided host Tyler Kern with all the details surrounding LestaUSA’s exciting “Day One” program. “Day One was something that, as we launched LestaUSA, we wanted to make sure we offered our customers,” DeGeest said.
Notes & credits +
Derek DeGeest, President, DeGeest Corporation & LestaUSA, and Brad Ruppert, Engineering Manager and Applications Specialist for DeGeest, provided host Tyler Kern with all the details surrounding LestaUSA’s exciting “Day One” program. “Day One was something that, as we launched LestaUSA, we wanted to make sure we offered our customers,” DeGeest said.
Published articleTyler Kern · Host / Brad Ruppert · Guest
Original on MarketScale ↗Manufacturing a Stronger Standard
With Tony Kerkhove
The advent of robotic technology is revolutionizing manufacturing and painting processes by elevating them to unprecedented heights. Tony Kerkhove , a seasoned professional in the painting industry, has a firsthand account of the transformative impact of robots within DeGeest Corporation 's paint department , where automation is integrated to streamline workloads and increase efficiency.
Notes & credits +
The advent of robotic technology is revolutionizing manufacturing and painting processes by elevating them to unprecedented heights. Tony Kerkhove , a seasoned professional in the painting industry, has a firsthand account of the transformative impact of robots within DeGeest Corporation 's paint department , where automation is integrated to streamline workloads and increase efficiency.
Published articleTony Kerkhove · Guest
Original on MarketScale ↗THE RECORD
Career & credits.
28 verified MarketScale contributions. Full conversations, excerpts and previews retain their original dates; repeated publication copies are grouped.
DEREK / FROM THE CONVERSATIONS
Ideas & insights.
Read the ideas, then watch, listen to or read the original work.
Ultimately, we are developing problem solvers throughout our company.
A programmed path is only the beginning.
Derek DeGeest on robotic finishing
Derek explains why a robot’s movement cannot be separated from the rest of the finishing process. Application equipment, compressed air, maintenance and seasonal conditions can change the result. His argument puts the entire operating system around the robot into the quality conversation.
Discussion prompt
Which process variables could change even when the programmed movement stays the same?
Capacity must reach the end of the line.
Derek DeGeest on the manufacturing capacity gap
Faster cutting and welding can move the bottleneck downstream. Derek examines what happens when investment in early production stages outpaces the finishing operation. His discussion treats capacity as a connected flow, with the constraints of large finishing installations considered before upstream output increases.
Discussion prompt
Map the next constraint before increasing the output of an individual machine.
Build problem solvers alongside the technology.
Derek DeGeest with Tyler Kern on upskilling
With Tyler Kern, Derek describes problem-solving groups as a way to involve employees in automation decisions. People contribute their operating experience and work through improvements together. He connects new equipment with learning across departments, rather than leaving its value inside a single machine or specialist role.
Discussion prompt
Invite the people doing the work to identify the first shared problem worth solving.
Prepare the real production conditions.
Derek DeGeest and Brad Ruppert on implementation
Derek and Brad Ruppert discuss the gap between a successful test-lab demonstration and an installation on the factory floor. Their Day One approach includes training, actual customer parts and repeatable fixturing. The conversation makes preparation part of deployment, with attention to how a part reaches the booth each time.
Discussion prompt
What must remain consistent between the test environment and the production line?
Listen before transferring a technology.
Derek DeGeest and Igor Kania on wood finishing
Derek’s conversation with wood-finishing specialist Igor Kania considers how a proven European technology meets different North American operations. Derek describes visiting manufacturers and studying their needs before adapting solutions. The discussion links technical capability with the practical work of fitting equipment to a customer’s process.
Discussion prompt
Learn the local operating constraints before assuming an established solution transfers unchanged.
Make manufacturing a place to contribute.
Derek DeGeest on attracting manufacturing talent
Derek’s account of bringing young people into a manufacturing facility goes beyond showing them machines. He describes their interest in autonomy, decisions and seeing how their work contributes to a finished product. His emphasis on collaboration connects experienced employees’ knowledge with newcomers’ ideas.
Discussion prompt
Show prospective employees where their judgment and ideas can make a difference.
Sources & how this brief was made
AI-assisted editorial summaries, reviewed against the linked published articles. Guest views stay attributed to the guest. Recurring themes and practical questions are editorial synthesis, not quotations or a statement of the host’s beliefs.
SHARED CONVERSATIONS
In conversation with.
AWAY FROM THE JOB TITLE
Beyond the job title.
A closer look at liquid-finishing technology.
Derek joins Bill Robinson to discuss Nitrotherm and the practical details of liquid finishing. This legacy MarketScale article remains available through its original encoded address.
Read the source ↗BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCE
About Derek.
President
DeGeest Corporation / LestaUSA
Connect on LinkedIn ↗Derek DeGeest is president of DeGeest Corporation and LestaUSA. A third-generation manufacturing leader, he brought Lesta’s self-learning robotic finishing technology to North America after searching for a solution to his own company’s paint-shop bottleneck. His work connects fabrication, finishing, software and the people who understand how production really happens.
Through Manufacturing a Stronger Standard, Derek interviews equipment specialists and practitioners and shares lessons from his own operations. He returns to the relationship between automation and skilled work: preserving experience, improving consistency and developing problem solvers. His company biography also describes work with schools and technical colleges to introduce young people to manufacturing careers.
Biography & career sources
About the media selection
28 verified MarketScale contributions. Full conversations, excerpts and previews retain their original dates; repeated publication copies are grouped.
Summaries identify whether they use published articles or transcripts. Series attribution is distinguished from an individually checked appearance.
FROM THE PUBLICATION
Keep the conversation going.
Related reading from MarketScale’s publication, selected for the topics on this page.
Explore the publication ↗MARKETSCALE ·
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Lincoln International's summit polling shows manufacturers are funding workforce readiness first, and judging AI tools on downtime and labor productivity.
Read the article ↗Selected by MarketScale with AI assistance. Independent publication coverage; not attributed to or endorsed by Derek.KEEP EXPLORING
Explore more perspectives.
Keep the conversation going.
Connect with Derek on LinkedIn.
Connect on LinkedIn ↗