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Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders

Manufacturing is challenging, but if you are connected to a community of leaders, you can elevate your skills, solve your problems and grow your business! MakingChips was launched in 2014 to equip and inspire the metalworking nation. Hundreds of episodes and a million downloads later, it’s an industry-leading source of information, inspiration, and entertainment for manufacturing leaders of all types. It’s hosted by Jason Zenger and Nick Goellner, two multi-generational manufacturing leaders, and they’re joined by a rotating panel of expert guests – including Titan Gilroy (TITANS of CNC), John Saunders (NYC CNC), Mark TerryBerry (Haas Automation), and many more. Join us as we tackle the topics that keep you up at night - leadership, operations, technology, growth, workforce development and culture.
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Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders
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Now displaying: July, 2023
Jul 31, 2023

How do you grow a business while raising a family? When you and your spouse are business partners, how do you choose what to prioritize and when? Matthew and Lindsey Nix have been navigating this challenging road together for years.

In the second part of a two-part episode (check out episode #1 first), Matthew and Lindsey share some of the lessons they’ve learned about leadership and family life. Because if you aren’t making chips, you aren’t making money—and you aren’t providing for your family. BAM!

– Jason

Segments

  • [0:20] Learn more about Oracle Netsuite
  • [3:00] The BIG news: Baby #4 is on the way!
  • [4:47] What’s more important: The business or the marriage?
  • [6:11] What’s the chip on your shoulder?
  • [9:34] Set boundaries for each other
  • [12:50] Overcoming the negative voice in your head
  • [14:49] “Treat people like you would want your kids to be treated.”
  • [17:56] The Lean Setup Guide from ProShop
  • [18:36] Balancing the kids and the business

Resources mentioned on this episode

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Jul 26, 2023

What is it like to be married to your business partner? Especially when both people are very involved in the business. The metalworking industry is dominated by family-owned businesses. I’d love to see more husbands and wives team up to grow manufacturing together. In the next two episodes of MakingChips, special guests Lindsey and Matthew Nix share what it’s like to grow a business as a united front. Because if you aren’t making chips together, you aren’t making money. BAM! 

Segments

  • [0:22] The Lean Setup Guide from ProShop
  • [3:28] Introducing today’s guests: Matthew & Lindsay Nix
  • [7:13] Manufacturing News: We Need More Hybrid Cars
  • [14:58] How Lindsey became part of the business
  • [17:57] What catapulted their major growth
  • [19:25] Lindsey’s role throughout the years
  • [23:50] The challenges of a married couple working together

Resources mentioned on this episode

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Jul 17, 2023

Are you embracing automation in your shop? Or are you hesitating because you’re unsure how to implement it so that you’re making the best use of your time and money? Brian Kippen—the owner and CEO of KAD Models & Prototypes—reframes how you can use automation. 

In this episode of MakingChips, Brian Kippen, Steve DeGrasse, and I share how you can approach automation from a different perspective. Because if you’re not automating efficiently, you’re not MakingChips, and if you’re not MakingChips, you’re not making money. BAM!

– Nick

Segments

  • [0:15] The Lean Setup Guide from ProShop
  • [1:48] Introducing Brian Kippen and Steve DeGrasse
  • [3:12] What's the Chip on Your Shoulder?
  • [5:30] Brian Kippen’s origin story
  • [20:36] How Brian approaches automation differently 
  • [24:28] Running his company like a barbershop
  • [30:21] What Brian looks for in new talent
  • [36:44] How Brian is using automated pallet delivery
  • [41:10] Why Brian took a job as a high school teacher

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Jul 10, 2023

I created a campaign to build awareness for machinists. Why? Because, sadly, the general public knows very little about manufacturing. They don’t look around them and see what we see: That almost everything is machined. 

So in this episode of MakingChips, I’ll share a few ways you can highlight manufacturing in your communities. It’s not just to build awareness but to also grow interest in manufacturing in the next generation. Because what would happen if no one was MakingChips?

– Paul Van Metre

Segments

  • [2:51] Leadership Spotlight: Jacob Sanchez
  • [5:17] Everything is influenced or created by machines
  • [9:28] What inspired #ThankAMachinist 
  • [11:00] The Lean Setup Guide from ProShop
  • [12:19] How to shine a spotlight on manufacturing 

Resources mentioned on this episode

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Jul 3, 2023

Paul Van Metre is no stranger to MakingChips, and we’ve shared his story before. But this time, we’re looking at it through a whole new lens. Paul and his partners started in the industry running a machine shop. Then, it morphed into a software company: ProShop. What started as a solution to their problems became a solution for thousands of businesses. 

How has ProShop become a game-changing ERP? How are they growing and supporting the industry at large? Find out in this episode of MakingChips. Because if you’re not making an impact, you’re not MakingChips. And if you’re not MakingChips, you’re not making money. BAM!

– Nick

Segments

  • [0:16] The Lean Setup Guide from ProShop
  • [1:39] The manufacturing community down under
  • [4:44] Lessons for Manufacturing Leaders
  • [12:42] What’s more fulfilling to Paul?
  • [13:54] From PRO CNC to ProShop ERP
  • [16:58] Proving the concept
  • [19:12] Will ProShop ERP grow to other industries?
  • [24:19] How ProShop supports the industry at large
  • [31:11] What’s next for ProShop ERP?

Resources mentioned on this episode

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