75. I’ve Seen It All: From Apprentice to Cars, Rockets, Implants & Robots – Jim Cooney
Release Date: 03/26/2025
78. The Power of Being Mission Driven - Court Durkalski of Truline Industries
Machine Shop Mastery
Most shop owners I talk to are focused on the usual things: keeping the machines humming, staying profitable, maybe planning for growth or succession. But what if the real unlock for your shop wasn’t more tech or tighter margins—but a completely different way of thinking about why your business exists in the first place? That’s what today’s episode is about. I sat down with Court Durkalski, CEO of Truline Industries, and honestly, this conversation hit me harder than most. Court runs a $23 million aerospace machining company with 120 employees—and they give away 10% of...
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77. Strategy & Execution Wins Customers - Matt Gawlik of 3D Graphite
Machine Shop Mastery
What happens when a serial entrepreneur with seven businesses under his belt decides to go all-in on graphite machining—and does it with some of the fastest, most precise equipment on the planet? You get Matt Gawlik, and in this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, he brings the heat. Host Paul Van Metre sits down with Matt to unpack a no-BS journey through business wins, failures, and the strategies that separate thriving shops from the ones barely hanging on. From his early roots in a multi-generational manufacturing family to building 3D Graphite into a tightly focused, high-performing...
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The Quiet Cut That's Loudly Threatening Small Manufacturing
Machine Shop Mastery
Most small manufacturers don’t realize they’re being quietly supported by one of the most impactful public-private partnerships in the country. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) has long been the hidden backbone behind training programs, grant facilitation, process improvements, and critical tech upgrades for shops across the U.S. But recent Federal decisions to defund these programs—without clear communication or reasoning—have sparked confusion and alarm among industry insiders. In this episode, a passionate roundtable of manufacturers and advocates reveals just how...
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76. Inside Secrets of a 200+ Machine Shop
Machine Shop Mastery
When I first heard about Screwmatics—a shop with over 200 machines, 110 employees, and 16 buildings—I knew I had to talk to the guy behind it. In this episode, I sit down with Billy Hogge, the second-generation leader of Screwmatics out of Pageland, South Carolina. His story is incredible. His parents started the company 37 years ago with just two screw machines, and today it’s grown into one of the largest and most efficient high-volume machining operations I’ve ever seen. We talk about how Billy and his team have scaled so effectively by staying relentlessly sales-driven—even when...
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75. I’ve Seen It All: From Apprentice to Cars, Rockets, Implants & Robots – Jim Cooney
Machine Shop Mastery
How do you go from being the kid who couldn’t sit still in class to leading the machine shop for one of Elon Musk’s most ambitious ventures? In this gripping and often jaw-dropping episode, I sit down with Jim Cooney—Head of the Machine Shop at Neuralink—for a raw and refreshingly honest conversation about resilience, reinvention, and the unconventional road to mastery in machining. While Jim isn’t a shop owner (my usual guest profile), his story offers every bit of the leadership lessons, grit, and insight that Machine Shop Mastery is known for. From his humble...
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74. From Employee to Employer - Adam Zimmer from Zimmer Design & Manufacturing
Machine Shop Mastery
Have you ever thought about what it takes to make the leap from employee to employer in the machining world? In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, I’m joined by Adam Zimmer, the founder of Zimmer Design & Manufacturing. Adam’s journey is a remarkable one—he went from working as a tool and die maker to owning and growing his own successful machine shop in just three years. What started as a one-person shop is now an operation with 11 employees, nine machines, and three shifts running. In our conversation, Adam reveals how he made this transition, from learning the ropes as an...
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73. A Recipe for Winning High-Volume Work - Marvin Rodriguez of True Precision Machining
Machine Shop Mastery
What if understanding the true cost of every part you produce could be the key to scaling your machine shop? In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, Paul Van Metre is joined by Marvin Rodriguez from True Precision Machining to explore the strategies that have driven the company’s remarkable growth. Marvin shares his journey from starting with little formal education to leading a high-performance machine shop that blends cutting-edge technology with a deeply rooted commitment to craftsmanship. The conversation covers essential topics that all machine shop owners and managers should...
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72. Tactics for Growth in 2025
Machine Shop Mastery
In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, Jason Davis, CEO of D&D Enterprises, is back for an insightful conversation on navigating growth and operational expansion in 2025. With nearly 26 years of experience in the machining industry, Jason shares his insights on scaling operations and avoiding the common pitfalls that come with growth. We dig into three main areas crucial for expanding your shop in the coming year: Adding capacity, improving sales and marketing, and managing new customer relationships. Jason dives into the specifics of adding shifts, particularly the challenges and best...
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71. Why Trust Is Essential for Continuous Improvement in Manufacturing per Kirk Phelps
Machine Shop Mastery
Today’s guest is Kirk Phelps from American Precision Partners, a key figure driving the growth and transformation of multiple machine shops. Kirk’s journey into machining began as a teenager in his dad’s shop, where he started on manual machines while attending trade school. After experiencing burnout, Kirk joined the Air Force and served for six years, eventually returning to machining with a fresh perspective. Through programming and a transition into management, Kirk discovered his passion for business development and leadership. Now, as Regional Manager at American Precision...
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70. How NTL Industries Leverages Social Media to Achieve Growth
Machine Shop Mastery
Greg McArthur’s journey in manufacturing began as a child sweeping floors and cleaning mats in his father’s machine shop. Over the years, he gained hands-on experience, evolving from a lathe hand to a skilled CNC machinist, estimator, and engineer. Eventually, Greg took a bold leap, bidding on a machine sight unseen on eBay and figuring out how to transport and operate it—foreshadowing his entrepreneurial spirit. In 2017, Greg founded NTL Industries in his garage while working a full-time job. By carefully building a financial foundation, he transitioned to renting a facility, leasing...
info_outlineHow do you go from being the kid who couldn’t sit still in class to leading the machine shop for one of Elon Musk’s most ambitious ventures?
In this gripping and often jaw-dropping episode, I sit down with Jim Cooney—Head of the Machine Shop at Neuralink—for a raw and refreshingly honest conversation about resilience, reinvention, and the unconventional road to mastery in machining.
While Jim isn’t a shop owner (my usual guest profile), his story offers every bit of the leadership lessons, grit, and insight that Machine Shop Mastery is known for.
From his humble beginnings as a high school co-op student in Canada, Jim details how a lack of direction became fuel for a deeply hands-on journey into the world of machining. With stories of brutal old-school shop cultures, tools thrown across the room, and managers who trained with tough love (and zero patience), Jim paints a vivid picture of how adversity shaped his technical excellence and emotional resilience.
But what really sets this episode apart is Jim’s transition from traditional tool & die work to the heart of Silicon Valley innovation. His career path took him from automotive stamping in Ontario to leading critical manufacturing efforts at Tesla, Apollo Fusion, and now Neuralink. He shares what it’s like building high-stakes, high-tech parts under pressure—and how working insane hours during Tesla’s “production hell” made him sharper, faster, and more adaptable.
If you want a peek into the mindset and muscle it takes to thrive in a fast-paced, bleeding-edge manufacturing environment—or you're looking for inspiration on how to grow through adversity—this episode delivers in spades.
You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in…
- (0:00) Jim kicks off with a fun story about getting a missile export license
- (0:14) Why you should complete the Modern Machine Shops Top Shops Survey
- (1:42) Learn about Jim Cooney and his unique journey in manufacturing
- (4:35) Jim shares how struggling in school led him to discover machining
- (8:00) Stories from his early days in tough, old-school Canadian machine shops
- (10:44) Jim explains Canada’s apprenticeship system and earning his Red Seal
- (14:19) Jim’s first exposure to CNC and CAM at Massiv Die Form
- (20:04) Why Jim quit on the spot after being massively undervalued
- (22:13) How Jim moved into machining instruction at a college
- (25:46) How teaching machining and coaching hockey built his leadership skills
- (28:27) A surprise text leads Jim to Tesla during “production hell”
- (31:17) Wild stories from Tesla’s stamping department and nonstop chaos
- (34:21) Navigating the die process at Tesla (repair work)
- (38:15) Creating a game-changing apprenticeship program inside Tesla
- (40:41) Moving into the startup world with Apollo Fusion and later Astra
- (46:00) Facing burnout, broken promises, and the tough side of acquisitions
- (48:58) Quitting Astro and joining Neuralink the day he got his green card
- (51:49) Jim’s experience working at Neuralink (and their trajectory)
- (57:12) Jim’s process choosing the machinery they needed
- (1:00:15) Building and growing a team with a high standard of excellence
- (1:03:37) Skills to acquire if you aspire to be in leadership
- (1:06:33) Why you need to check out the Lights Out podcast
Resources & People Mentioned
Connect with Jim Cooney
- Connect on LinkedIn
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Audio Production and Show Notes by - PODCAST FAST TRACK