Machine Shop Mastery Paul Van Metre

52. From Founding to Exit with Keith Bernardo from M&K Engineering

The M&K Engineering story is a fantastic American Dream Story.  From immigrant founding parents, to the kids taking over the business, leading to an eventual successful exit to a much larger manufacturer.  Keith digs in deep on their story and the decisions and strategies that they employed to grow the team, the culture, and the client base. It becomes clear throughout the interview, why M&K was so successful. From learning from consultants and mentors, to their fanatical focus on culture, to intentionally building their vertical manufacturing capabilities, this is a brilliant study on how to do it right.  Get your notepad out and enjoy this episode with Keith Bernardo.

Follow Keith on Social Media:
Personal LI: /keith-bernardo
Company LI: /blue-zone-capital-partners
Website: www.bluezonecapitalpartners.com

51.  From Supply Chain to Shop Owner with Mark Heston from Colinear Machine

Mark Heston is the President of Colinear Machine in northern New Jersey. Colienear specializes in precision machined components and assemblies for the helicopter and aircraft landing gear industries. Mark and his partners bought the business in 2022 and have engineered huge changes and growth in the business in the past 2 years.

The turnaround story is one you won’t want to miss, and includes some difficult conversations with clients on some necessary price increases, some massive changes to how they plan and engineer their jobs, and a lot of intentional work on their culture and managing change with their team.  Combine that with the insights that he shares having spent years on the supply chain side of the aerospace industry, with advice for shops serving the industry, and this is an episode you don’t want to miss.


About Colinear Machine:
Colinear Machine & Design's mission is to utilize innovation-driven engineering and manufacturing techniques to produce high-quality products for the aerospace industry. Our team of engineers designs and programs complex, high-precision parts utilizing top-of-the-line manufacturing equipment. AS9100 and ISO9001 certified, they are committed to maintaining the highest quality standards in the aerospace industry.

Follow Mark and Colinear Machine on social media:
Mark's LI: /mark-heston
Company LI: /colinear

50. From Tragedy to Rebirth with Ashley Parent of Mills Machine Works

When Greg Mills was diagnosed with cancer, he had only a few months to live. His children, Ashley, John and Megan decided they wanted to carry on the family legacy that their dad and mom had started. So they jumped into learning as much about the business as they could, with the precious few weeks that their father had left. From that challenging transition comes a story of rebirth of what Mills Machine Works would look like in the future. Ashley shares the inspring and personal family story and her journey to become the president of their family machine shop.


About Mills Machine Works:
Mills Machine Works, inc. is a second generation family owned Machine Shop based in Lawrence, MA specializing and prototype and short run production CNC milled and lathe parts for the Defense, Space, Aerospace, Medical Device and Semiconductor industries.

Follow Ashley and Mills Machine works on social media:
LI: /millsmachineworks
IG: @millsmachineworks
Website: www.MillsMachineWorks.com

 49. Origins, Growth, and Lessons from a $60M Machining Company

Matt Wardle is the president and owner of JD Machine, a three generation family-run precision machining business in Ogden Utah with over 200 employees and doing $60M in revenue. Originally founded by his father, and now with Matt’s kids coming up in the business, JD Machine has realized huge success by focusing on their 4 key systems, core values and culture, and a continuous improvement mindset, among others. They’ve also endured some very challenging times - such as after 9/11. But with hard work and belief in the future, Matt and his team are now leading a very aspirational business that you’ll want to learn more about. Enjoy the episode!!

About JD Machine:
Founded in 1979, JD Machine Corp. is a world-class precision machining & fabrication shop that manufactures high value machined parts, sheet metal components and complex assemblies. JD Machine’s core services include: CNC Machining, CNC Turning, CNC Milling, Sheet Metal Fabrication and Assembly and Testing. JD Machine’s expertise spans a wide range of applications and industries with the ultimate focus on providing world-class precision machining services that meet and often exceed customer expectations.

Follow Matt and JD Machine on social media:
Personal LI: matt-wardle-a7a73014/
Company LI: /j-d-machine-corp.
Website: www.jdmachine.com
FB: /JDMachine
X: @JD_Machine

48. From Office Admin to Shop Owner with Allison Giddens of Win-Tech

Allison is the co-owner of Win-Tech in Kennesaw, Georgia. As an early 20-something, Allison took a leap of faith, and a 30% pay cut to work at her neighbor's machine shop, with the hope that someday it would lead to something great.  Fast forward 17 years later, and she owns and runs the shop with her co-owner! It’s an inspiring and fantastic story.  With nearly 2 decades of experience under her belt, Allison has a lot of wisdom to share about running a thriving machine shop, and also extra insight into what any shop in the defense sector needs to be paying attention to in 2024.

About Win-Tech:
Win-Tech is an AS9100-certified aerospace machine shop, making custom parts per customer specification. They provide in-house manufacturing services and many processes to suite customer needs. Win-Tech has been a member of the community for over 25 years, and is proud to be a part of the small business community.

Follow Allison and Win-Tech on social media:
Personal LI: /allisongiddens
Company LI: /win-tech-inc.
Website: win-tech.net

47. Big Vision = Big Success in the Space Industry with Nathan Bourgeois from Oroborous Space & Defense

Nathan Bourgeois is the founder and owner of Oroborous Space & Defense. Nate has an incredible story of success, founded from an audacious goal of building the best hardware that goes into space. That goal has driven him and propelled his company into a high-growth and profitable position, serving the who’s-who of the commercial space industry. You can’t miss this very inspiring and compelling story about why vision and mission is so critical to the success of a company.

About Oroborous Space & Defense:
Ouroboros Space and Defense specializes in multi-axis and mill-turn manufacturing solutions for complex, tight tolerance, and flight critical hardware.

Follow Nathan and Ouroboros on social media:
Company LI: /ouroboros-space-and-defense
Personal LI: /nathan-bourgeois-058219133