Raw Material

Jamie Marzilli
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Business
  • Updated Semimonthly

Raw Material is about the people behind the parts. The owners, machinists, operators, builders, and problem-solvers who carry the weight, make the calls, fix the messes, and keep the work moving. This podcast gets into the pressure, the failures, the lessons, and the wins that come with life in manufacturing. No fluff. Just real conversations about pushing people, not buttons.

  1. Oct 16

    12. The AI Machinist Is Coming. Are You Ready?

    AI is coming for manufacturing, but I'm not interested in another piece of software that promises to replace machinists with the push of a button. I want technology that actually understands what happens on the shop floor and helps good people get more done. That's why I was excited to sit down with David Priev from Limitless Labs during IMTS 2026. His team is building an AI-powered CAM programming assistant that works alongside machinists, helping them program parts faster, troubleshoot problems, and cut through the tedious work that slows down production. We get into how Limitless Labs is teaching AI to understand the physics of machining, why the next generation of manufacturing software needs domain experts, and what happens when you connect programming, machine data, and inspection results. We also tackle the questions every shop owner should be asking about AI, including ITAR compliance, data privacy, and whether your programs are being used to train someone else's model. For me, the opportunity isn't replacing our most experienced people. It's giving them better tools, bringing new talent up to speed faster, and improving the one thing that ultimately drives profitability: throughput. What’s Covered in this Episode (0:00) Why AI could change the future of software engineering and manufacturing(0:52) Dave's engineering background and introduction to CNC machining(5:52) Addressing the CNC programming bottleneck with AI(6:25) Work ahead of your machines with the Hennig WorkFlow Automation system(7:17) The Limitless Labs founding team and rapid company growth(10:41) Why Limitless Labs shifted its focus from quoting to CAM programming(13:56) Using AI to accelerate employee training and improve throughput(15:16) Kennametal tooling helps manufacturer cut faster and run longer (16:04) The vision for an AI machinist that connects programming, inspection, and machine data(18:01) Simplifying CMM reports and reducing manufacturing iterations(19:52) Jamie's firsthand experience with the Limitless Labs software(21:10) Raising venture capital and educating investors about CNC manufacturing(23:18) Why domain expertise is becoming increasingly valuable in the AI era(24:17) Building reliable industrial AI software and teaching AI to understand CAD models(26:28) Capturing the tribal knowledge of experienced machinists(28:32) ITAR, CMMC, data privacy, and protecting proprietary CAM programs(31:08) Why improving throughput is essential to competing and winning businessResources Mentioned MastercamSiemensProShop ERPMachine Shop Mastery PodcastIMTSHennig Workflow Automation SystemKennametalMakingChipsHow to Connect with David Priev Connect with David Priev on LinkedInLimitless Labs

  2. Oct 2

    11. I Thought Core Values Were Nonsense and I Was Dead Wrong

    I used to think core values were nonsense. White collar guys in stuffed shirts telling each other how great their culture is, and then you pull up their Glassdoor page and the place is a hellhole. So I skipped that part for fifteen years. I was dead wrong, and I'm fine saying it. That's where the growth is. We hung a QR code on the conference room wall and asked every single person here, not just the leadership team, to name three values they admire in a coworker. The words that came back got dumped into ChatGPT and came out as GRIT 3D. Growth, respect, integrity, teamwork, and then dedication, dependability, and detail in place of dark, dirty, and dangerous. Grit is the whole company. It felt like it was meant to be. Then it got uncomfortable. Cutting 28% of the company. Finding out that when somebody lives your values and still can't produce, that one is on me and not on them. Fifteen years in, I finally feel like a president at this company instead of an employee, and I owe it to a book. What's Covered in this Episode (0:42) The second half of my review of Paul Van Metre's Precision Manufacturing, Precision Business(2:01) Why I wrote off core values as corporate nonsense for years (and why I was dead wrong)(4:27) Running through a word cloud exercise with our entire team and what it showed us(6:25) What GRIT 3D stands for, and redefining dark, dirty, dangerous(7:20) Why we downsized 28% at the start of the year (and how things improved)(8:27) Hiring for skill instead of character, and why it always ends the same way(10:07) Why we love SMW Autoblok workholding (10:48) A few examples of the ‘Peter Principle’ in play at Marzilli Machine(13:18) Swapping our shipping manager and our office manager—and both throughputs took off(14:11) The easiest way to make the Traction framework work for your shop(16:47) The personal win and business win I wanted to cut and why I never will (18:56) Why we created Hire MFG Leaders and why you should use it(19:26) Rating the meetings one to ten (and what the meetings brought to light)(21:46) What’s working at Marzilli Machine and what needs improvement(26:00) What’s next for Marzilli Machine? Resources Mentioned Precision Manufacturing, Precision Business by Paul Van MetreThe Goal by Eliyahu GoldrattTraction and the EOS systemSMW AutoblokHire MFG LeadersProShop ERPIMTSConnect with Jamie Marzilli Connect on LinkedInRawMaterial@makingchips.comMakingChips

  3. Sep 18

    10. I Found the Bottleneck in My Shop. It’s Me.

    Paul Van Metre's book isn't a general business book with a machining chapter bolted onto it. It's built for this industry, and one sentence in it has been digging in my ribs for three weeks: "If precision matters on the shop floor, it has to matter in the business too." Reading it back made me realize something that I didn't want to admit. What got me here isn't going to take me there. This one isn't comfortable. It's me admitting I'm not as good at this as I thought I was, and then doing something about it. Stick around for part 2. What's Covered in this Episode(0:45) Why I'm doing my first book review, and how Paul Van Metre's manuscript blew my mind(3:58) Five or six evolutions since my wife dared me to start this company at 31(4:29) The harsh review I gave Paul, and wondering later if I was the hard reader(5:11) The six levels of machine shop managers, and why that early pain never leaves you(5:56) The one sentence in the book that's been digging in my ribs for three weeks(6:59) Investing ProShop ERP is an investment in your business(8:38) The myth of heroics, and why being a great machinist doesn't make you a good owner(11:30) Which shop am I? Admitting out loud that I'm not holding those margins(13:13) Why you're better off doing nothing than doing something for a loss(15:00) Why we created Hire MFG Leaders (and why you should use it)(15:29) The Goal, the theory of constraints, and why your biggest bottleneck defines your throughput(16:38) Six new spindles, a 13,000 square foot building, and the same output as before(19:41) Quality control should be staffed like an emergency room, and the hire that erased that bottleneck(20:42) The bottleneck moved to the front of the shop—and it turned out to be me(21:41) Why we’ve begun implementing the EOS system at Marzilli machineResources Mentioned“Precision Manufacturing, Precision Business” by Paul Van MetreProShop ERPHire MFG LeadersThe Machine Shop Mastery PodcastThe Goal by Eliyahu GoldrattTraction and the EOS systemConnect with Jamie MarzilliConnect on LinkedInRaw Material on SpotifyRaw Material on AppleMakingChips

  4. Sep 4

    9. Two Shades of Turquoise: Both In Spec, Both Rejected

    It's been a rough couple of months in the shop. This isn't a blame session, it's a post mortem. Two things went wrong at the same time. One of them was on us. One of them wasn't. Both are worth understanding, because I'd bet at least one of them is sitting inside your company right now, just waiting. The first one was an ownership gap. A handful of staffing decisions that each made sense on their own stacked up and left a hole nobody was standing in, and a daily quality check quietly stopped happening. We knew what needed to be done. We knew how to do it. We never said how often, or who owned it. That's the whole failure. The second one wasn't about how we made the part at all. We've got parts that pass every spec on the print, the customer agrees they pass, and the customer still can't use them. That's the conversation nobody wants to have out loud, so I'm having it here. I walk through both failures, what they cost us, and the three changes we made so neither one can happen the same way twice. What's Covered in this Episode(0:00) Whose fault is it when engineers tighten tolerances instead of doing the functional design work(0:45) Two long term jobs, two failures at once, and only one of them was on us(2:14) The staffing moves that left our quality department fragile, and the five whys that found what actually broke(4:34) Part A: a failure with time-blocked accountability and in-process checks(5:40) Part B: A customer rejecting parts against a revision they never sent us(7:42) Sign up for the machine giveaway sponsored by DN Solutions and Kennametal(8:27) Two shades of turquoise (parts may pass every spec and the customer still rejects it)(12:16) Work on a solution with your customer that is mutually beneficial(13:58) What we learned from part A and part B(14:40) An investment in ProShop ERP is an investment in your business(16:16) What we changed: Better systems and time blocking based on roles(17:49) What we’re still working on: quarterly system reviews(18:37) We're not qualified because of titles, we're qualified because we have scarsResources MentionedMakingChips Machine GiveawayIMTSHennigProShop ERPDN SolutionsKennametalConnect with Jamie MarzilliConnect with Jamie on LinkedInMarzilli MachineMakingChips

  5. Aug 21

    8. Buy the Shop Now or Go Work in One First?

    Tom Brown came back for round two, and this time we tackled the question that could change everything: Should he buy a machine shop now, or go work in one first? He has his eye on a highly certified, 40-person shop serving prime customers, but buying it means taking on serious financial and operational risk. We break down what actually matters before signing: quality systems, tribal knowledge, employee retention, training, customer health, and whether the business can survive losing key people. I also challenged Tom on his lack of technical experience and shared a cautionary story about a shop that unraveled after one critical employee left. I wasn't trying to talk him out of buying a shop. I wanted to see if he could be talked out of it. He didn't budge. That's why I think he's got a shot. What's Covered in this Episode(1:08) Why Tom sees trade shows as his fastest way to add value(2:15) Cobots versus caged robots(3:53) Manufacturers reps, veteran owned status, and the ISO 9001 and AS9100 wall to climb(6:01) Quality management versus quality control (and why customers care about your systems)(7:40) Why you need to check out the Hennig Workflow Automation System(8:31) How much capital you can raise decides everything about the deal you get(10:38) Family culture, and why I’m considering slowing our growth rate(11:15) The SBA caps manufacturing loans (and where to cap your spend)(15:53) Why I would rather make parts than run the business(18:24) What happens to guys who retire and stop(19:49) Why the shop runs on teaching, not on yelling(21:42) Can you succeed in this without coming up as a machinist?(22:48) Head to the IMTS Industrial AI Conference, Wednesday, September 16(23:38) The reshoring debate: tariffs, raw material, and the supply chain we never built(26:50) Local labor rates, global competition, and why no other trade has to do this(28:23) Venture capital is all over manufacturing: here's why(29:40) My job is to make you wonder if you’re doing the right thing (33:36) Create inspection plans without manual data entry with Ground Control(34:16) Tribal knowledge, why we haven't been back to the moon, and going paperless(35:55) The indicators that actually matter: turnover, training, days to pay, bankable customers(37:45) The stamping shop that lost one key employee and went out of business(39:10) De-risking the buy, building redundancy, and being first in and last outResources MentionedHennig Workflow Automation SystemIMTS Industrial AI ConferenceGround ControlProShop ERPMakingChips Machine Shop MBAThe Goal by Eliyahu GoldrattConnect with Tom BrownConnect with Tom Brown on LinkedIn

  6. Aug 7

    7. So You Want to Buy a Machine Shop With No Experience?

    Everybody wants to own a machine shop until they find out what it actually costs them. This time I sat down with Tom Brown, a guy who just walked out of Harvard with an MBA and seven years in the Marine Corps behind him, and he wants to buy a shop. Good for him. But I gave him the version nobody else will. You might work harder than anyone you've ever met for less money than you've ever made in your life. That's not me being negative. That's the truth about this business, and it's a truth just about every owner I know has lived through. We got into the whole thing. SBA 7A loans, seller financing, and why so many shops sit at break even on paper because they've quietly turned into lifestyle businesses. How a bank reads the books. What to check before you sign: how old the equipment is, how stable the customer list is, and how old the people on the floor are. Because here's the part that matters most. Owning a shop is like running a baseball team where every day is the playoffs. There's no triple-A farm club feeding you talent. Interview a hundred people and maybe one is a real class 3 machinist. The silver tsunami is real, a whole generation got pushed away from the trades, and if you lose your people you don't just lose the shop, you go bankrupt. So we talked about the real path in. Get a job at a shop first. Find a mentor. Maybe partner with somebody who already knows how to cut metal. Write the business plan, because you haven't started anything until you have. And understand cashflow like you know yourself, because payroll doesn't care about your bad month. If you've ever thought about owning a shop, start here. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) You might work harder than anyone you've ever met for less money than you've ever made (0:46) Meet Tom Brown: Seven years in the Marine Corps, then Harvard for an MBA (5:56) Buying a shop from a retiring owner vs a safe corporate career (9:07) Why buy a shop instead of starting one from scratch (11:40) Check out the IMTS Job Shops Workshop and Networking Reception (12:32) Owning a shop is like running a baseball team where every day is the playoffs (14:00) Why Massachusetts wins: MassMEP, MIT, WPI, and strong grant support (15:41) Why Tom chose manufacturing and land on machining (17:05) What size shop, SBA 7A loans, and seller financing (18:35) How banks read the books and the due diligence process (20:13) Workforce development issues (and what I do to combat that) (23:16) The machine mix at the show Tom is looking at (25:17) Investing in ProShop is an investment in your business  (26:52) Get a job at a shop first (and the 70 year old owner with no successor) (30:11) Days to pay, net terms, and how big customers finance on your back (33:15) Payroll could be 35,000 dollars a week—and a bad month can bury you fast (35:41) You haven't started buying a shop until you've written the business plan (37:05) Cashflow as the one universal truth, and why the show is called Raw Material Resources Mentioned IMTS Job Shops Workshop and Networking Reception ProShop ERP SBA 7(a) Loan Program MassMEP, the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership Connect with Tom Brown Connect with Tom Brown on LinkedIn

  7. Jul 24

    6. Why Small Shops Have the AI Advantage

    Everybody in this industry is getting sold the same scary story right now: AI is coming for your shop, and if you're small, you're finished. Chris Stevens, the MFG coach, and I think that's backwards. The little guys, the owner operators and the shops under 30 people, might be holding the strongest hand in the whole game. They're fast. They're nimble. They can move on this stuff over a weekend while the big primes are still stuck in a committee meeting and an Excel spreadsheet. We also get into the trap, because it's real. It's way too easy to burn six months building some AI tool to solve a 90 second problem. Feels like progress. Zero return. If you own the place, every hour you spend has to point back at one thing, and that's cash. And no, AI isn't taking your machinists' jobs. What it's actually doing is ripping out the admin that drags your best people off the floor. Clean data still wins. Relationships still win. DFM still wins. And the shops that treat their people like the IP they are are the ones that come out ahead. This one runs the whole gauntlet: the 50 billion dollar fear machine, why the best shops in the country stay invisible while the hellholes go viral, the dying apprenticeship, and whether these AI brains eventually end up driving robots on your floor. Let's get into it. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) The trap: burning six months to automate a 90 second problem (1:01) Chris Stevens: From the floor to the front office to consulting (3:43) A client who killed paid ads, leaned into LinkedIn, and filled his pipeline (6:48) The downside of AI: It can pull you off your core focus for weeks (7:31) The CRIT framework: context, role, interview, task (8:50) The one rule for entrepreneurs: is this going to produce cash? (10:39) Any investment in ProShop is an investment in your business (12:15) How 6 years of Industry 4.0 data became a company brain named Dex (16:32) Why clean, structured data is so undervalued (too many people use Excel)  (18:07) The 50 billion dollar narrative: fear sells, and layoffs weren't really about AI (19:35) The money goes to those who push AI to the edge, not those who build it (22:25) AI won't take jobs, it removes the barriers that stop good shops from competing (25:29) The five year vision: same price, twice the quality and tolerance (26:35) Role duplication and the knowledge crisis in our industry (30:41) Why Marzilli does DFM for free: sales through giving (31:27) Why you need to head to theIMTS Industrial AI Conference (34:08) Private equity and venture capital moving into manufacturing (36:14) Why manufacturing roll-ups fall apart: it's a bottom-up talent business (37:16) Culture matters: what happens after the owner or key manager leaves (41:19) Getting out of your bubble with NTMA, AMT, and community groups (47:10) Multimodal AI: cameras for eyes, mics for ears, sensors for touch (49:35) Why we created Hire MFG Leaders (and why you should use it) (50:04) Where humanoids win, and where one-off parts stop them cold (55:27) Why small to midsize shops are in the prime seat right now Resources Mentioned ProShop ERP IMTS Industrial AI Conference Hire MFG Leaders HighQA Inspection Manager NTMA  AMT Hadrian Connect with Chris Stevens The Home of MFG Connect with Chris on LinkedIn

  8. Jul 10

    5. I Started a Machine Shop on a Dare. Here's the Real Story.

    Everybody wants the highlight reel. The 13,000 square foot shop, the wall of CNC machines, the certifications on the wall. Nobody wants to hear about the two toilets, the seven parking spots for 26 people, or the rigger who sliced a neighbor's Tahoe clean in half. That's exactly the part we're telling you today. This is the first episode Lee and I have done together, so we figured we'd start where it all started. We met on match.com back in 2010. A few months in, she told me to go get a job. I did, hated it, and then she dared me to start my own shop. That dare turned into Marzilli Machine. We walk through the stuff the how-to-start-a-business books skip right over. Writing a real business plan with the SBA. Convincing a bank to bet on you. Zoning, remediation, and finding a building nobody could ever find. Starting with one 1997 Haas and a surface grinder in a garage wedged between apartment buildings in Fall River. We also get into the grind nobody brags about. Eighty to a hundred hour weeks. Sleeping on a pullout couch at the shop. Doing payroll from a hospital bed and again before the honeymoon. Moving 22 machines in three days with 35 Gaylords and a spreadsheet. And the certifications that decide what work you're even allowed to quote, from ISO to AS9100 to a CMMC bill that's pushing good owners into retirement. If you're working for somebody right now and wondering what it takes to go out on your own, this one's for you. No fluff, no filters. Just how it actually happened. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) A rigger forgets to pull the truck wheels in and slices a neighbor's Tahoe in half (1:09) How Lee and I met on match.com (and why she thought I was a jobless bum) (2:30) Quitting a boss who didn't get the shop floor, and the dare to start my own (3:07) Writing the first business plan, plus Lee's MBA and machining family (5:01) The SBA and MSBDC, and pinning down rent, power, payroll, and equipment (7:07) What the bank really wants, plus zoning, remediation, and a grandfathered shop (10:18) ProShop ERP: why I invested in myself first and saw ROI in weeks (11:54) One 1997 Haas, bad electrical, 7 parking spots, and moving 22 machines in 3 days (14:47) Lee joining the business and achieving significant growth (15:38) Why UPS and DHL wreck your parts, and how to package aerospace work (17:04) Lee back at work days after giving birth to make a client meeting (18:55) The grit nobody brags about: 80 to 100 hour weeks and sleeping at the shop (20:12) The certs that unlock better work, and what ISO, AS9100, and CMMC really cost (21:57) Owners aging out, shops closing, and private equity consolidating the industry (22:38) Elevate at IMTS 2026: leadership and community with AMT and Women in Manufacturing (23:30) Lee's side of the shop: HR, books, financials, and financing the move (24:38) My road from machinist at 15 to shop owner, and learning to lead (27:30) Turning tribal knowledge into work orders, and splitting online from offline work (29:17) What's next: solo deep-dives, Lee's interviews, and guests Resources Mentioned ProShop ERP Elevate at IMTS 2026 Titans of CNC Academy U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Connect with Jamie & Lee Marzilli Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn Connect with Lee on LinkedIn Marzilli Machine

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About

Raw Material is about the people behind the parts. The owners, machinists, operators, builders, and problem-solvers who carry the weight, make the calls, fix the messes, and keep the work moving. This podcast gets into the pressure, the failures, the lessons, and the wins that come with life in manufacturing. No fluff. Just real conversations about pushing people, not buttons.

Information

  • Creator
    Jamie Marzilli
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Jamie Marzilli
  • Show Website
    Raw Material

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