Machine Shop Mastery copertina

Machine Shop Mastery

Machine Shop Mastery

Di: Paul Van Metre
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The Machine Shop Mastery Podcast helps to elevate the importance of the machine shop industry and reveal the secrets of success for machine shops, to inspire other shop owners or would-be shop owners to follow their passions, start and grow their shops to be an economic driver for our economy and their stakeholders.© 2025 Machine Shop Mastery Economia Gestione e leadership Leadership
Episodi
  • 138. From a Dining Room Drill Press to 276-Inch Wing Spars: The Volumatic Story

    138. From a Dining Room Drill Press to 276-Inch Wing Spars: The Volumatic Story
    Oct 14 2026
    Every machine shop has an origin story, but not many start with a drill press on the family dining room table and grow into a company machining 276-inch wing spars for military aircraft. In this episode, I sit down with Joey Schmucker and Alyssa Da Costa, the brother-and-sister team leading Volumatic, a third-generation family-owned machine shop in Macon, Georgia. What started with their grandfather in 1969 has grown into a highly specialized defense manufacturer with approximately 25 employees and a reputation built over decades. What fascinated me most was the sheer scale of their work. We're talking about massive structural components that can require weeks of machining, creative fixturing, and multiple setups just to complete a single part. But the business challenges are equally interesting. Volumatic doubled its sales last year and is experiencing tremendous growth again this year. Joey and Alyssa share how they're navigating that expansion, managing expensive materials and cash flow, and protecting the customer relationships that have fueled their success. We also get into why they're willing to turn down work rather than promise delivery dates they can't meet, and how smaller, quick-turn jobs have become an unexpected financial advantage. We also explore one of the biggest challenges facing established shops today: transferring decades of knowledge before experienced employees retire. With several team members approaching 30 years at Volumatic, Joey and Alyssa are figuring out how to preserve that expertise while developing the next generation of machinists. From navigating volatile material prices to deciding when a multimillion-dollar machine investment makes sense, this conversation offers a fascinating look at the decisions behind a growing, multigenerational manufacturing business. Segments (0:00) Introducing Volumatic and its third-generation leadership(5:03) Inside a shop specializing in massive defense components(6:10) Kennametal designs tooling for the real world of the shop floor(6:59) From a dining room drill press to a family manufacturing legacy(9:13) Finding a niche in aerospace and defense, building customer relationships, and diversifying(13:35) Creating a family-oriented culture that retains employees for decades(15:00) Recruiting and developing machinists from within(17:18) Why finding qualified, motivated employees remains the biggest challenge(18:07) Check out the Hennig WorkFlow automated pallet delivery system(18:59) Managing scrap risk when machining extremely expensive parts(22:14) Weighing the risks and opportunities of investing in larger machines(25:24) Managing rapid growth and increasing production demands(27:03) How quality, on-time delivery, and customer scorecards drive growth(30:35) How Navu can get your customers reliable and accurate answers in real time(31:48) Negotiating lead times and managing outside processing delays(37:32) Using quick-turn jobs to improve cash flow(40:25) Balancing production schedules with jobs requiring weeks of machining(43:27) Navigating rising tooling costs and volatile raw material prices(46:11) Strategies for protecting material pricing and managing financial risk(49:14) Why you should check out the Lights Out podcast(49:39) Preparing for retirement and preserving decades of tribal knowledge(53:32) Introducing the next generation to machining careers(55:06) Advice for building lasting customer relationships and winning new business(58:12) Navigating CMMC cybersecurity compliance in defense manufacturing(1:00:07) Final thoughts and connecting with Volumatic Resources Mentioned Volumatic, Inc.Boeing DefenseDefense Logistics Agency (DLA)MastercamCMMC Cybersecurity RequirementsNIST SP 800-171 How to Connect with the Guests Joey Schmucker on LinkedInAlyssa Da Costa on LinkedInVolumatic on LinkedInVolumatic WebsiteEmail: info@volumatic-usa.com
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    1 ora e 2 min
  • 137. Building More Than Parts: How Chris King Creates Products, Jobs and Community

    137. Building More Than Parts: How Chris King Creates Products, Jobs and Community
    Oct 7 2026

    A beautifully machined bicycle component might get your attention. But what does it take to build a company that earns that same loyalty for 50 years?

    In this episode, I sit down with Kirby Bedsaul, president of Chris King Precision Components, to explore the business behind an iconic cycling brand. From bearing production to the finishing details that make their parts look like jewelry, there's a remarkable amount happening behind the factory doors in Portland, Oregon. And some of their most interesting decisions have as much to do with what they value as what they manufacture.

    We get into owning your processes, building a workplace people want to stay in, and finding capable employees beyond the usual hiring pool. Kirby also shares the pressures of keeping manufacturing local—and why an empty factory represents a much bigger loss than the jobs inside it.

    Whether you make bicycle components or run a job shop, this conversation raises some worthwhile questions about the business you're building, the people you're trusting, and what your community gains when you succeed.

    What's Covered in this Episode
    • (0:00) Kirby on rallying yourself as a leader on a bad day, and owning the apology
    • (1:01) Introducing Kirby Bedsaul and Chris King Precision Components
    • (6:50) Hennig Workflow: automated pallet delivery that adds spindle uptime without adding headcount
    • (7:41) High-end bicycle component manufacturer: products that wear-in, not out
    • (10:41) Owning every process so you control cost, performance, and what happens to the waste
    • (12:11) The anodizing partnership and why finish is make or break
    • (16:42) Walnut shells, dry paste tumbling, and a plant with no wastewater permit
    • (19:37) Hire MFG Leaders: recruiters who are current and former shop owners
    • (20:06) The benefits package, the bike commute challenges, and funding a program so it works
    • (25:56) Hiring for mechanical aptitude instead of experience and explaining the job
    • (32:00) Navu: AI chat trained on your own website content so buyers get answers fast
    • (33:12) How transparent to be with numbers, and why Kirby shares revenue instead of EBITDA
    • (36:46) Working leads on the floor, and the daily scrap, quality, and DMR meetings
    • (37:52) The empty buildings in his neighborhood, and what's pushing shops five miles out
    • (44:48) Ground Control: automated FAI generation and PO review for aerospace and defense
    • (45:28) West Coast costs, tariffs, and exporting without a tariff department on staff
    • (48:13) Why you should be targeting an unreasonable amount of margin
    • (49:57) Hire people way smarter than you and put the ego in your pocket
    • (53:15) Clarity and elevate the team as core values, and why leadership is hard
    Resources Mentioned
    • Hennig Workflow
    • Hire MFG Leaders
    • Navu
    • Ground Control
    • ProShop ERP
    • Portland Community College
    • Mount Hood Community College
    Connect with Kirby Bedsaul
    • Chris King Precision Components
    • Connect with Kirby on LinkedIn
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    57 min
  • 136. Building a Precision Business, Not Just a Precision Shop with M3 Aerospace

    136. Building a Precision Business, Not Just a Precision Shop with M3 Aerospace
    Sep 30 2026
    Plenty of shops machine parts to a tenth and then run the business on guesswork. Sebastian Montalvo is building M3 Aerospace the other way, with the same precision behind the desk as on the floor, and three years in, that's exactly why they're growing as fast as they are. I'll be honest, this one got to me. He's running a shop that behaves like it's been around for twenty years with a hundred people on the floor, and there are thirteen of them. Every step of the workflow went up on a whiteboard with one question attached to it: where can this go wrong, and what do we put in place so it doesn't? People told him he was exaggerating. He kept going anyway. We got into the practical side of it too. How he used Xometry to buy himself immediate demand while he learned the market, then deliberately diversified off it. Why he made compliance the North Star instead of an afterthought, and what it took to earn AS9100, ISO, ITAR, and CMMC without hiring a consultant to do it for him. How he's hiring in a city most people overlook, and why paying above the local average is a strategy and not a cost. The cash flow conversation is worth the listen on its own. He's turned down large RFQs, not because the shop couldn't make the parts, but because he couldn't float a bill of materials that size and then wait months to get paid. If you've ever had to say no to work you were fully capable of doing, you already know how that feels. And then there's the part I didn't expect. His mom opens the door to every new unit they take on. His dad is there at five in the morning, after three years without a day off. When I asked Sebastian what keeps him going, he didn't say revenue or contracts. He said his parents. I've talked to a lot of shop owners on this show. This one I'll be thinking about for a while. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Sebastian on tracking the reshoring shift and getting certified before the demand arrived(1:03) Why this conversation with Sebastian Montalvo of M3 Aerospace has me choked up(3:09) Going all in with his father while starting a part time MBA at Berkeley(5:17) Two CNCs under a tent to 10,000 square feet, 15 machines, and AS9100, ISO, ITAR, and CMMC(5:49) Immigrating from Ciudad Juarez at 10, and a father who ran side businesses after teaching all day(8:16) Grow your top and bottom line with CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA)(9:07) Why he never claims to be a machinist, and who gives a brand new shop work(10:15) Buying immediate demand through Xometry, then deliberately diversifying off it(12:53) Why aerospace and defense (and making compliance the North Star from day one)(14:27) Earning AS9100 and ISO without a consultant and mapping every workflow risk on a whiteboard(18:00) Why running the business deserves the same precision as running the parts(19:24) Why you need to talk to Verdant Commercial Capital to finance your equipment(21:48) The banks that said no, and the $90,000 job that tied up machines for eight weeks(23:08) Growing the team: maquiladora experience, trade schools, and paying above the local average(27:42) UTEP, the technical colleges, and the 250 acre advanced manufacturing district breaking ground(32:56) Getting a cage code, bidding through DLA, and the city consultants who scrape opportunities for free(38:35) Navu: Get reliable and accurate answers in real time(39:47) Set aside invitations from primes (and the first bid he and his dad built over Christmas)(42:04) Why cash flow, not capability, caps growth, and what supplier net terms changed(45:37) How Sebastian learned estimating and pricing for profitability (48:40) Moving his desk onto the shop floor and telling the team why he wants the data(51:13) Machine sensors, the spindle time gap, and discovering what packaging actually costs(55:47) Sebastian's most memorable experience building M3 with his parents(59:44) The real story behind the name M3 Aerospace Resources Mentioned CLAVerdant Commercial CapitalNavuXometrySAM.govPrecision Manufacturing, Precision Business by Paul Van Metre Connect with Sebastian Montalvo M3 AerospaceSebastian Montalvo on XSebastian Montalvo on LinkedInsebastian@m3-aerospace.com
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    1 ora e 3 min
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