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PODCAST

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders

MakingChips LLC

Manufacturing is tough—but you don"t have to go it alone. If you"re leading a manufacturing business, you face constant pressure: staying competitive, adopting new tech, managing people, and driving growth. MakingChips helps you tackle those challenges head-on. Since 2014, we"ve been equipping manufacturing leaders with the knowledge and inspiration they need to succeed. With hundreds of episodes and over a million downloads, MakingChips is a top resource for the metalworking nation—covering

business management

All Episodes

47:29

Chaos, Curiosity & Chipmaking: Larry Robbins' Wild...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/12/08

Some conversations feel scripted. This one… absolutely did not. Larry Robbins walked in ready to talk life, passion, family, culture, workholding, philosophy, and whatever else popped into his head — and somehow it all connected back to manufacturing. This episode of MakingChips is one of the most unhinged, hilarious, honest, and wisdom-packed conversations we've ever recorded. Larry has been in the industry for nearly 46 years, and he's collected enough stories, scars, and laughs for ten careers

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44:53

The Double Your Value Mindset: Planning, Growth &...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/12/01

In this special episode of MakingChips, we broadcast from the EBITDA Growth Systems Double Your Value Planning Event—a gathering designed to pull shop owners out of the day-to-day grind and force intentional thinking about long-term growth. This year's event was hosted at the Sandvik Coromant facility in Mebane, North Carolina, creating a perfect backdrop for conversations about planning, strategy, and culture. Paul is joined by three key voices who bring decades of hard-earned manufacturing

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01:04:05

Forged Through Fire: How Phoenix Heat Treating...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/11/24

In this episode of MakingChips, we sit down with Charlie Hushek, President of Phoenix Heat Treating, whose family has been in the heat-Treating world for over a century. Charlie is a fifth-generation heat Treatinger—but his leadership story is anything but inherited. When he stepped into the business in 2020, he wasn't handed stability. He was handed a crisis. Within a matter of months, Phoenix Heat Treating lost its NADCAP certification—twice—suffered major operational setbacks, faced COVID

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46:51

Inside the Winners' Circle: Top Shops 2025 Live from...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/11/17

Top Shops 2025 brought together the most innovative, forward-thinking leaders in manufacturing—and this year's gathering at the NASCAR Hall of Fame felt like stepping directly into the winners' circle. Surrounded by the energy of hundreds of top-tier manufacturers, we sat down with the four shops recognized as the crème de la crème in their categories: Technology, Shopfloor Technology, Business Strategy, and Human Resources. Together, these honorees represent what's possible when ambition meets

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34:19

IMTS Insider: Building the World's Largest...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/11/10

When you walk into IMTS—the International Manufacturing Technology Show—it's easy to be awestruck by the machines, the energy, and the sheer scale. But few people realize just how much planning, logistics, and collaboration go into bringing that experience to life. In this episode of MakingChips, we sit down with Mark Kennedy, Senior Director of Exhibitions at AMT, to get a behind-the-scenes look at how the world's largest manufacturing trade show comes together. This conversation dives deep into

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41:24

High Quality People, High Quality Work: Making Small...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/11/07

We're coming to you once again from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Summit in Washington, D.C.—the largest gathering of small business owners in U.S. history. This time, we're joined by two inspiring leaders from the Metalworking Nation who prove that the heart of American manufacturing beats strongest in small towns and family-run shops. Our guests, Jenny Steffensmeier, owner of Steffensmeier Welding & Manufacturing in Pilot Grove, Iowa, and Paul Bothe, third-generation owner of a CNC job

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38:33

Scaling Smarter: Lessons from Goldman Sachs 10,000...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/11/04

We're coming to you live from Washington, D.C., at the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Summit—the largest gathering of small business owners in U.S. history. With more than 2,700 entrepreneurs in one place, the energy is electric, and the conversations are powerful. Among them is our guest, Brandon Dahms, owner of Innovative Manufacturing & Engineering (IME) in Des Moines, Iowa. Brandon's story captures what this summit is all about—growth, resilience, and transformation. After starting his

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50:49

The Lean Advantage: Building Smarter Systems and...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/11/03

In this powerful installment of the Machine Shop MBA series, we welcome two guests who embody the heart of continuous improvement: Noah Goellner, President of AME and Hennig, and Nick DeGeorgia, Manufacturing Engineer at P1 Industries. What starts as a story of one listener's journey—from cutting chips to becoming a lean champion—evolves into a masterclass on how lean thinking transforms not just the shop floor, but every function of an organization. Nick shares how MakingChips inspired him to

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48:11

How to Manage Outside Processes Like a Pro, 490

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/10/27

Every machine shop relies on outside processes—whether that's heat treating, plating, grinding, or coating. But every time a part leaves your building, your risk profile changes. Quality, timing, and accountability become harder to control. In this episode of MakingChips, the hosts sit down with Charlie Hushek, owner of Phoenix Heat Treating and a newly minted machine shop owner, to unpack what it really takes to manage outside processes like a pro. Charlie's experience on both sides of the

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01:02:39

Maximizing Profitability with Advanced Financial...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/10/20

Finance doesn’t have to be a mystery—it can be your greatest advantage. In this episode of the Machine Shop MBA series, we sit down with Jon Hughes, Erik Skie, and Mike Estes from CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) to unpack the financial principles that separate high-performing shops from those that just get by. Together, they dig into how manufacturers can transform their accounting systems from mere compliance tools into strategic assets that fuel growth. From understanding capacity and pricing to

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53:30

Racing Toward Excellence: The Olson Brothers’ Journey...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/10/13

What happens when two brothers with a racing background decide to start a machine shop—with zero machining experience? You get Olson Custom Designs, a company that’s gone from two Haas machines in 2014 to nearly 90 employees today—serving medical, defense, and aerospace industries out of a world-class facility in Indianapolis. In this episode, we sit down with Mitch and Brian Olson to unpack the remarkable story behind their explosive growth. They share how their competitive drive from sprint car

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58:45

Winning the Talent War: Recruitment, Retention, and...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/10/06

Recruiting and retaining great people is one of the biggest challenges in manufacturing today—but what if the solution isn’t just about wages or benefits, but about building a culture where people thrive? In this episode of the Machine Shop MBA series, we are joined by guest co-host Jon Franko and special guest Mike Tamasi, CEO of AccuRounds, a former Top Shops award winner for Human Resources. Mike shares how AccuRounds has become an employer of choice by focusing on community engagement, core

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46:24

Leadership at the Core: Building Trust, Systems, and...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/09/29

Leadership is more than a buzzword—it’s the backbone of every successful machine shop. In this episode of MakingChips—Machine Shop MBA, hosts Paul Van Metre and Jen Dubose sit down with Kyra Tillman, owner of BTM Industries, to explore what real leadership looks like on the shop floor and in the front office. Kyra inherited a decades-old family shop steeped in tradition and transformed it into a forward-looking, systems-driven operation without losing its close-knit culture. Drawing on her

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51:18

Strategic Growth & Vision: Building a High-Performing...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/09/22

In this special MakingChips Machine Shop MBA episode, we sit down with Peter Doyle—CEO of Hirsh Precision—to unpack what it takes to grow and transform a machine shop with purpose. From his roots as an Air Force officer to leading a former Top Shops award winner, Peter has blended strategy, structure, and heart into a roadmap any shop leader can learn from. Peter shares why strategic vision is more than a slogan on a wall. He explains how his team at Hirsh Precision focuses on high-mix, low-volume

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50:49

Requirements Review: How Paperless Parts’ is Making...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/09/17

If you’ve ever lost sleep wondering whether you missed a critical detail in a quote—or felt the adrenaline of winning a job only to realize you underpriced it—this MakingChips episode is for you. Recorded live at FABTECH 2025, Nick sits down with Jason Ray, founder of Paperless Parts, to unveil a breakthrough tool that promises to transform how shops handle complex RFQs, drawings, and bills of materials. Over the past decade, Paperless Parts has become synonymous with solving bottlenecks in

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53:10

Building a Winning Team: Matt Wardle’s Blueprint for...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/09/15

Every machine shop leader knows you can buy the best equipment, implement cutting-edge automation, and have bulletproof processes—but without the right team and culture, growth will stall. In this episode of MakingChips Machine Shop MBA, we talk with Matt Wardle, President of JD Machine, about how he transformed a small Utah shop into a 210-person powerhouse by prioritizing people and culture over everything else. Matt’s story shows what happens when leadership takes workforce development seriously

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46:00

Capturing the Human Side of Manufacturing with Chad...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/09/08

Every machine shop has a story—and Chad Schmidt has made it his mission to tell them. As a sales engineer + content creator, Chad blends his technical background with a passion for storytelling. He creates authentic shop tour videos that shine a spotlight on the people, culture, and values driving the manufacturing industry. His YouTube channel has quickly gained traction, giving machinists and shop owners a platform to showcase their work in an honest and unpolished—but deeply engaging—format. In

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51:32

The Gold Standard of Shop Finance: Cash Flow, Profit,...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/09/01

Running a machine shop isn’t just about cutting chips—it’s about managing the numbers that make the whole operation possible. In this Machine Shop MBA episode of MakingChips, the team sits down with Jon Hughes of CLA to tackle one of the most overlooked yet critical parts of shop ownership: financial strategy. Many shop leaders rise through the ranks of the shop floor without formal financial training. The books often become “just compliance”—something you do because you have to file taxes. But as

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57:12

What's the Secret to Happy Customers? 480

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/08/25

At the heart of every successful machine shop isn’t just the parts it produces—it’s the experience it delivers to its clients. In this episode of MakingChips (part of our Machine Shop MBA series), we sit down with Andy Reinwald, President of Ripley Machine, to unpack what it really takes to deliver an excellent client experience in manufacturing. Andy shares his journey of stepping into leadership at a young age, navigating the challenges of declining sales, and transforming Ripley Machine into a

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59:54

Inventory Management Strategies Every Machine Shop...

Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders ·

2025/08/18

Inventory and materials management may not sound glamorous, but for us—and for any thriving shop—it’s the difference between healthy cashflow and a financial chokehold. In this Machine Shop MBA conversation, we break down how smart inventory practices—both physical and digital—can free up space, cut costs, and improve delivery performance. From raw materials and finished goods to WIP and cutting tools, we share the financial, operational, and workflow implications of what you keep on the shelf (and

en

499 results

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