Most shop owners don’t realize how much the structure and feel of their shop impact everything, including employee morale, customer trust, and long-term growth. Caught up in production chaos, they overlook the deeper issues holding them back: clunky systems, reactive decision-making, and a culture built on fear rather than trust. Tim Rousseau changed all that. He built Above All CNC to be clean, safe, and forward-thinking intentionally. His big shift? Ditching paper and guesswork for ProShop ERP...
Jun 25, 2025•54 min•Ep. 32
Most shop owners don’t realize it, but the way they lead their team and the systems they use may be quietly holding them back. In this episode, we hear from Perry Kuehn of K Tooling, a shop owner with decades of experience who thought his business was running fine… until it nearly ran off the rails. What followed was a transformation that reshaped his culture, workflow, and client relationships. And it started with one bold decision. At first, Perry was focused on growth: new machines, new build...
Jun 11, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 31
Some machine shop owners come into the industry late. Adam Verdon was born into it. From shredding paper in the office as a toddler to operating machines as a teenager, Adam grew up at G.V. Industries, the precision machining company his father founded in 1978 after returning from Vietnam. Today, he’s not just leading the company, he’s reshaping it. With a deep respect for GV’s history and a clear vision for its future, Adam set out to modernize the shop from the inside out. That meant more than...
May 28, 2025•55 min•Ep. 30
Plenty of people still picture manufacturing as dark, dirty, and dangerous. That image sticks, even though the real day-to-day inside many shops couldn’t look more different. But when perception lags behind reality, it’s no wonder few young people see themselves in roles like toolmaker or machinist. Darryl Gratrix didn’t grow up knowing he’d land in the trades. He went the university route first. Nearly three decades into his career today, he's running production at Molded Precision Components a...
May 14, 2025•35 min•Ep. 29
Shop owners are so deep in the daily grind that they don’t see how outdated systems are quietly setting limits on their business. When processes feel "good enough," it’s easy to miss how much time, money, and opportunity are leaking out of a business every day. Ben Dunn didn’t come from machining, he came from hospital administration. And that fresh perspective made it impossible for him to ignore the old habits inside the shop he acquired. Walking into a company still running on a DOS-based com...
Apr 30, 2025•51 min•Ep. 28
Running a shop often means wearing every hat and holding every answer. For Andy Reinwald at Ripley Machine, that translated to years of nonstop work, nearly no time off, and the weight of every open order living in his head. It was sustainable until it wasn’t. Things came to a head after a rough year in 2016. Revenue was slipping, customer service was lagging, and the company was running on outdated systems. Andy knew he couldn’t keep leading the shop this way and expect different results. That ...
Apr 16, 2025•50 min•Ep. 27
Most shop owners don’t realize how much stress is baked into their day-to-day. They’re running jobs, juggling people, chasing parts—and slowly getting used to the constant pressure. For Phil Gurecki, it was normal to be the only one who knew where everything was, how it worked, and what came next. Until it wasn’t. As Accurate Machine grew, so did the complexity. Assemblies got tougher. Tooling got chaotic. Binders multiplied. And the cost of relying on Phil’s memory—or a key employee’s tribal kn...
Apr 02, 2025•47 min•Ep. 26
Most machine shops are filled with skilled workers, powerful machines, and a relentless drive to get parts out the door. But behind the scenes, inefficiencies can quietly eat away at profitability, morale, and even long-term survival. Many shops rely on outdated systems, fragmented information, and tribal knowledge that vanishes when key employees leave. The result? Missed deadlines, costly mistakes, and constant firefighting. Marvin Rodriguez of True Precision Machining shares how his company f...
Mar 19, 2025•53 min•Ep. 25
Most job shops turn to ERP systems expecting more efficiency but end up with more headaches, more spreadsheets, and more frustration. Most ERPs weren’t built for job shops—high-mix, low-volume work, constant scheduling changes, and the need for real-time visibility. Instead of fixing the chaos, they add layers of complexity, leaving shops struggling to keep up. Traditional ERP systems were designed for large-scale manufacturing, where jobs are predictable and repeatable. A job shop doesn’t opera...
Mar 05, 2025•48 min•Ep. 24
Most manufacturers don’t realize just how much inefficiency is baked into their daily operations—until they start pulling back the layers. That was the case for Johnny Goode, President of MSP Manufacturing, who stepped into the family business in 2020 and immediately saw opportunities for change. Paper-based processes, siloed systems, and hidden inefficiencies were costing the shop time, money, and agility. But change wasn’t easy—especially for a team that had been doing things the same way for ...
Feb 19, 2025•57 min•Ep. 23
In this episode of Manufacturing Transformed, I sit down with Ron Wallace, the owner of Ace Machining, a leading job shop located in Nova Scotia, Canada. Ron shares the remarkable story of how he went from starting his business with just a few machines to now overseeing a thriving operation with advanced equipment like Swiss lathes, waterjets, and five-axis mills. Ron’s journey has been filled with growth, challenges, and innovation. After years of trial and error, including multiple relocations...
Feb 05, 2025•53 min•Ep. 22
Zimmer Design & Manufacturing, an ITAR-registered AS9100 Contract Manufacturing machine shop in Austin, TX, has experienced remarkable growth—70% since its launch in 2020. Founder Adam Zimmer started the company in his garage, crafting cigar stands and ashtrays as a hobby with a manual lathe and mill. A pivotal moment came when he purchased equipment and customers from a friend closing his shop, which set the stage for his transition into a thriving business. From day one, Adam knew he wante...
Jan 22, 2025•52 min•Ep. 21
In this episode of Manufacturing Transformed, Brannon McKinney, General Manager at Faircloth Machine Shop, shares the incredible evolution of a small repair shop into an AS9100-certified leader in aerospace manufacturing. When Brannon joined Faircloth 16 years ago, fresh out of community college, the shop had just eight employees and relied on conventional machines and a homemade ERP system. Today, with the help of ProShop ERP, they’ve streamlined operations, embraced innovation, and achieved ce...
Jan 08, 2025•40 min•Ep. 20
This third-generation precision machining business is thriving and growing thanks to a well-executed vision, a focus on culture, and the adoption of the best technology, like ProShop ERP. The transformation that CARR Machine has seen in the past five years has been nothing short of remarkable. Jim and Ryan are aligned in the vision of the company, they use their core values to drive the hiring, firing and alignment of their team, and along with a strong marketing focus, they have grown considera...
Dec 11, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 19
In this episode, we sit down with John Zmuda, President of Moseys Production Machinists, to uncover how his team revolutionized their operations by ditching outdated manual processes. From the frustrations of late-night spreadsheet marathons to unlocking double-digit growth, John shares the transformative impact of adopting modern ERP and QMS software. Learn how transitioning to a machine shop ERP system gave Moseys the tools to streamline workflows, improve customer communication, and free up t...
Nov 27, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 18
17. Manufacturing Transformed This Man’s Life with Daniel Anglemyer from Hibshman Screw Machine Daniel went to work on a hog farm at the age of 12 for $5/hr. With family members in jail for drugs, great job options weren’t plentiful. But after getting a job at a machine shop, and eventually landing at Hibshman Screw Machine Products, Daniel has flourished, meeting his wife, buying a home, moving into management, and having a huge positive impact on Hibshman and his team. And Daniel clearly has a...
Nov 13, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 17
16. 4x Growth In 4 Years with Kevin Richards from JJR Fabrication Kevin and Bryan Richards took a chance opportunity to build a few parts for another business and realized the potential to have a viable business. Today they have a rapidly growing precision machining and fabrication company selling high-value aerospace assemblies. Their success can be traced to amazing leadership, but also a dedicated commitment to lean principles and incredible implementation of ProShop ERP. One of the best resu...
Oct 30, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 16
15. Building a Company with ProShop as the Foundation with Nick Preece from PMA Nick Preece has a deep passion for machining which he stumbled up on while watching YouTube videos of machining while he was an engineering student. After deciding to buy a machine to make parts as a hobby, he realized he needed to earn some revenue just to pay for his hobby. 6 years later, he has a thriving AS9100 certified precision machining company, Preece Machine & Assembly, doing high-end work for discernin...
Oct 16, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 15
14. A One Man Machining Army with CJ Abraham from PPD CJ is a humble and extraordinarily capable guy. He can keep a CNC machine running literally 24/7 for 6 weeks straight without a minute of downtime. But he spins self deprecating jokes about not running a legitimate business. That’s one of the most endearing qualities about CJ. In this really interesting conversation CJ shares why he bought ProShop as a 1 person company, and how it helps keep him from hiring several people just to keep up with...
Oct 02, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 14
13. You’re Never Too Small for an ERP with Tom Rougeux from RX Industries Tom is the owner of RX Industries, a precision machining company serving high-end markets from Hilton Head Island SC. In his previous job, he had been an implementer of SAP for more than 5 years, so he had the battle scars to prove that he knew what he did and didn’t want from the ERP system he’d use for the company he had just bought. After much research, he decided to invest in ProShop before the company was even open fo...
Sep 18, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 13
12. How to Cut Metal More Often, Solo Episode with Paul Van Metre There are a lot of roadblocks to cutting metal as much as we’d all want to in our shops. From not having the right material on hand, to setups that take WAY too long. In this solo episode, Paul talks about a question he was asked about how ProShop can actually help increase the value-added time of cutting chips. When companies can make a meaningful improvement in this area, it can be a powerful force for transformation. Give a lis...
Sep 04, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 12
11. Building a Business Worthy of Passing to Your Children with Chad Vanderbeek from Hibshman Screw Machine Products Chad Vanderbeek knew that the company they were running was not one he would be happy to hand off to his children if they were to take over the business one day. Things were too chaotic, information was not readily enough accessible to make the best decisions, and he felt that the company systems needed to be rebuilt. Since choosing ProShop the company has made a significant trans...
Aug 21, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 11
10. A New Breed of Precision Machining Businesses with Sean and James Cerven from Cerven Solutions James and Sean Cerven were both a bit bored during Covid and decided to buy an inexpensive CNC machine for fun, having never run one before, and mostly seeing them on YouTube videos. Fast forward just a few years and they have a thriving business with high-end CNC machining equipment specializing in making small parts. They share their lean journey openly on their social media channels, and they’re...
Aug 02, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 10
09. Driving Accountability & Performance with Hernan Ricaurte from Ricaurte Precision Continuous improvement, transparency, and accountability are very important to Hernan, President and CEO of Ricaurte Precision. Those are all values or qualities he looks to build and foster in the culture at Ricaurte Precision - a precision machining company serving the defense, commercial space, medical device and other industries out of their Orange County CA location. Focusing on those things has helped...
Jul 24, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 9
08. Tying Process & Culture Upgrades Together with Matthew Sawhill from IME Manufacturing & Engineering was a precision machine shop specializing in quick turn, low volume job shop work, doing lots of repair work and reverse engineering for local customers. While that business model worked, they often found themselves with their valuable machines and resources sitting idle. They decided to focus on automation and unattended machining processes and capture higher-volume production machini...
Jul 10, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 8
07. Reigniting Passion for Business with Heather Charlton from Free Force Machining Technology Heather Charlton is co-owner of Free Force Machining Technology Inc. in Ontario Canada. Free Force is a 100% Swiss CNC machining business that serves many industries with its AS9100 and ISO 9001 certifications. Heather and her husband Steve started the business in 2007 during the height of the financial crisis, with a new toddler, and she was pregnant with their second child! Talk about a bold move! Se...
Jun 26, 2024•56 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Scott Shortess, the President of Advanced, is a very thoughtful shop owner and thinks about the success of a precision machining company through the lens of a continuous improvement mindset, waste reduction and building really robust systems for the team to use effectively to delight customers. In this insightful interview, Scott shares how their company has been transformed by having a system that truly works for them, instead of them working for the system, and allowing that freedom to enable ...
Jun 12, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 6
After Justin Quinn bought a machine shop, having no experience in the industry, he often questioned his decision and feared that he’d made a big mistake. He wasn't satisfied with the state of the business and the constant firefighting and needing to be at the epicenter of all shop activities - and he couldn’t break through that $1M revenue mark. Once he found and decided on ProShop ERP after going through a very thoughtful implementation process, the transformation was instant! The very first ye...
May 29, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 5
04. Perseverance and Transformation with Kurt Boquet at Kajan Perfection After getting fed up with the lack of getting good data from their 3rd ERP system, Kurt discovered ProShop ERP and decided that it was the system for them. Once they overcame the fears of change and objections from some of their more senior employees, they ditched the paper and never looked back. They now feature ProShop on their building sign, business cards, and company advertisements. Amazing!! Kurt also shares their inn...
May 15, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 4
03. From Investment Banker to Making Space Parts with Matt Lindsay from Autopilot Matt Lindsay was an investment banker, spending lots of time in airports and different cities. He was also an avid fly-fisherman. When he saw an article about a local fly fishing reel manufacturing company and decided to ask the company for a tour to see how the reels were made, that sparked a conversation about him buying into the business. The existing owner, an excellent machinist and engineer, who wanted to gro...
May 01, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 3
