75. I’ve Seen It All: From Apprentice to Cars, Rockets, Implants & Robots – Jim Cooney
Release Date: 03/26/2025
92. Are PE Firms Ruining Machining? A New & Better Model for Buying Shops with Mark Hillenburg
Machine Shop Mastery
Over the last decade, I’ve watched private equity surge into the machining world — and I’ve seen firsthand how often the short-term flip-in-five-years strategy ends up hurting shops, people, customers, and entire supply chains. While the capital can help, the incentives often drive decisions that weaken the very businesses PE firms acquire. But every now and then, someone comes along with a model that stops you in your tracks because it actually makes sense for our industry. That someone is Mark Hillenburg, co-founder of Collective Manufacturing Group, a company built on a...
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91. Passion and Excellence Personified with Ty Haguewood
Machine Shop Mastery
As a host, I’ve met hundreds of shop owners, but every once in a while, I meet someone whose story stops me in my tracks. Ty Haguewood, General Manager and CFO of Manufacturing Technologies, Inc. (MTI) and Stone Mather Designs (SMD), is one of those people. Ty didn’t grow up in manufacturing—he was a finance professional who took a random tour of a machine shop six years ago and walked out forever changed. What started as curiosity became a calling. Today, Ty helps lead two growing businesses north of Albuquerque, New Mexico—one serving precision aerospace customers and...
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90. Burnout Killed This Machine Shop
Machine Shop Mastery
When you’ve poured 46 years of your life into building a thriving precision machine shop—one that grew from a one-man garage to 50 employees, world-class equipment, and top-tier aerospace customers—you don’t expect it to end with burnout. In this deeply candid episode, I sit down with Cody Sisson, a lifelong machinist who built a remarkable business through decades of grit, innovation, and commitment to excellence—only to watch it collapse under the weight of exhaustion, health crises, and a perfect storm of setbacks. Cody opens up about the early days of his shop, the thrill of...
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89. Lessons Learned from Buying & Losing a Machine Shop | Mark Heston
Machine Shop Mastery
In this powerful and deeply candid conversation, I sat down with Mark Heston, who first appeared on Episode 51 to share his story of buying and rebuilding an aerospace machine shop specializing in landing-gear components. At that time, the business was on an upward trajectory — improving culture, repricing work, and investing in growth. But behind the scenes, hidden challenges were forming that would ultimately lead to an unexpected and difficult ending. In this follow-up episode, Mark opens up about what happened next—the liquidity crisis, the missteps in financial due diligence, and the...
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88. Learning, Building & Teaching with John Saunders
Machine Shop Mastery
I’ve admired John Saunders for a long time. Most of you probably know him as the force behind the NYC CNC YouTube channel, the Business of Machining podcast, and of course, Saunders Machine Works. John has been creating content, teaching, and inspiring machinists since long before it was “cool” to do so online. In fact, he’s one of the first people I think of when someone says they learned machining from YouTube. When we sat down for this conversation, I wanted to go deeper than the usual “how’d you get started” story. We talked about the real journey of moving from hobbyist to...
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87. People and Technology: Building an Enduring Shop
Machine Shop Mastery
When I think about the shops that inspire me most, it’s the ones that balance cutting-edge technology with a deep investment in people. That’s exactly why I loved sitting down with Steve and Eric Van Orden of Paramount Machine in Salt Lake City, Utah. Steve started Paramount back in 1995 with nothing more than a manual mill and a garage shop. Fast forward nearly three decades, and the company has grown into a 75-person operation with more than 30 machines, including palletized horizontals, multi-spindle lathes, and 5-axis mills. What impressed me most, though, wasn’t the...
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86. Using Business to Build People: Sam Thevanayagam’s Model for Manufacturing Leadership
Machine Shop Mastery
When I think about inspiring stories of resilience and vision in the world of manufacturing, Sam Thevanayagam’s journey is one that stands out. In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, I sit down with Sam, the founder of Parts Life Inc. and the leader behind Deval Lifecycle, to unpack his incredible path from Sri Lanka to Philadelphia, from downsizing his home to fund his dream, to acquiring a bankrupt business and transforming it into a thriving, mission-driven company employing nearly 200 people. What struck me most about Sam is not just his sharp business acumen or the bold risks he’s...
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85. Buying a Machine Shop for All the Right Reasons - Scott Bruneau from Delaware Metals
Machine Shop Mastery
What happens when two people with a shared vision for community, craftsmanship, and legacy decide to take the leap into shop ownership? For Scott and his wife, the answer is Delaware Metals. In this inspiring conversation, Scott Bruneau shares how he and his wife purchased a decades-old, well-run machine shop—not as a quick flip, but as a long-term investment in American manufacturing, their team, and their community. With over 20 years in the industry himself, Scott knew the road ahead would be demanding. But armed with a clear “why,” a strong culture-first mindset, and a...
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84. Facing Fears and Building an Emotionally Safe Workplace | Dana Gruber
Machine Shop Mastery
What if the next frontier of manufacturing leadership isn’t on the shop floor—but in the hearts and minds of your people? In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, Paul sits down with Dana Gruber, third-generation owner and president of ATCO Tool & Manufacturing. Dana didn’t grow up on the machines—she came from a career in cosmetology—but found herself drawn back into the family business with a mission that goes beyond precision parts: Creating an emotionally safe and psychologically aware workplace. From investing in cutting-edge technology like 3D metal printing to redefining...
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83. Crafting Success: Insights from Barry Walter Jr. on Company Culture
Machine Shop Mastery
In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, I sat down with Barry Walter Jr., and I have to say—this one lit me up. Barry’s a machine shop leader who brings heart, humility, and a whole lot of wisdom to the mic. From rebuilding a multi-generational business to designing a culture where “shit flows uphill” (his words!), Barry has transformed a plumbing parts OEM into an 8-figure, high-mix/low-volume powerhouse with 37 team members, 15 CNC lathes, and a customer service model that makes his buyers the heroes. What struck me most is how intentional Barry is—not just with his machines or...
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