Dare to Disrupt Episode 28: Pioneering Predictive Manufacturing Maintenance with Jeremy Frank

Jeremy is co-founder and CEO of KCF Technologies, a technology company based out of State College, PA. KCF Technologies provides proprietary machine health optimization hardware, software, and services to industry and military clients. Under Jeremy’s leadership, KCF has pioneered advancements in wireless vibration sensing and machine health monitoring. Today, the company is a global leader in predictive maintenance, monitoring over 80,000 machines across numerous industries, driven by Jeremy’s vision of eradicating unplanned downtime and enhancing industrial safety. Jeremy graduated from Penn State in 1997 with his Bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, and in 2001 with his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. He also received his MBA from Penn State in 2005. 

In this episode, Jeremy shares the evolution of KCF Technologies, from an imports/exports company to a consultancy to the thriving solutions software company it is today. He shares his background growing up in Pittsburgh helping with his father’s forensic engineering business. He also talks about the devastating realities of failure in business, juxtaposed with the allure of all the freedom entrepreneurship provides.

At the end of the episode, current Penn State Ph.D. student Ankur Verma joins the conversation. Ankur is the founder and CEO of Lightscline, an AI-based software that will significantly reduce the amount of data collected by devices such as drones and satellites. Ankur completed both the NSF I-Corps regional short course offered at Penn State and the NSF I-Corps National Teams program. He talks to Jeremy about addressing mid-market vs. enterprise customers, how AI is impacting industry, as well as the biggest problem facing industry today.

Episode Chapters

0:00 – 2:54 Intro/Jeremy’s background information

2:54 – 3:32 Formative years growing up in Pittsburgh, Pitt fan 

3:32 – 5:36 Decision to come to Penn State, studying mechanical engineering, unclear career path

5:36 – 6:11  Working at father’s forensic engineering business 

6:11 – 7:14 Never applied for a full-time job, but good at making money 

7:14 – 10:18 Crashing cars for science, acoustics and vibrations studies  

10:18 – 11:51 From Tokyo to business launch

11:51 – 14:35 First go-to-market business idea

14:35 – 19:04 Dad’s advice on failure  

19:04 – 21:17 What it means to be wired for entrepreneurship

21:17 – 24:32  The KCF business model today

24:32 – 31:21 Scaling and growing the business from 1 employee to 250 

31:21 – 35:03 The entrepreneurial environment in State College, then and now

35:03 – 36:28 Penn State Athletics, measuring vibrations at Beaver Stadium 

36:28 – 37:09 Intro for student guest Ankur Verma

37:09 – 38:20 Targeting mid-market companies  

38:20 – 41:59 – AI and industry 

About Jeremy Frank

Jeremy is co-founder and CEO of KCF Technologies. He graduated from Penn State in 1997 with his Bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, and in 2001 with his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. He also received his MBA from Penn State in 2005. 

Download full episode transcript

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Dare to Disrupt is a podcast about Penn State alumni who are innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders, and the stories behind their success. Learn more.