Machine Shop Mastery

What happens to a family-owned machine shop when there's no next generation ready to take over? Too often, the doors close, the equipment goes to auction, and decades of knowledge scatter. Mark Hagedorn saw a chance to write a different ending—for two shops at once. In this episode, I sit down with Mark just 40 days after he acquired Altenburg Machine & Fabrication and Erlbacher Gear & Machine Works in southeast Missouri. A mechanical engineer with a background in manufacturing leadership, Mark had never owned a machine shop. With three young children at home, he and his wife decided to trade a comfortable corporate career for the opportunity to build something of their own. We get into how one acquisition became two, the nine-month process of getting the deals closed, and why the shops' different capabilities made the combination worth pursuing. Mark shares the realities of financing, customer concentration, and taking over businesses where the previous owners are still essential to daily operations. He's also candid about what has consumed his first weeks—and why the operations work he loves has had to wait. What I appreciate most is how Mark talks about the people. He wants to preserve what made these businesses valuable while creating opportunities for employees to grow. We discuss earning the trust of longtime machinists, capturing their knowledge, and building a future that honors the shops' past without getting stuck in it. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Mark on why he became an engineer: listening to the people hands-on with the work (1:30) Why Mark's story matters: two second-generation shops that didn't need to close (4:16) Mark's path from corn wet mill engineering to leadership and back to Missouri (7:12) Hennig Workflow: pallet automation for more spindle uptime (10:26) Shop tours, secrecy, and the emotional weight of a sale for owners and employees (16:10) Adding a second shop mid-process: gear work plus CNC and fabrication (19:53) Shop profiles: owner involvement, three and five employees, and 12-month transitions (22:48) Nine months start to finish, and the SBA environmental testing that added time (24:38) Funding: savings for the down payment, one SBA loan, and the local bank relationship (27:23) Navu: AI chat for your website, trained on your own content (28:35) The first 40 days: asset sales, one new company, and the administrative heavy lift (30:01) Meeting customers after closing and managing customer concentration (34:15) The shop where about half the business is a circular sock knitting machine (36:11) Meeting the employees: introductions, reading the room, and earning trust (38:58) Factur: how to diversify beyond one customer or industry (45:50) Key person risk and getting tribal knowledge documented (47:50) No ERP yet: spreadsheets, QuickBooks, and why Mark wants one (48:37) Keeping the two shops separate, and buying the buildings (50:02) What does the future hold for Mark and his family?  (53:16) Getting the right people in the right seats & the hiring dilemma (58:43) Reshoring tailwinds, the SBA business plan, and what year one looks like (1:03:17) Why the machining community helps each other, and where to find Mark Resources Mentioned Hennig Workflow Navu Factur Precision Manufacturing, Precision Business by Paul Van Metre Connect with Mark Hagedorn Connect on LinkedIn Erlbacher Gear & Machine Works

Buying a machine shop looks simple on a spreadsheet. Leland Licciardi and Kirsten Failing share what it looks like once you own it. They took over a shop founded in 1944 four years ago, and I wanted to walk through how they got there: the two years of deciding, the due diligence, the SBA loans and seller financing, and what they'd do differently if they bought another one. The first four years were about systems. They rebuilt the QMS, moved to a new ERP, fixed scheduling, and built accountability around the metrics. The results are real numbers. First pass yield went from about 85% to 96%, on-time delivery has been around 97% for the last three months, and their rejection rate is 0.05%. Kirsten explains the change that got them there, moving in-process inspection onto the operators and turning QA into roaming auditors, and why the shop pushed back before it worked. We also talk about earning trust from a veteran team that knew more about machining than the new owners did. Small fixes came first, then whole processes, then the ERP. They credit rolling out ProShop with pulling the floor and the office into one company, and with getting knowledge out of people's heads. After thousands of customers over 80 years, they also explain how they narrowed in on a niche. And there's the side of ownership nobody puts in the forecast: a fire sprinkler line that burst in January, an ERP reporting failure on the morning of their first AS9100 audit, and projections that were, in their words, optimistic. If you're thinking about buying a shop, their advice is to learn the industry first, be honest about your risk tolerance, and remember you're a manager too. It lines up closely with what I wrote in Precision Manufacturing, Precision Business. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Hear Leland and Kirsten's story and learn what Fairchild Precision Parts does (4:53) From Lockheed Martin and consulting to buying a shop and moving to Connecticut (8:15) Hennig Workflow: automated pallet delivery for more spindle uptime without adding headcount (9:06) Shop size today: about 20 people, seven Swiss machines, and two recent Citizen additions (10:11) Kirsten's path from industrial engineering to consulting, and wanting to own the impact (14:50) CLA: helping manufacturers grow revenue and cut costs (16:00) Leland's college job at the shop, and finding his old KPIs during due diligence (17:28) Due diligence: LOI, SBA loans, seller financing, and what they'd do differently (22:39) The first six months on the floor, and a customer base that was 75 to 80% recurring (26:53) Working together as a couple and building credibility with a veteran team (28:42) Kennametal: tooling built for the real demands of the shop floor (29:30) Defining the niche: aerospace, defense, and industrial Swiss and turned parts (31:52) Earning trust through small fixes, owning the QMS, and the AS9100 push (36:28) How ProShop gave the floor the information to make decisions without the office (38:47) Current challenges: finishing the ERP move, accountability, and OEE (43:48) Navu: AI chat for your website, trained on your own content (45:00) The fire sprinkler pipe that burst over the warehouse in January (49:30) The morning of the first AS9100 audit when custom ERP reporting broke (50:15) Biggest win: moving in-process inspection to operators and lifting first pass yield (55:17) Advice for would-be buyers: learn the industry, accept risk, and manage people (59:27) Forecasts vs. reality, and why the first four years were about foundation building Resources Mentioned Hennig Workflow CLA Kennametal Navu ProShop ERP Precision Manufacturing, Precision Business by Paul Van Metre Connect with Leland and Kirsten Fairchild Precision Parts Leland on LinkedIn Kirsten on LinkedIn

Most of us were taught to guard our processes. Brett Lister built a group around doing the opposite—and it's paying him back in work, tooling, and knowledge. I sat down with Brett to talk about Open Tolerance, the collaboration group he runs out of B&B Dynamic Machining, and what happens when small shops decide to help each other instead of fighting over scraps. The group started as a way to swap ideas and turned into a way to swap work. A shop with a long lead time on a five axis job hands part of it to a shop with an open machine. A job that needs live tooling goes to the shop that actually has it. Brett took on a job another owner couldn't run, made $26,000 on it, and then used it to make the case that the owner should buy the machine himself. We also get into the unglamorous parts of running a small shop. Employees are Brett's biggest struggle, and his answer is profit sharing plus a sales commission for anyone whose video brings in an RFQ. He explains why he walked away from a sale that would have paid what he wanted, why he shuts his VF4 down at noon on cutting tool demo days, and how a rejected set of parts turned into a teaching moment instead of a fight. If you've wondered how to start something like this where you are, Brett's advice is simple. Go to the next local event and shake as many hands as you can. More people will say yes than you expect. He also covers the free tooling that shows up when you just ask vendors, and how virtual meetings are pulling in owners who live too far away to drive to a shop on a Wednesday night. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Learn more about Brett Lister, his shop, and his love for networking  (5:29) 28 years in the trade and the school idea that became a machine shop (7:56) Why finding and keeping employees is the hardest part (9:28) Profit sharing, and a sales commission for employees whose videos bring in RFQs (10:35) Hennig Workflow: automated pallet delivery for more spindle uptime without adding headcount (11:26) Working with the Community College of Philadelphia and local programs to bring in new machinists (15:51) How Open Tolerance started, from a mastermind idea to a collaboration group (23:08) Going virtual in August, and why consistency keeps the meetings going (25:00) Factur: the go to market steps to max out before you hire anyone (31:10) How the in-person meetings get organized, third Wednesday at 6 PM (34:06) Why he walked away from a chance to sell the shop (37:47) Family, the collaboration meetings, and running chips after hours (40:23) How the group became an unintentional support group for owners (43:45) Kennametal: tooling built for the real demands of the shop floor (44:33) Power of attraction, visualization, and the $3,000 PO that showed up on its own (47:15) Advice for startups: get active on social media and pay it forward with free tooling (50:28) How to start a collaboration group in your own area (52:26) Sometimes all you have to do is ask  Resources Mentioned Hennig Workflow Kennametal Factur Open Tolerance B&B Dynamic Machining IMTS Think and Grow Rich Precision Manufacturing, Precision Business Connect with Brett Lister Open Tolerance Website Open Tolerance on Instagram B&B Dynamic Machining Website

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