54. The Virtues of Niche Manufacturing Excellence with Matt Gustafson from ClinkenbeardMatt grew up on the shop floor of Clinkenbeard, a business his father bought in the late 70s and he became a pattern maker. He is now the President and leads this incredible AS9100-certified company that specializes in highly complex 5-axis machined parts and highly specialized training devices for the defense and space industries. Picture a full-scale, 100% realistic model of an F35 engine for use by techn...

53. Father & Son Fun = Success at Mactech with Joel and Luke Wittenbraker from MactechMactech is a fascinating business that specializes in on-site machining services and equipment. It’s a very different type of business than a traditional machine shop where all work is done in a facility. Their company history is a fascinating one, and a fun one, where we learn that hard work and fun can go hand in hand with great success. Learn about this great story and company in this ente...

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

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

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

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 e...

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

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

46. Defense Industry Success with Derek Kowalski from LOC IndustriesDerek Kowalski was the second employee of LOC Industries when he was hired at the age of 19. He’s now the VP and co-owner of the shop that specializes in complex manufactured assemblies for the defense industry. Derek shares his story, which parallels the growth of LOC which focused on doing work directly for the DLA and the government as their main strategy when they started. They now serve the who’s-who of defense pri...

45. Process & Team for the Win with Mike Brown from Computer Integrated MachiningMike Brown is the CEO of Computer Integrated Machining in San Diego and Tempe. They specialize in complex, multi-axis part and assemblies for the aerospace and defense industry - especially from hard metals. Mike shares his journey, lessons learned, and his approach to growing a thriving, profitable business that supports his Porsche racecar habits. From the importance of building written processes, and...