398. From Night School to Lincoln Electric's Head of Innovation w/ Sheldon Wray

April 7, 2026·1 hr 4 min·6 clips

Sheldon Wray went from a night school welding class to leading innovation at Lincoln Electric—how did he do it?

The episode opens rough and personal. The host explains that personal issues, Underground Metalworks, and Testing Center responsibilities pushed the show off its usual Tuesday cadence. Then he resets and brings in Sheldon from Lincoln Electric. The conversation follows Sheldon's path from night school into industrial technology and innovation strategy, with Kellogg sitting in the background. The strongest part is the product talk. Sheldon explains why the classic Lincoln tombstone welder still matters and why customers did not want its familiar shape messed with. They liked the arc. They trusted the machine. That turns what could have been a simple nostalgia story into a useful trade point about knowing when history is part of the product. The host picks that up, calling the older machines essentially bulletproof before moving Sheldon toward bigger work at Lincoln Electric. The 300C gets a good chunk of attention. Jason remembers liking the C300, then asks what needed to be refined, improved, or added in the newer system. Sheldon answers from inside Lincoln's product world. He walks through his route at Lincoln, including sales training, Houston, San Francisco, the northern California coastal area, and product management in Cleveland with the Advanced Technology Products group. It never turns into slick boardroom talk. The conversation stays close to machines, roles, customer feedback, and choices welders would actually notice. The ending gets warmer. Jason thanks Sheldon, congratulates him on his new daughter and Kellogg, mentions Cleveland, and leaves the door open to meet up with him and Charlie. Then he signs off, asking listeners to share the episode, leave comments or reviews, stay safe, and closing with his usual final line.

As heard by us

A shop-floor career story that turns into a grounded look at industrial innovation.

Sheldon Ray's path gives the episode its shape, moving from night school welding to an MBA at Kellogg and then into product management at Lincoln Electric. The result is a plainspoken look at how an industrial company balances innovation with continuity.

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Why you'd press play

Hear how a night-school welding student ended up helping shape Lincoln Electric's future.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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