What would you do if your very first CNC machine didn’t even power on? For most people, that’s where the story would end. But for Rhys Andersen, it was just the beginning. In this episode, I sit down with one of the most determined shop owners I’ve ever interviewed. Rhys is the founder of Method Manufacturing in Austin, Texas — and his journey into precision machining is anything but conventional. From wildland firefighting to architecture school to a series of trial-by-fire business ventures, R...
Jun 18, 2025•59 min•Ep. 81
What if you could double—or even quadruple—the value of a machine shop within just 12 months of buying it? For Mike Payne, this isn’t a hypothetical. It’s a repeatable system he’s refined across five acquisitions (and counting). In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, Mike returns to the mic to break down exactly how he transforms tired shops into thriving, high-value operations—without starting from scratch. Mike walks us through his bolt-on acquisition strategy, sharing how he targets shops w...
Jun 04, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 80
In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, I sit down with Kyra Tillman, third-generation owner of BTM Industries. When Kyra returned to the family shop, she inherited more than just machines—she inherited decades of “this is how we’ve always done it.” What she’s done since is nothing short of a transformation. With grit, grace, and a serious knack for finding and using resources, Kyra has turned a quiet, closed-door machine shop into a vibrant, collaborative, culture-driven powerhouse—one where g...
May 21, 2025•57 min•Ep. 79
Most shop owners I talk to are focused on the usual things: keeping the machines humming, staying profitable, maybe planning for growth or succession. But what if the real unlock for your shop wasn’t more tech or tighter margins—but a completely different way of thinking about why your business exists in the first place? That’s what today’s episode is about. I sat down with Court Durkalski, CEO of Truline Industries, and honestly, this conversation hit me harder than most. Court runs a $23 milli...
May 07, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 78
What happens when a serial entrepreneur with seven businesses under his belt decides to go all-in on graphite machining—and does it with some of the fastest, most precise equipment on the planet? You get Matt Gawlik, and in this episode of Machine Shop Mastery , he brings the heat. Host Paul Van Metre sits down with Matt to unpack a no-BS journey through business wins, failures, and the strategies that separate thriving shops from the ones barely hanging on. From his early roots in a multi-gener...
Apr 23, 2025•47 min•Ep. 77
Most small manufacturers don’t realize they’re being quietly supported by one of the most impactful public-private partnerships in the country. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) has long been the hidden backbone behind training programs, grant facilitation, process improvements, and critical tech upgrades for shops across the U.S. But recent Federal decisions to defund these programs—without clear communication or reasoning—have sparked confusion and alarm among industry insiders. In...
Apr 19, 2025•35 min
When I first heard about Screwmatics—a shop with over 200 machines, 110 employees, and 16 buildings—I knew I had to talk to the guy behind it. In this episode, I sit down with Billy Hogge, the second-generation leader of Screwmatics out of Pageland, South Carolina. His story is incredible. His parents started the company 37 years ago with just two screw machines, and today it’s grown into one of the largest and most efficient high-volume machining operations I’ve ever seen. We talk about how Bil...
Apr 09, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 76
How do you go from being the kid who couldn’t sit still in class to leading the machine shop for one of Elon Musk’s most ambitious ventures? In this gripping and often jaw-dropping episode, I sit down with Jim Cooney—Head of the Machine Shop at Neuralink—for a raw and refreshingly honest conversation about resilience, reinvention, and the unconventional road to mastery in machining. While Jim isn’t a shop owner (my usual guest profile), his story offers every bit of the leadership lessons, grit,...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 75
Have you ever thought about what it takes to make the leap from employee to employer in the machining world? In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, I’m joined by Adam Zimmer, the founder of Zimmer Design & Manufacturing. Adam’s journey is a remarkable one—he went from working as a tool and die maker to owning and growing his own successful machine shop in just three years. What started as a one-person shop is now an operation with 11 employees, nine machines, and three shifts running. In o...
Mar 12, 2025•52 min•Ep. 74
What if understanding the true cost of every part you produce could be the key to scaling your machine shop? In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, Paul Van Metre is joined by Marvin Rodriguez from True Precision Machining to explore the strategies that have driven the company’s remarkable growth. Marvin shares his journey from starting with little formal education to leading a high-performance machine shop that blends cutting-edge technology with a deeply rooted commitment to craftsmanship. T...
Feb 26, 2025•54 min•Ep. 73
In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, Jason Davis, CEO of D&D Enterprises, is back for an insightful conversation on navigating growth and operational expansion in 2025. With nearly 26 years of experience in the machining industry, Jason shares his insights on scaling operations and avoiding the common pitfalls that come with growth. We dig into three main areas crucial for expanding your shop in the coming year: Adding capacity, improving sales and marketing, and managing new customer re...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 72
Today’s guest is Kirk Phelps from American Precision Partners, a key figure driving the growth and transformation of multiple machine shops. Kirk’s journey into machining began as a teenager in his dad’s shop, where he started on manual machines while attending trade school. After experiencing burnout, Kirk joined the Air Force and served for six years, eventually returning to machining with a fresh perspective. Through programming and a transition into management, Kirk discovered his passion fo...
Jan 29, 2025•59 min•Ep. 71
Greg McArthur’s journey in manufacturing began as a child sweeping floors and cleaning mats in his father’s machine shop. Over the years, he gained hands-on experience, evolving from a lathe hand to a skilled CNC machinist, estimator, and engineer. Eventually, Greg took a bold leap, bidding on a machine sight unseen on eBay and figuring out how to transport and operate it—foreshadowing his entrepreneurial spirit. In 2017, Greg founded NTL Industries in his garage while working a full-time job. B...
Jan 15, 2025•53 min•Ep. 70
Dave bought two very different precision machining companies. One makes large gears in small volumes, and the other specializes in high-volume contract Swiss machining and other production machining. As an outsider to the industry, and not a technical shop owner, Dave shows that it’s not only possible, but an advantage not to be able to do programming, machining and the technical work of a machining company. Instead, he provides resources, sets the vision and builds and supports the team while f...
Dec 19, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 69
Bravery, Grit and Can-Do attitude are in ample supply with Steve and Jamie Michon. They started a machine shop with 3 young boys, very little money, lived in Steve’s parent's basement, and bought a thrashed Fadal that Steve needed to completely rebuild before he could make parts on it. Similarly, Jamie knew nothing about Quickbooks, or the business side of running a machining company. But none of those things stopped them from realizing their dream. Thankfully Steve had a very supportive network...
Dec 05, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 68
67. Betting it All on a Dream with Ashley Hunsaker from HTS Coatings Even before Ashley and her husband Jason opened their doors, they nearly had to file for bankruptcy, because an insurance company deemed her more valuable dead than alive - because she was a stay-at-home mom. Thankfully, a wonderful human intervened and saved the business before it started. From there, this mission and values-driven company has exploded in growth and is changing lives and their community. After you listen to th...
Nov 20, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 67
66. Passionate Partnership for the Win with Mitch and Brian Olson from OCD The Olson brothers, Brian and Mitch learned about winning, losing and grit on the racetrack. When it came time to move on from the dangers of racing, they decided to start a CNC machine shop, having never even turned on a CNC machine in their lives! Those lessons learned in the race paddock and on the track proved invaluable as they launched their business. With incredible determination to succeed and passion for their cu...
Nov 06, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 66
65. 4 Generations of Machining Legacy with Denny Smith from NMC, Inc. Denny is the 3rd generation owner and President of Northside Machine Company in Dugger Indiana. His son is now working in the business as well making him the 4th generation of Smiths to be involved in the business. This role is one that Denny takes very seriously, and he is determined to continue making NMC Inc the best company it can be. In this fun conversation recorded live at IMTS 2024, Denny talks about how his family has...
Oct 23, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 65
64. Tribal Knowledge Killed this Shop: A Machine Shop Owner Tells the Story with Jereme Rogers After a near-death motorcycle accident, Jereme Rogers fell in love with the machining industry and decided that he wanted to own a shop someday. When the owners of TK Machine decided they wanted to retire, Jereme and they eventually came to an agreement that he would buy the shop. After finalizing the transaction, Jereme soon realized there was a lot more to owning a business than he ever realized, and...
Oct 09, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 64
63. Solving the Puzzle of Strategic Growth with Jason Davis from D&D Enterprises Jason is the second-generation CEO of D&D Enterprises, an AS9100-certified precision machining company specializing in aerospace and other high-tech industries that was founded by his father and uncle in 1976. When Jason joined the company 25 years ago, he started focusing on some of the more business-focused aspects of the company, such as customer communication. That focus, as well as decisions to be widel...
Sep 25, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 63
62. Automating Your Way to Success with Scott Harms from MetalQuest Unlimited Scott Harms knows a thing or two about highly automated CNC machining. Since he started MetalQuest Unlimited at the age of 22, he’s made millions and millions of parts on highly automated machines that he and his team have integrated themselves. Acquiring his first robot in 2011 and doing all the integration themselves, the now have 18 robots tending to their many CNCs, and they’ve invested significantly in their 3 Ind...
Sep 10, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 62
61. Growing Well at Massive Scale with Peter Doyle from Hirsh Precision Growing any business 80% over a few years is a major achievement. Doing it with a precision machining organization is nearly unheard of. And doing it well, without too much collateral damage, takes serious skills. Those are skills that Peter Doyle has, although he might not admit it. The growth story of Hirsch Precision under Peter’s leadership is really fascinating. Peter is a real student of leadership, business management...
Aug 28, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 61
60. Running Machines 168 Hours a Week with Jim Goerges from Precision Tool Technologies Jim is a finance guy with a passion for machining and never giving up on achieving maximum production. Those passions have helped fuel the growth of Precision Tool Technologies and 168 Manufacturing which Jim leads. In this episode we go deep on the concepts, strategies and tactics of getting maximum production in a precision machining business. We also discuss company building with the team you hire, the ten...
Aug 14, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 60
59. Buying and Growing a Machine Shop Part-time with Gillen Young from Custom Tool Gillen Young and his brother bought Custom Tool in 2010 and have grown it fourfold since, including buying another shop as well. One of the most interesting parts of this story is that Gillen has a regular full-time job and leads Custom Tool as CEO and President part-time. Gillen is also the Chairman of NTMA and has some great insights to share from his time at NTMA. Gillen shares the growth story of Custom Tool, ...
Jul 31, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 59
58. How to Find, Buy, & Grow a Shop with Mike Fritz from Quick Tek Machining Part 2 In this Part 2 episode with Mike Fritz of Quick Tek Machining, we first learn about the factors that make a shop saleable and valuable. Mike then shares his process for deciding what type of shop to buy, where the sources of possible deals are, and which specific shop he wants to buy. Then how to value the business and structure the deal. We then discuss how to structure the team and org chart so that he can ...
Jul 17, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 58
57. Buying 4 Machine Shops in 2 Years with Mike Fritz from Quick Tek Machining Before Mike Fritz bought Quick Tek in 2022, he had been a speaker and consultant on building high-performing teams. He’s taken that skill set and decided to go all-in with the precision machining industry. After buying Quick Tek, he has quickly bought 3 more additional shops in the next 2 years. His approach is a model for how an outsider to the industry can have huge success, even without being an expert machinist. M...
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 57
56. From Startup to Industry Leader with John Newman from Athena Manufacturing Paul sits down with John Newman from Athena Manufacturing, a 200-person machining and fabrication company in Austin, Texas. John shares his remarkable journey of growing two successful companies in the manufacturing industry. Starting with a small six-person shop in 1995, John and his partner Bill Johnson scaled their first business to 100 employees in just 17 months. After selling the company and briefly retiring, th...
Jun 19, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 56
55. High Spindle Uptime & Happy Employees with Nathan Byman from Wolfram Manufacturing Before Nathan Byman started Wolfram Manufacturing in 2011, he learned a lot about what he liked and didn’t like about machining and management, at other businesses. He’s taken the best learnings (and a TON he’s learned since) to make Wolfram into a fast-growing powerhouse business that is extremely focused on technology, making chips ALL the time, and having very happy employees, who in turn delight their ...
Jun 05, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 55
54. The Virtues of Niche Manufacturing Excellence with Matt Gustafson from Clinkenbeard Matt grew up on the shop floor of Clinkenbeard, a business his father bought in the late 70s and he became a pattern maker. He is now the President and leads this incredible AS9100-certified company that specializes in highly complex 5-axis machined parts and highly specialized training devices for the defense and space industries. Picture a full-scale, 100% realistic model of an F35 engine for use by technic...
May 22, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 54
53. Father & Son Fun = Success at Mactech with Joel and Luke Wittenbraker from Mactech Mactech is a fascinating business that specializes in on-site machining services and equipment. It’s a very different type of business than a traditional machine shop where all work is done in a facility. Their company history is a fascinating one, and a fun one, where we learn that hard work and fun can go hand in hand with great success. Learn about this great story and company in this entertaining episo...
May 08, 2024•1 hr 14 min
