Show overview
Machine Shop Mastery has been publishing since 2022, and across the 4 years since has built a catalogue of 132 episodes. That works out to roughly 140 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a fortnightly cadence.
Episodes typically run an hour to ninety minutes — most land between 58 min and 1h 9m — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. It is catalogued as a EN-US-language Business show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 6 days ago, with 33 episodes already out so far this year. Published by Paul Van Metre.
From the publisher
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.
Latest Episodes
View all 132 episodes130. Starting a Machine Shop at 60: How RPM Built a High-Performance Team
129. Leverage Everything: Bootstrapping a Profitable Metal Additive Shop
From WWII Origins to Modern Manufacturing: The HFW Industries Journey, Ep. #128
127. Building a Manufacturing Brand through Social Media and Storytelling
126. From Zero to $5B Market Cap in 13 Years
125. Benefits, Benefits and More Benefits of Lean, with Andrew Henry
124. Teamwork, Love, and Lean: The Leadership Philosophy Behind Altek's Success
123. A Daughter's Promise: Preserving Bedard Machine Through One of Life's Hardest Challenges
122. How Borg Design Built a 50-Machine Defense Manufacturing Powerhouse
121. Playing the Long Game in Machining with Chris Welch from Swissomation
120. From Startup to Seven Figures: Kenny Williams' Manufacturing Playbook
119. From Empty Spindles to a $3M Vision: Ashley Parent's Shop Revival
118. From a Garage Bridgeport to 5-Axis Growth: CazTek's 22-Year Journey
117. 12,000 Work Orders a Year: Managing Growth with Systems That Work
116. 80+ Years Strong: The Reinvention Playbook Behind Jergens' Growth
115. Building a Valuable, High Performance Shop
114. Success at the Convergence of Workforce Development & Automation with Brian Kippen
113. Inside a Defense Shop's Lights-Out Automation Build
112. From Zero to $50 Million: The Incredible Growth Story of P1 Industries
Ep 111111. "Create Joy Through Kindness": A Radical Approach to Manufacturing Success
What does it look like to build a manufacturing company where the primary purpose is to create joy through kindness? In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, Jean Pitzo of Ace Metal Crafts shares how that philosophy shaped her leadership approach and helped grow the company into a thriving, multi-division manufacturing organization. Her story challenges the traditional notion that success in manufacturing is driven solely by machines, margins, and throughput. Jean explains how her passion for developing people became the foundation of the company's culture. From emotional intelligence training and leadership book clubs to trust-based leadership and intentional coaching, Ace Metal Crafts invested heavily in helping employees grow as individuals. The result is a workplace where people collaborate, stay long-term, and take ownership of the business's success. The conversation also explores the financial realities behind this approach. Jean openly discusses years of reinvestment, lean cycles, and the decision to prioritize long-term stability over short-term profit. By sharing financials with employees and teaching them how the business actually makes money, she built transparency and accountability across the entire organization. Jean also shares practical insights into leadership development, recruiting, acquisitions, and scaling a manufacturing company without sacrificing culture. Her perspective offers a powerful reminder that sustainable growth comes from building leaders, trusting people, and creating an environment where employees genuinely want to win. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... (0:00) Learn more about Jean Pitzo and Ace Metal Crafts (7:16) Head to the DN Solutions Manufacturing Without Limits Event (8:14) Ace Metal Craft's growth trajectory over the years (10:06) Lean transformation and partnership with Toyota Production System (11:43) Building a trust-based culture through leadership investment (13:43) Book clubs and emotional intelligence training for employees (18:45) The motivation behind building a trust-based culture (21:35) Are you a good leader? How to build self-awareness (28:37) Get a free report of opportunities in your industry from FacturMFG.com/chips (29:42) Open-book management and teaching financial transparency (32:10) Measuring profitability using EBIT instead of gross margin (34:16) Developing leaders to support growth and acquisitions (34:55) Recruiting strategies and internal workforce development (38:27) "Make the bus safe" leadership philosophy (40:55) Why do we love SMW Autoblok? Their world-class workholding (42:08) Growth challenges including space, talent, and scaling (47:46) Relationship-driven sales and multi-level customer engagement (50:31) Final advice: invest in people and develop leaders Resources & People Mentioned Head to the DN Solutions Manufacturing Without Limits Event Get a free report of opportunities in your industry from FacturMFG.com/chips Why do we love SMW Autoblok? Their world-class workholding Are PE Firms Ruining Machine Shops? Connect with Jean Pitzo Ace Metal Crafts [email protected] Connect With Machine Shop Mastery The website LinkedIn YouTube Instagram Subscribe to Machine Shop Mastery on Apple, Spotify