Machine Shop Mastery

Every machine shop has an origin story, but not many start with a drill press on the family dining room table and grow into a company machining 276-inch wing spars for military aircraft. In this episode, I sit down with Joey Schmucker and Alyssa Da Costa, the brother-and-sister team leading Volumatic, a third-generation family-owned machine shop in Macon, Georgia. What started with their grandfather in 1969 has grown into a highly specialized defense manufacturer with approximately 25 employees and a reputation built over decades. What fascinated me most was the sheer scale of their work. We're talking about massive structural components that can require weeks of machining, creative fixturing, and multiple setups just to complete a single part. But the business challenges are equally interesting. Volumatic doubled its sales last year and is experiencing tremendous growth again this year.  Joey and Alyssa share how they're navigating that expansion, managing expensive materials and cash flow, and protecting the customer relationships that have fueled their success. We also get into why they're willing to turn down work rather than promise delivery dates they can't meet, and how smaller, quick-turn jobs have become an unexpected financial advantage. We also explore one of the biggest challenges facing established shops today: transferring decades of knowledge before experienced employees retire. With several team members approaching 30 years at Volumatic, Joey and Alyssa are figuring out how to preserve that expertise while developing the next generation of machinists. From navigating volatile material prices to deciding when a multimillion-dollar machine investment makes sense, this conversation offers a fascinating look at the decisions behind a growing, multigenerational manufacturing business. Segments (0:00) Introducing Volumatic and its third-generation leadership (5:03) Inside a shop specializing in massive defense components (6:10) Kennametal designs tooling for the real world of the shop floor (6:59) From a dining room drill press to a family manufacturing legacy (9:13) Finding a niche in aerospace and defense, building customer relationships, and diversifying (13:35) Creating a family-oriented culture that retains employees for decades (15:00) Recruiting and developing machinists from within (17:18) Why finding qualified, motivated employees remains the biggest challenge (18:07) Check out the Hennig WorkFlow automated pallet delivery system (18:59) Managing scrap risk when machining extremely expensive parts (22:14) Weighing the risks and opportunities of investing in larger machines (25:24) Managing rapid growth and increasing production demands (27:03) How quality, on-time delivery, and customer scorecards drive growth (30:35) How Navu can get your customers reliable and accurate answers in real time (31:48) Negotiating lead times and managing outside processing delays (37:32) Using quick-turn jobs to improve cash flow (40:25) Balancing production schedules with jobs requiring weeks of machining (43:27) Navigating rising tooling costs and volatile raw material prices (46:11) Strategies for protecting material pricing and managing financial risk (49:14) Why you should check out the Lights Out podcast (49:39) Preparing for retirement and preserving decades of tribal knowledge (53:32) Introducing the next generation to machining careers (55:06) Advice for building lasting customer relationships and winning new business (58:12) Navigating CMMC cybersecurity compliance in defense manufacturing (1:00:07) Final thoughts and connecting with Volumatic Resources Mentioned Volumatic, Inc. Boeing Defense Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Mastercam CMMC Cybersecurity Requirements NIST SP 800-171 How to Connect with the Guests Joey Schmucker on LinkedIn Alyssa Da Costa on LinkedIn Volumatic on LinkedIn Volumatic Website Email: [email protected]

A beautifully machined bicycle component might get your attention. But what does it take to build a company that earns that same loyalty for 50 years? In this episode, I sit down with Kirby Bedsaul, president of Chris King Precision Components, to explore the business behind an iconic cycling brand. From bearing production to the finishing details that make their parts look like jewelry, there's a remarkable amount happening behind the factory doors in Portland, Oregon. And some of their most interesting decisions have as much to do with what they value as what they manufacture. We get into owning your processes, building a workplace people want to stay in, and finding capable employees beyond the usual hiring pool. Kirby also shares the pressures of keeping manufacturing local—and why an empty factory represents a much bigger loss than the jobs inside it. Whether you make bicycle components or run a job shop, this conversation raises some worthwhile questions about the business you're building, the people you're trusting, and what your community gains when you succeed. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Kirby on rallying yourself as a leader on a bad day, and owning the apology (1:01) Introducing Kirby Bedsaul and Chris King Precision Components (6:50) Hennig Workflow: automated pallet delivery that adds spindle uptime without adding headcount (7:41) High-end bicycle component manufacturer: products that wear-in, not out (10:41) Owning every process so you control cost, performance, and what happens to the waste (12:11) The anodizing partnership and why finish is make or break (16:42) Walnut shells, dry paste tumbling, and a plant with no wastewater permit (19:37) Hire MFG Leaders: recruiters who are current and former shop owners (20:06) The benefits package, the bike commute challenges, and funding a program so it works (25:56) Hiring for mechanical aptitude instead of experience and explaining the job (32:00) Navu: AI chat trained on your own website content so buyers get answers fast (33:12) How transparent to be with numbers, and why Kirby shares revenue instead of EBITDA (36:46) Working leads on the floor, and the daily scrap, quality, and DMR meetings (37:52) The empty buildings in his neighborhood, and what's pushing shops five miles out (44:48) Ground Control: automated FAI generation and PO review for aerospace and defense (45:28) West Coast costs, tariffs, and exporting without a tariff department on staff (48:13) Why you should be targeting an unreasonable amount of margin (49:57) Hire people way smarter than you and put the ego in your pocket (53:15) Clarity and elevate the team as core values, and why leadership is hard Resources Mentioned Hennig Workflow Hire MFG Leaders Navu Ground Control ProShop ERP Portland Community College Mount Hood Community College Connect with Kirby Bedsaul Chris King Precision Components Connect with Kirby on LinkedIn

Plenty of shops machine parts to a tenth and then run the business on guesswork. Sebastian Montalvo is building M3 Aerospace the other way, with the same precision behind the desk as on the floor, and three years in, that's exactly why they're growing as fast as they are. I'll be honest, this one got to me. He's running a shop that behaves like it's been around for twenty years with a hundred people on the floor, and there are thirteen of them. Every step of the workflow went up on a whiteboard with one question attached to it: where can this go wrong, and what do we put in place so it doesn't? People told him he was exaggerating. He kept going anyway. We got into the practical side of it too. How he used Xometry to buy himself immediate demand while he learned the market, then deliberately diversified off it. Why he made compliance the North Star instead of an afterthought, and what it took to earn AS9100, ISO, ITAR, and CMMC without hiring a consultant to do it for him. How he's hiring in a city most people overlook, and why paying above the local average is a strategy and not a cost. The cash flow conversation is worth the listen on its own. He's turned down large RFQs, not because the shop couldn't make the parts, but because he couldn't float a bill of materials that size and then wait months to get paid. If you've ever had to say no to work you were fully capable of doing, you already know how that feels. And then there's the part I didn't expect. His mom opens the door to every new unit they take on. His dad is there at five in the morning, after three years without a day off. When I asked Sebastian what keeps him going, he didn't say revenue or contracts. He said his parents. I've talked to a lot of shop owners on this show. This one I'll be thinking about for a while. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Sebastian on tracking the reshoring shift and getting certified before the demand arrived (1:03) Why this conversation with Sebastian Montalvo of M3 Aerospace has me choked up (3:09) Going all in with his father while starting a part time MBA at Berkeley (5:17) Two CNCs under a tent to 10,000 square feet, 15 machines, and AS9100, ISO, ITAR, and CMMC (5:49) Immigrating from Ciudad Juarez at 10, and a father who ran side businesses after teaching all day (8:16) Grow your top and bottom line with CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) (9:07) Why he never claims to be a machinist, and who gives a brand new shop work (10:15) Buying immediate demand through Xometry, then deliberately diversifying off it (12:53) Why aerospace and defense (and making compliance the North Star from day one) (14:27) Earning AS9100 and ISO without a consultant and mapping every workflow risk on a whiteboard (18:00) Why running the business deserves the same precision as running the parts (19:24) Why you need to talk to Verdant Commercial Capital to finance your equipment (21:48) The banks that said no, and the $90,000 job that tied up machines for eight weeks (23:08) Growing the team: maquiladora experience, trade schools, and paying above the local average (27:42) UTEP, the technical colleges, and the 250 acre advanced manufacturing district breaking ground (32:56) Getting a cage code, bidding through DLA, and the city consultants who scrape opportunities for free (38:35) Navu: Get reliable and accurate answers in real time (39:47) Set aside invitations from primes (and the first bid he and his dad built over Christmas) (42:04) Why cash flow, not capability, caps growth, and what supplier net terms changed (45:37) How Sebastian learned estimating and pricing for profitability  (48:40) Moving his desk onto the shop floor and telling the team why he wants the data (51:13) Machine sensors, the spindle time gap, and discovering what packaging actually costs (55:47) Sebastian's most memorable experience building M3 with his parents (59:44) The real story behind the name M3 Aerospace Resources Mentioned CLA Verdant Commercial Capital Navu Xometry SAM.gov Precision Manufacturing, Precision Business by Paul Van Metre Connect with Sebastian Montalvo M3 Aerospace Sebastian Montalvo on X Sebastian Montalvo on LinkedIn [email protected]

Gavin Giguere went from zero to a running machine shop in a matter of months. A conversation with a childhood friend about wanting his own shop, an LLC filed two weeks later, then five weeks of gutting and renovating a building while two new machines landed on the floor. His first order shipped on time, and so has every order since. What I wanted out of this conversation was the whole startup sequence, not the highlight reel. Gavin joined the NTMA before he had machines. He had five committed customers and letters of intent before he had machines. He ran an ERP from day one because he didn't want to backtrack out of spreadsheets later. He wrote a quality manual and an employee handbook before he had a payroll to apply them to. Most first time owners build those systems after the pain shows up. Gavin built them first. There's a buying side to the story too. A Facebook Marketplace trip that was supposed to be one Bridgeport ended with eight machines, and the tooling and inspection gear in that deal has been worth more to him day to day than the iron. If you're running a small shop, there's a real lesson in there about what the stuff you've accumulated over the years is actually worth, and what happens to it if you never write it down. The startup story doesn't end when the doors open. Gavin would hire two people today if he could find them. He's been at it for two months, on LinkedIn, on Indeed, with his partner helping, offering full benefits, and he's already had a candidate accept an offer and then take a counter from their current employer. Meanwhile he's running both machines himself, quoting at night and on Saturdays, and turning away work he can win but can't produce. He thinks he could double revenue if he could staff up. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Gavin would hire two people today if he could find them (3:53) How the NTMA brought us together and why joining was Gavin's first move (4:38) Picking trade school in eighth grade and getting the town to pay for it (6:27) Gavin's career trajectory from running manual mills to Director of Operations and Business Development (15:53) Why you can't sleep on the Hennig WorkFlow Automation System (16:44) How Gavin turns tooling reps and vendors into actual relationships (19:21) Launching a machine shop and buying his first two machines (23:37) Why we created (and why you should use) Hire MFG Leaders (24:06) Gutting the building and getting machines on the floor in five weeks (25:50) A Facebook Marketplace Bridgeport that turned into eight machines (26:48) Why the tooling and inspection gear beat the iron in that deal (28:30) The thousands of small shops that are worth nothing without their owner (30:20) Mike Payne's lesson on itemizing every asset in your shop (32:02) Why we love SMW Autoblok workholding products  (33:16) Building the Reign Manufacturing name in public on LinkedIn (36:29) Using AI for business planning, billing rates, and an employee handbook (37:57) Getting machines running, setting up automation, and fulfilling orders (41:24) Running an ERP from day one instead of spreadsheets (42:24) Splitting the day between running the business and running parts (45:24) Two months of recruiting, one counter offer, and still no hire (49:18) Turning away work and what a robot arm or two hires would unlock Resources Mentioned Hennig Workflow Automation System Hire MFG Leaders SMW Autoblok Reign Manufacturing NTMA Connect with Gavin Giguere Reign Manufacturing Connect on LinkedIn Gavin Giguere by email: [email protected]

Assa Gill didn't grow up dreaming about owning a machine shop. He came to Canada from a small village in Punjab, discovered CNC machining through a college course, and spent nearly nine years developing his skills on the shop floor. But the idea of building something of his own never went away. That idea became real when Assa bought his first CNC mill—before he had a building, a customer, or even a registered business. He started running jobs during evenings and weekends, gradually built a reputation, and eventually left his full-time job to focus on Rise Machine Works. Today, the shop has four CNC machines, an automated saw, its first full-time employee, and more growth on the horizon. But rapid growth came at a cost. After a year of long days and trying to handle everything himself, Assa realized that working harder wasn't going to build the company he wanted. Reading The E-Myth Revisited helped him begin documenting processes, defining roles, delegating work, and creating a business that wouldn't always depend entirely on him. In this episode, Assa shares the realities of starting with limited resources, earning customers through relationships and quick turnarounds, protecting cash flow, and building systems early. We also discuss the major opportunity that could take Rise into its next stage—and why machining ability alone isn't enough to create a sustainable machine shop. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Why the cheapest quote never keeps a customer, and what does (1:39) Assa Gill's story: From a village in Punjab to rural Manitoba (5:50) Nine years at a local manufacturer, running programming and two departments (8:25) Learn how DN Solutions can take your shop to the next level (9:38) Starting his own shop: buying a machine and getting his first customers (14:24) Quitting the day job, going from one machine to five, and making his first hire (16:58) The MakingChips machine giveaway with DN Solutions and Kennametal (17:43) Finding customers in a town of 600, and the LinkedIn message that turned into a contract (19:49) Dropping everything when a customer's line is down: why relationships outlast price (22:21) Adding two DN Solutions lathes at six months, then an Okuma mill as a backup (25:37) Running four CNCs off a 400 amp phase converter and outgrowing the building (26:12) Ground Control: automated workflows for aerospace and defense manufacturers (26:53) Reading The E-Myth in year one, and building the franchise prototype early (29:40) Acquiring a 20 year old cylinder manufacturer with two business partners (30:54) Why 15,000 square feet at 25K a month didn't pencil out (33:25) The shop owner who told him to read The E-Myth—and the call three years later (37:10) How an org chart sets a vision instead of just a reporting structure (39:33) Strategies from my book: "Precision Manufacturing, Precision Business."  (40:58) Managing growth, guarding cashflow, and the 20 hour days he doesn't want back (41:52) The biggest challenges that Assa's worked through and overcome (47:00) Assa's message to anyone sitting on the idea of starting a shop Resources Mentioned Rise Machine Works DN Solutions MakingChips Machine Giveaway Kennametal IMTS Ground Control The E-Myth Precision Manufacturing, Precision Business by Paul Van Metre Connect with Assa Gill Rise Machine Works [email protected]