Auburn Manufacturing CEO to take national stage at Texas event

File Photo / Tim Greenway Kathie Leonard, the CEO of Auburn Manufacturing Inc., will be part of a “Smart, Sustainable, Streamlined: Factories of the Future” session at the week-long South by Southwest conference and festival in Austin, Texas.

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By Laurie Schreiber

The CEO of Auburn Manufacturing Inc., a producer of fire- and heat-resistant materials, is optimistic about the future of manufacturing in Maine and the nation.

But there are steps companies can take to future-proof their businesses, especially as manufacturers navigate economic uncertainty and an evolving public policy landscape, said Kathie Leonard, who founded the company in 1979.

“If we’re not going to bring in product from offshore, then we have to make it here and we have to do it well,” Leonard told Mainebiz.

Leonard will share her perspective on March 10 at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. The week-long series of conferences and festivals celebrate the convergence of tech, film, music, education and culture.

She will join a “Smart, Sustainable, Streamlined: Factories of the Future” session to discuss the state of U.S. manufacturing; what technologies and innovations the next few decades will bring.

Topics are expected to include predictive analytics, automation, sustainability, streamlined supply chains and digital manufacturing.

Auburn Manufacturing

Auburn Manufacturing, which is based in Mechanic Falls in Androscoggin County, produces advanced textiles used as protection from extreme high heat. Its clients are in defense, primary metals, power generation and aerospace industries.

The company exports to at least 30 countries. In the past two years, it’s grown from 50 employees to 62 and is looking to hire another four or five.

A 2018 Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year, Leonard manages operations at Auburn Manufacturing's locations in Auburn and Mechanic Falls, overseeing product development, planning for expansions of facilities and equipment and seeking new ways to streamline operations.

In 2016 and 2023, she won two unfair trade lawsuits against China that challenged subsidized products dumped on the U.S. market.

In 2023, Auburn Manufacturing hosted then-President Joe Biden.

Amid strong demand from defense and industrial customers, Auburn Manufacturing has been investing in research and development, equipment, infrastructure and workforce development.

The investments serve as an example of how a small business can evolve into the 21^st century, she said.

“At most, however, we’re 'Industry 3.0' not 'Industry 4.0,' which is the goal,” she said. “We’re buying new equipment. We’re working on cybersecurity protection. We’re implementing an ERP [enterprise resource planning] system, which we never had. That changes everything for us.”

In addition to offering perspectives on the company’s journey to Industry 4.0, Leonard said she would discuss the potential for the federal government to provide resources to help manufacturers grow.

“We don’t have the resources that multi-billion-dollar companies have,” she said. “If the federal government wants us to step it up, it needs to provide resources.”

She continued, “There’s a heavy demand from the Defense Department for companies like ours to increase output. We need to rebuild a stronger defense industrial base…. We’re investing millions of dollars ourselves. But if we have to ramp up more quickly to meet demand, then we need help.”

With over four decades of experience as a Maine manufacturer, the company has served customers during good economic times and bad, and in all sorts of public policy environments, she noted.

“There is no better time to highlight America’s factories of the future and where manufacturing will go in the decades ahead,” she said.

She added, “Despite threats from foreign competitors, we remain bullish about smart, sustainable and streamlined manufacturing in America — from Auburn to Austin and beyond.”