Machine Shop Mastery
by Paul Van Metre
Latest episode
140. Buying a Machine Shop: Due Diligence, Systems, and the First…
140. Buying a Machine Shop: Due Diligence, Systems, and the First…
About this podcast
The Machine Shop Mastery Podcast helps to elevate the importance of the machine shop industry and reveal the secrets of success for machine shops, to inspire other shop owners or would-be shop owners to follow their passions, start and grow their shops to be an economic driver for our economy and their stakeholders.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 142 episodes
- 140. Buying a Machine Shop: Due Diligence, Systems, and the First Four Years with Fairchild Parts · 1 h 4 min · Episode 140Buying 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…
- 139. From Startup Shop to Industry Connector: Brett Lister's Story · 57 min · Episode 139Most 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…
- 138. From a Dining Room Drill Press to 276-Inch Wing Spars: The Volumatic Story · 1 h 1 min · Episode 138Every 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…
- 137. Building More Than Parts: How Chris King Creates Products, Jobs and Community · 57 min · Episode 137A 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…
- 136. Building a Precision Business, Not Just a Precision Shop with M3 Aerospace · 1 h 2 min · Episode 136Plenty 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…
- 135. From Zero to a Running Machine Shop in Months: Gavin Giguere's Startup Story · 1 h 2 min · Episode 136Gavin 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…
- 134. A New Shop Startup based on E Myth Principles - Assa From Rise Machine Works · 50 min · Episode 134Assa 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…
- 133. The World's Fastest Growing Machine Shop Franchise: Isembard's Explosive Growth · 55 min · Episode 133Alex Fitzgerald got the keys to his first factory on January 6, 2025. Eighteen months later Isembard has 14 factories across the US, the UK, France and Germany, just under 100…
- 132. Mission, Manifesto and Momentum: The Incredible Trajectory of Evolution CNC · 1 h 5 min · Episode 132Wil Jorgensen started a machine shop at 22 with a $4,000 screw machine he found on Craigslist. He's 26 now, running Evolution CNC in Wenatchee, Washington, with seven people and…
- 131. Precision Manufacturing, Precision Business: The Book This Community Wrote · 30 min · Episode 131After more than 300 conversations across Machine Shop Mastery, MakingChips, and Manufacturing Transformed, I wrote a book. It's called Precision Manufacturing, Precision…
- 130. Starting a Machine Shop at 60: How RPM Built a High-Performance Team · 50 min · Episode 130I sat down with Randy Swan, who started a Swiss machining shop at 60 after a 34 year career working for other people. Five years in, RPM is growing more than 60 percent a year…
- 129. Leverage Everything: Bootstrapping a Profitable Metal Additive Shop · 1 h 3 min · Episode 129I sat down with Chris Beck, the founder of Innovative 3D Manufacturing in Franklin, Indiana, and the line that stuck with me was simple. Everything he owns is leveraged into this…
- 128. From WWII Origins to Modern Manufacturing: The HFW Industries Journey · 52 min · Episode 128Some businesses have a founding story. HFW Industries has an 80-year one, and it starts in a World War II foundry. I sat down with Jack Watson, the fourth generation to work in…
- 127. Building a Manufacturing Brand through Social Media and Storytelling · 1 h 4 minMost of us in the machining world have thought about it at least once. What if I stopped quoting other people's parts and built something of my own? For a lot of shop owners that…
- 126. From Zero to $5B Market Cap in 13 Years · 1 h 2 min · Episode 126This one's a first for me. In over a hundred episodes I've never had someone from a public company on Machine Shop Mastery, and Randy Altschuler from Xometry turned out to be…
- 125. Benefits, Benefits and More Benefits of Lean, with Andrew Henry · 1 h 4 min · Episode 125Most shops chase the big order. Andrew Henry built Henry Holsters by doing the opposite, and it's hard to argue with the results. I sat down with Andrew for what turns into a…
- 124. Teamwork, Love, and Lean: The Leadership Philosophy Behind Altek's Success · 58 min · Episode 124Most machine shop owners will talk your ear off about spindles and tolerances. Ask Mike Marzetta what makes Altek work and he says the word love. Not as a slogan. As the actual…
- 123. A Daughter's Promise: Preserving Bedard Machine Through One of Life's Hardest Challenges · 1 h 3 min · Episode 123Most family shops don't get a clean handoff. Somebody gets sick, the calendar moves faster than the plan, and one person has to decide whether to step in or let the doors close…
- 122. How Borg Design Built a 50-Machine Defense Manufacturing Powerhouse · 1 h 7 min · Episode 122Most shop owners who hit 50 employees, steady profit, and a fourth generation coming up behind them would be tempted to coast. Andrew Borg decided to double down instead. Not…
- 121. Playing the Long Game in Machining with Chris Welch from Swissomation · 1 h 1 min · Episode 121Almost every shop owner I talk to wants to grow. Far fewer build something that can survive a real downturn. That's the thread running through my whole conversation with Chris…
