Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders

Getting laid off twice early in your career could make you crave stability. It did the opposite for Brian Balthasar. After two rounds of corporate layoffs, he decided that starting his own machine shop was the safer bet. This is another one of our Gen CNC conversations. Brian founded Balthasar Industries in 2022, and he just bought his first building in North Tonawanda, New York. We walk through t...

Most machine shops judge a good day by spindle time. If the machines are cutting, we're making money. If they're sitting still, something must be wrong. But what if keeping capacity open for the right customer is actually part of the product? That question kicks off our conversation with strategist Kaihan Krippendorff, who we met at MFG 2026 in Fort Lauderdale. Kaihan's big idea is that value is m...

Everybody in manufacturing knows the skills gap is real. Far fewer people are doing anything about it. That tension runs through this entire conversation, and it's why we're glad to have Kyra Tillman back on the show as part of our workforce development series. Kyra runs BTM Industries, a small job shop in Woodstock, Illinois, and she's a driving force behind the Manufacturing Pathways Consortium,...

Keith and Patrick Lee didn't start their machine shop with a giant facility, a full team, or a fleet of high-end equipment. They started with a Tormach in a one-car garage, a willingness to learn, and the belief that if they kept showing up, solving problems, and doing what they said they would do, they could build something real. In this episode of MakingChips, Keith and Patrick share the story b...

Some shop owners are born into machining. Others stumble into it through YouTube, side jobs, and a little bit of "sure, I think we can fit that D11 dozer cylinder on the mill." Leighton Hill's story has a little bit of all of it. In this episode of MakingChips, we continue our Gen CNC series with Leighton Hill of Hillco, a young shop owner from the Kansas City area who grew up around manual machin...

In manufacturing, everyone talks about the skills gap. Fewer people talk about the relationships, systems, and long-term commitment it takes to solve it. In this episode of MakingChips, we continue our GenCNC series by exploring a powerful partnership between Northridge High School and JD Machine, a collaboration that is creating a steady pipeline of young manufacturing talent and proving that wor...

Recorded live from the Toolpath Machining Summit at Mammoth Mountain, this episode of MakingChips explores what happens when software thinking collides with modern manufacturing. We sat down with SendCutSend founder Jim Belosic and CNC leader Phil Linscheid for a conversation about speed, automation, growth, and the changing realities of manufacturing in America. What started as frustration sourci...

What happens when a young woman with zero machining experience gets handed the keys to two CNC mills and told, "Figure it out"? For Melissa Ramos, it became the start of a journey that's equal parts grit, creativity, community, and stubborn determination. In this episode of MakingChips, we sit down with the founder of M95 Machining to unpack how she went from crashing machines, crying in shop bath...

What if the future of your machine shop isn't just faster spindles or more automation—but an entirely different way of making parts? In this episode of MakingChips: Generation CNC, we sit down with David Bamforth of Renscott Manufacturing, a young entrepreneur who's not just building a shop—he's redefining what one can be. By combining CNC machining with metal additive manufacturing, David has pos...

What happens when global policy decisions collide with the realities of the shop floor?  In this episode of MakingChips, the team sits down with Brennan Grignon, founder and CEO of Vantive, to unpack the hidden complexity behind supply chains that power everything from defense systems to everyday manufacturing.  With experience advising at the highest levels of government, Brennan brings a rare pe...

Sometimes the path into manufacturing isn't a straight line but more like a ricochet. That's exactly how Mark Christopher's journey began. From nearly flunking out of college to becoming a key voice at DN Solutions, Mark's story is a testament to what happens when curiosity meets opportunity. What started as a fallback plan quickly evolved into a 30-year career built on solving problems, challengi...

Finding skilled talent isn't the problem anymore, it's  developing  it. And in manufacturing, the shops that win aren't just the ones with the best machines, they're the ones connected to the right pipeline. In this episode, we sit down with Gary Nadeau of Westfield Technical Academy, a program that has been quietly producing highly capable machinists for decades. With a structure that blends clas...

What does the next generation of manufacturing ownership really look like? In this episode of MakingChips, we sit down with Mason Nicholas, a 21-year-old shop owner who's building his business one machine, one customer, and one sleepless night at a time. His journey didn't start with a formal apprenticeship or engineering degree. It started with motorcycles, model cars, a 3D printer, and a curiosi...

What happens when a college engineering student buys a CNC machine just to experiment… and accidentally builds an aerospace machine shop? That's exactly what Nick Preece did. What started as a curiosity fueled by YouTube videos and garage tinkering quickly evolved into Preece Machining & Assembly, a fast-growing shop focused on complex, high-mix aerospace work. In this Gen CNC episode, Nick shares...

What happens when a childhood obsession with trains turns into a manufacturing business? In this episode of MakingChips Generation CNC, we sit down with Chris Huffman, a young shop owner who launched Huffman Machining Solutions at just 21 years old. Now 26, Chris is building his business one machine, one customer, and one calculated risk at a time. Chris didn't grow up in a machining family, and h...

They started a machine shop before turning 30… and doubled their projections in year one. In this episode of MakingChips Generation CNC, we sit down with Sean and Sinjon of Three Rivers Precision to hear how two mechanical engineers turned hands-on curiosity into a high-end machining business focused on five-axis work, titanium, and complex parts. What began in a university machine shop quickly ev...

Automation and lights-out manufacturing are often framed as the future of machining, but for many shops that future is already here. In this episode of MakingChips, we sit down with longtime industry leader Keith Grano to talk about what lights-out machining actually looks like in practice. Drawing on years of experience working with manufacturers, Keith explains how automation, machine monitoring...

At 17 years old, Michael King bought a brand-new CNC machine despite  never having seen one in person . With no formal trade school background or apprenticeship, he relied on years of self-directed learning, curiosity, and a steady stream of YouTube machining content to take the leap. He sectioned off space in his dad's warehouse, installed a Haas DM2, and started figuring it out in real time. Wha...

In this episode of MakingChips, we continue our young founders series with a story that challenges the traditional growth narrative in manufacturing.  At just 26, Walter Peters is balancing a full-time job at a defense-focused shop with building MW Machine Co. from a modest 500-square-foot industrial unit. Walter didn't start with a big loan or a brand-new machine. He bought a used CNC mill for $6...

What happens when a 26-year-old machine shop kid decides the real bottleneck in American manufacturing isn't machining—it's metal supply? In this episode, we sit down with Zane Hengsperger, founder and CEO of Knox Metals, to talk about building a modern service center powered by AI, automation, and software. Zane's mission is bold: supply every factory in America in under 24 hours at a fair, trans...

Recorded live from McCormick Place in Chicago, this episode marks the official kickoff of the MakingChips journey toward IMTS 2026. With nine months to go, we sit down with two leaders helping shape the show itself: Michelle Edmondson, Vice President of Exhibitions for IMTS, and Bonnie Gurney, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Industry Relations. What unfolds is a behind-the-scenes look...

This episode of  MakingChips  is different from most conversations we have on the show, and it needed to be. In late 2025, the manufacturing community was shaken by the murder of Amber Czech, a welder who was killed by a coworker after reporting harassment multiple times. That tragedy forced many of us to confront an uncomfortable truth: workplace violence and harassment are not abstract issues. T...

Starting a machine shop doesn't always begin with a perfectly laid business plan, a polished facility, or years of hands-on experience. Sometimes it starts in a garage, with curiosity, YouTube videos, and a willingness to figure things out one mistake at a time. In this episode of  MakingChips , we sit down with brothers James and Sean Cerven to talk about how they built their shop from the ground...

Launching a CNC shop young comes with no shortage of advice — but not all of it comes from experience earned the hard way. In this episode, we bring in  Larry Robbins  to speak directly to the next generation of shop owners. Larry has spent decades building companies, leading teams, and navigating growth, failure, and reinvention inside manufacturing. Instead of talking tools or tactics, this conv...

Manufacturing doesn't always start with a perfectly funded plan or a shop full of machines. Sometimes it starts in a garage, with curiosity, grit, and a willingness to learn by doing. In this episode, we sit down with Caleb Harris, founder of Covenant Manufacturing, to talk about what it really looks like to start a CNC business at a young age. Caleb didn't inherit a shop or wait until everything...