She also rejects the idea that automation simply means replacing people.
“Automation is not replacing people. They’re just going to need higher-skilled employees.”
For Lisa, that is one of the defining challenges ahead for American manufacturing. “You could have all the automation in the world, but someone’s got to build the automation. Someone’s got to design the automation. Even more importantly, somebody’s got to be able to service that automation.” That belief has pushed education and workforce development to the center of her work outside Winton Machine. She serves on Georgia’s State Workforce Development Board and the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia, advocating for technical education, reskilling and broader pathways into high- demand careers.
“I think education and workforce are the key to our success.”
First Full-Time Employee, Winton Machine
Failure, Fear and Finding Her Voice
A Young Lisa Winton, Co-owner, Winton Machine
Manufacturing was part of Lisa’s life long before she imagined leading a manufacturing company. Both of her grandfathers owned manufacturing businesses in New York’s garment industry. Her father later entered manufacturing too, but his business failed.
That experience stayed with her.
“You have that fear of failure, because you’ve grown up and you’ve seen what the results are,” she says. “And then you also have that motivation of: What did he do wrong? And what do I learn from that?” One lesson was to understand the business side of the business.
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