22. Nobody Can Do It Better Than Me - Ron Wallace with Ace Machining
Manufacturing Transformed: Real Shops, Real Stories
Release Date: 02/05/2025
41: A Blank Slate Urban Machine Shop Concept - Matt Bruner of APW
Manufacturing Transformed: Real Shops, Real Stories
Matt Bruner, co-founder of American Precision Works (APW), shares the journey of launching a modern machine shop in urban Philadelphia with his partner, John Celley. Founded in October 2024, APW was built on a “clean slate” philosophy, emphasizing automation, streamlined systems, and a people-first approach. With complementary backgrounds (John in machining and Matt in sales and operations) they aimed to create a business that could train individuals without prior machining experience, using standardized processes and advanced technology to empower their workforce. Their urban location was...
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40: Shop Transformation Leads to the Largest PO Ever Received - Damon Snider
Manufacturing Transformed: Real Shops, Real Stories
Snider Precision began as a garage-based machine shop founded by Damon Snider’s father in 1978, growing organically over decades through grit, bold decisions, and a passion for machining. Damon started helping as a child, deburring parts and learning CNC operations before joining the Navy. After his father fired an unreliable crew, Damon returned to help and eventually took over the business, bringing fresh energy and a vision for modernization. Under Damon’s leadership, the shop transitioned from paper-based workflows to a fully digital system using ProShop ERP. This shift enabled better...
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39: Driving Excellence and Growth with Jeff Justesen of Oakdale Precision
Manufacturing Transformed: Real Shops, Real Stories
Oakdale Precision, a manufacturing company, transformed after adopting Pro Shop ERP. Previously reliant on a homegrown software system and tools like spreadsheets, whiteboards, and scattered network drives, the company faced challenges in scheduling, quality control, and tribal knowledge transfer. As the company grew, these limitations became unsustainable, prompting leadership to seek a more structured solution. Jeff Justesen tells how the transition to Pro Shop was facilitated with onboarding across departments. Floor staff quickly adapted to basic functions like scheduling and clocking...
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38: From Job Shop to OEM Manufacturer with Matt from Rise Armament
Manufacturing Transformed: Real Shops, Real Stories
Matt Torres is the Founder of Rise Armament, a company that manufactures drop-in triggers, rifles, and other firearm accessories. Rise Armament was founded in 2012 as a job shop specializing in contract work for the oil and gas, as well as aerospace industries. Around 2014 or 2015, Matt began designing a drop-in trigger as a side project, driven more by personal interest than business intent. However, when the oil market collapsed in late 2015, the company pivoted fully into firearms manufacturing, launching its own product line under the Rise Armament brand. By 2016, they had phased out...
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37: The 3rd Generation Takes the Reigns at Gurecky Manufacturing
Manufacturing Transformed: Real Shops, Real Stories
Gurecky Manufacturing, a third-generation family-owned machine shop, has evolved from humble beginnings in a garage to a 42,000-square-foot facility with over 60 employees. Founded in 1983 by Kellen Montpetit’s grandfather, the company has long served the oil and gas sector, though recent efforts aim to diversify into aerospace and other industries. Kellen, now part of the ownership group, and Andrew Sulak, a longtime employee who feels like family, share their journey of modernizing the business while preserving its legacy. Despite its size and complexity, the company maintains a...
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36: Accidental Machine Shop Owner-Dan Fifer with Lane4 Precision
Manufacturing Transformed: Real Shops, Real Stories
Dan Fifer, Founder of Lane4 Precision, shares his unconventional journey into manufacturing after a 20-year career in medical device engineering. Frustrated by long lead times in R&D, he set out to build a high-performance machine shop to support fast-paced development cycles. Despite having no prior machining experience, he took a leap of faith, selling his house to buy a Citizen L20 Swiss screw machine after learning his parts required that level of precision. Launching the shop was a risk, but momentum grew quickly. Dan started part-time while still working at his previous job and...
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35: Hard for the Right Reasons - Paramount Machine
Manufacturing Transformed: Real Shops, Real Stories
Paramount Machine, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a well-established and highly diversified machine shop with around 70 employees and a wide range of machining capabilities. They specialize in CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine work, including complex operations such as multi-axis and five-axis machining, and serve multiple industries, particularly the medical, defense, and x-ray equipment manufacturing sectors. John Rausch is the general manager at Paramount Machine with a background in machine tool sales, while Eric Van Orden, the founder’s son, started from the ground up and now...
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34: A Dream Come True - ERP, QMS & MES in One with Gioni Bianchini
Manufacturing Transformed: Real Shops, Real Stories
End 2 End Manufacturing didn’t start with high-tech machines or enterprise systems. It began as a contract welding shop focused on responsiveness, trust, and doing right by the customer. As the company grew, adding CNC machining, design, and prototyping capabilities, it became clear that tribal knowledge and whiteboards couldn’t sustain the pace. That’s where Gioni Bianchini, General Manager, saw an opportunity for real change. In this episode, Gioni Bianchini, the General Manager at End 2 End Manufacturing, shares the story of that transformation, how a lean but ambitious team...
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33: 4x Growth in 1.5 Years at Serbin Machining
Manufacturing Transformed: Real Shops, Real Stories
Shops can lose money quietly due to missed deadlines, rushed shipping, and confusion that no one wants to admit. The real issue is often buried in scattered paper records and knowledge locked in one person’s head. It feels normal until survival is at risk. At Serbin Machining, there was no pretending things would improve on their own. New owners saw the chaos immediately and decided to invest in ProShop ERP before even closing the deal. The goal was to replace guesswork with clear, live tracking of every job. Paper records and disconnected spreadsheets were out. Instead, the team could see...
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32: Designing and Growing an Ideal Machine Shop with Tim Rousseau
Manufacturing Transformed: Real Shops, Real Stories
Most shop owners don’t realize how much the structure and feel of their shop impact everything, including employee morale, customer trust, and long-term growth. Caught up in production chaos, they overlook the deeper issues holding them back: clunky systems, reactive decision-making, and a culture built on fear rather than trust. Tim Rousseau changed all that. He built Above All CNC to be clean, safe, and forward-thinking intentionally. His big shift? Ditching paper and guesswork for ProShop ERP. It gave his growing shop the structure it needed to handle complexity without the stress. Now,...
info_outlineIn this episode of Manufacturing Transformed, I sit down with Ron Wallace, the owner of Ace Machining, a leading job shop located in Nova Scotia, Canada. Ron shares the remarkable story of how he went from starting his business with just a few machines to now overseeing a thriving operation with advanced equipment like Swiss lathes, waterjets, and five-axis mills.
Ron’s journey has been filled with growth, challenges, and innovation. After years of trial and error, including multiple relocations and expanding the team, Ron realized that embracing technology was the key to taking his business to the next level. That's when Ace Machining turned to ProShop ERP—a game-changing decision that streamlined operations, enhanced communication, and improved efficiency across the shop floor.
In this episode, we learn how ProShop ERP has helped Ace Machining overcome common growing pains, such as managing material certifications, job costing, and reducing setup times. With the help of ProShop, Ron and his team were able to implement systems and processes that improved not only their operations but also their bottom line.
Ron also discusses the value of hiring the right people, delegating responsibilities, and investing in technology to fuel growth. This episode is packed with insights on how modernizing your manufacturing process can lead to incredible transformations—just like at Ace Machining.
LinkedIn - Ron: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-wallace-172a8627/
Ace Machining Ltd - https://www.acemachining.ca/about-us/
Buy Back Your Time - https://www.buybackyourtime.com/
Audio and Video Production and Show Notes by - PODCAST FAST TRACK