Machine Shop Mastery

35. Steep Learning Curve of a Successful Machine Shop with Dave Capkovitz from C&K Tool Dave Capkovitz is a serial entrepreneur who at a very young age owned several businesses. When he had a life-changing event and sold all but C&K Tool, he began a journey of learning to be a great leader and business owner, while balancing his life and family priorities.  Dave tells the fascinating story of the growth of that shop, and his eventual exit and how he’s taking that knowledge, and what he wishes he had known at the time, to help shops today. Follow Dave on social media: LI: /david-capkovitz-99020a13

34. Methodically Building an Enduring Machine Shop with Dwain Dyer from Concise Manufacturing Dwain Dyer is the Owner of Concise Manufacturing Inc. which specializes in unattended 5-axis machining of high-complexity, feature-rich parts. Dwain blew me away with his thoughtful and intentional approach to how he’s building an “enduring organization”, which has many facets to it, from the technology they employ to their holistic approach to culture and employee success.  Anyone wanting to build a successful company will find a ton of wisdom from Dwain! Enjoy the episode. About Concise Manufacturing: Concise Manufacturing's promise is to Double the Value of your Company in 3 years or give your money back. Your profitability and success is their number one goal. With an extensive background in culture growth, manufacturing, operations, customer development, management, business evaluation, problem solving, top siding, continuous improvement, and employee development, they have the tools to provide a high quality partnership that will result in your success. Follow Dwain and Concise Manufacturing Inc. on social media: Personal LI: /dwain-dyer-1068355b Company LI: /concise-manufacturing-inc Website: www.concisecnc.com

33. Betting on Yourself and Starting a Bootstrapped Machine Shop with Lori Robertson from Cutting Edge Metals Lori Robertson is the Co-Founder and President of Cutting Edge Metals.  With 30+ years in the manufacturing industry as an employee, Lori finally decided to bet on herself and start a machine shop almost exactly a year ago.  She goes into quite a bit of detail about what she did to launch her shop, how she’s growing it, and the strong foundation she’s building for the future. From my years of experience, I can see that she’s making all the right moves and is poised for years of success. Everyone, but especially owners of younger shops, or soon-to-be shops will find tremendous value in this episode. Enjoy! Follow Lori and Cutting Edge Metals on social media: Personal LI: /lori-robertson-mba-37915965 

32. Digging Deep on Facility Builds and Shop Mergers with Eric and John from KMM Group In our first repeat guest episode, Eric and John from KMM group (Episode 22) go deep on the planning and execution of the building and planning of their new facility and the physical merging of 3 different facilities into one. They share how they’ve been approaching this huge move with their team to aleviate the employee concerns of a merger of this kind. We also dig into the workflows of service work vs. manufacturing work that they see in their combined company, among many other topics. As always, the thoughtfulness with which John and Eric have approached this project and other topics is inspiring and worth learning from. Enjoy the episode! About KMM Group: The KMM Group was created from three world-class companies: The KVI Group, M&S Centerless Grinding, Inc. and Meron Medical. In combined experience we have solved extreme manufacturing challenges for over 100 years. They make components for the aerospace, medical device and advanced manufacturing industries utilizing our capabilities in milling, turning, grinding, EDM, engineering and assembly. They leverage a history of hard-earned expertise and combine it with a fresh view of manufacturing’s future to achieve extraordinary things. KMM is able to do this organically with no third party funding, keeping our interests focused entirely on our customer solutions. Follow Eric, John and KMM Group on social media: Eric's LI: /eric-wilhelm-8bb1a410 John's LI: /john-shegda-a3846515 Company LI: /kmm-group Website: www.kmmgrp.com

31. The Power of Intentional Planning with Angie Holt from Rathburn Tool & Manufacturing Angie Holt is the president of Rathburn Tool & Manufacturing.  Rathburn is a 40-year-old 2nd generation precision machine shop in Indiana that serves the automotive, medical, safety, industrial and other markets.  Since Angie took the helm from the 1st generation, she and her sisters have made huge strides in professionalizing the organization and putting emphasis on sales & marketing, family succession planning, lean manufacturing and many other initiatives.  We had a great conversation and she shares a lot of great wisdom and expertise, with humility…always the hallmark of a great leader! About Rathburn Tool & Manufacturing: Precision tooled, manufacturable solutions made possible by a combination of robotics and experienced teams for companies that need their products and equipment to work well every time. Follow Angie and Rathburn Tool & Manufacturing on social media: Personal LI: /angie-holt-1b565219 Company LI: /rathburn-tool-and-manufacturing Website: www.rathburntool.com FB: @RathburnTool

30. A True American Dream Machine Shop Success Story with Heidi & Bob Devroy from Prosper-Tech Prosper-Tech was founded by Bob and Heidi Devroy after Bob lost his job at a large tool and die shop.  With 4 small kids, they dug into savings and started Prosper-Tech out of their garage. Many years later they have a thriving contract machine shop business serving commercial space, aerospace, defense, medical and other industries. The next generation is now getting involved with the shop with the goal of having Bob and Heidi’s legacy live far beyond them.  This is a great episode showing what is possible when you have a great pair of leaders working diligently together and pooling their respective strengths to grow a machine shop. About Prosper-Tech: Founded in 2007, Prosper-Tech remains rooted in its core values and mission to provide expert customized service to those with precision machining needs. We invest in our technology and workforce to ensure we provide the most efficient and reliable precision machining services for our customers. Prosper-Tech’s boutique experience attracts customers looking for a precision machining company to create a long-term partnership for their production CNC machining needs. Follow Heidi, Bob and Prosper-Tech on social media: Heidi's LI: /heidi-devroy-aa0a2372 Bob's LI: /bob-devroy-86438938 Company LI: /prosper-tech-machine-&-tool-llc Website: www.prosper-tech.net FB: @hightoleranceexperts

29. Launching a Machine Shop with Zero Experience with Nick Preece from Preece Machining and Assembly Nick Preece launched his machine shop, Preece Machining & Assembly (PMA) with no industry experience at all. He had gotten bitten by the machine shop bug by watching YouTube videos about machining and knew that was his path.  At the age of 22, he bought a small machine, rented a tiny space, and started taking on projects - and learning a huge amount along the way. As a self-taught machinist and business owner, he admits he made a lot of mistakes, but learned from every single one. Today, PMA is a fast-growing and thriving shop. Nick’s approach to his business was inspiring for me to hear and I know you’ll be similarly inspired by his story.  About Preece Machining and Assembly: Established in 2018, Preece Machining & Assembly is a precision milling shop that consistently pushes the limits of our machines. We enjoy working closely with our customers to provide the parts they need. In a fast-growing economy and industry, we work personally with our customers to give them superior products at a superior price. Follow Nick and Preece Machining & Assembly on social media: Personal LI: /nick-preece-760b21174 Company LI: /preece Website: www.machineandassembly.com IG: @pma_llc FB: @machineandassembly

28. How to Delegate Yourself Out of a Job with David Hannah from G-Zero David bought a 2-person shop in 2007, and has grown it for the past 16 years. As he made the difficult moves to grow his shop over the years, he always kept an eye on growth and the systems and roles it would take to achieve that growth. When Dave decided not to sell his shop to a 3rd party, he created a 5 year plan to have an employee take over the business and buy it over time from him. 18 months later, he’s working 10 hours a week, doing plenty of hunting, golfing, skiing, and taking 1 month vacations, while his former floor sweeper is being groomed to be the new owner of the shop. Dave is a humble, quiet-spoken guy, but don’t be fooled, he’s a strategic executor of his plan and has a lot to share about how to do that well. About G-Zero: Clients include Aerospace, Medical, Firearms, Semiconductor and more. G-Zero machining centers include horizontal multi-pallet systems, 5-Axis milling, vertical milling and lathe turning with live tooling. They are proud to run ProShop’s ERP system for maintaining excellent control of scheduling, in process inspection, outside processes, certifications and so much more. G-Zero work's with a variety of materials including but not limited to: plastic, aluminum, steel, stainless steel, titanium and magnesium. Contact us today to see what G-Zero can do for you. Follow David and G-Zero on social media: Personal LI: /david-hannah-ba75a2a6 Company LI: /g-zero Website: www.gzerocnc.com FB: /gzeroonline

27. Growing 4 Manufacturing Brands at Once with Sue Nordman from Obsidian Manufacturing Sue is the CEO of Obsidian Manufacturing and presides over 4 brands, the oldest of which has over 100 years of history!  Sue shares how this 3rd generation family business has been able to grow these diverse brands for many years by focusing on marketing, people, culture, values, and much more. It was a great conversation that I know you’ll find great takeaways from that can apply to your own business. About Obsidian Manufacturing: Obsidian Manufacturing Industries, Inc. is a SBA certified woman-led small business that offers a diversified selection of manufacturing products and services with its brands. Their price competitive solutions are appealing to our customer's industrial needs, whether it is workholding, material handling, precision rotary surface grinder applications or OEM equipment repairs and spare parts.  Follow Sue and Obsidian Manufacturing on social media: Personal LI: /suenordman Company LI: /obsidianmfg Website: www.obsidianmfg.com

26. Lessons from Growing and Selling a Large Machine Shop with Mike Heath from RemainSafe Mike Heath got bit by the machining bug as a teenager. After learning some hard-learned lessons in shop ownership as a young man, Mike started a shop called Micor and grew it from nothing to over $14M in revenue before eventually selling it. Mike has a very thoughtful and introspective way of looking at being an entrepreneur and leader that anyone will appreciate and take some valuable lessons from. And to demonstrate how passionate Mike is about the industry, after his non-compete is over, he plans on starting another machine shop in his 60s because he can’t get enough of it! About RemainSafe: Since 2010, RemainSafe has designed and manufactured storm shelters for the residential market. Our residential units have withstood storms and saved lives throughout the Southeast. As a company, they are driven to offer the most advanced and multifunctional shelters on the market. From traditional storm shelters to safe rooms, they offer families peace of mind. Follow Mike on social media: Company LI: /steelsafe-shelters Personal LI: /mike-heath-631bb13b Website: www.remainsafe.com