Forged Through Fire: How Phoenix Heat Treating Rebuilt Its Culture, Systems & Leadership, 496
Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders
Compounding setbacks: COVID and loss of GM
Charlie describes COVID disruptions, regaining certification, then losing their general manager to COVID complications.
In this episode of MakingChips, we sit down with Charlie Hushek, President of Phoenix Heat Treating, whose family has been in the heat-Treating world for over a century. Charlie is a fifth-generation heat Treatinger—but his leadership story is anything but inherited. When he stepped into the business in 2020, he wasn't handed stability. He was handed a crisis.
Within a matter of months, Phoenix Heat Treating lost its NADCAP certification—twice—suffered major operational setbacks, faced COVID turmoil, and endured the tragic loss of their general manager. For a company where more than 70% of revenue is tied to regulated aerospace work, this wasn't a stumble. It was a free fall. And it forced Charlie into leadership far earlier—and far harder—than he expected.
But instead of shrinking from the challenge, Charlie transformed it into a total rebuild. He redesigned their QMS from the ground up, implemented true systems thinking, rewrote cultural standards, and introduced transparent, performance-driven practices that aligned every employee around shared values. The result? A thriving business, a revitalized culture, and a blueprint for how to rebuild a manufacturing company under extreme pressure.
In this raw and energizing conversation, Charlie shares how Phoenix Heat Treatinging went from chaos to clarity, how culture becomes a competitive advantage, and what it takes to lead a team through uncertainty, fear, and burnout—and come out stronger on the other side. If you're leading a shop through change, growth, or crisis, this episode is a masterclass.
Segments- (1:29) Charlie's fifth-generation family history and the Phoenix Heat Treating story
- (2:19) The beginnings of Wesley Steel Treating and early industrial growth
- (3:43) Check out SMW Autoblok's massive catalog of products
- (5:15) Heat Treating as a long-standing, often overlooked "shadow industry"
- (5:45) Phoenix Heat Treating's early years, the move to Arizona, and generational transitions
- (7:34) Charlie's introduction to the business, working second shift, and learning operations
- (8:53) Phoenix Heat Treating's modern operations: five shifts, fast turn times, and business units
- (10:40) The importance of NADCAP certification and the challenges that come with losing it
- (12:45) Climbing out of crisis, stabilizing the business, and confronting hard truths
- (18:55) Internal emotions, team reactions, turnover, and the "burn the boats" mentality
- (22:06) Rebuilding from 50 employees to 80 through culture, transparency, and momentum
- (23:30) How primes issued waivers and partnered with Phoenix during the crisis
- (25:17) Working with customers to maintain flow on critical aerospace and defense parts
- (27:42) What's Your Method? 30-taper machines
- (34:43) The honesty and transparency you'll experience working with Phoenix Heat Treating
- (35:55) Building culture from the ground up and defining core values
- (39:01) Using employee surveys to define core values: teamwork, positivity, detail, work ethic
- (41:38) Embedding culture in hiring, onboarding, and daily expectations
- (45:30) Profit sharing, pay transparency, and rewarding performance
- (49:20) Applying the playbook to the newly purchased machine shop
- (52:53) Incentivizing change and gaining buy-in through aligned rewards
- (54:45) The importance of defining winning, alignment, and standards
- (58:23) Why we created Hire MFG Leaders (and why you should use it)
- (58:50) Charlie's "playbook," open-book management, and The Great Game of Business
- The honesty and transparency you'll experience working with Phoenix Heat Treating
- Connect with Charlie Hushek on LinkedIn
- Where to check out SMW Autoblok's massive catalog of products
- Why we created Hire MFG Leaders (and why you should use it)
- The Great Game of Business
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