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86. Using Business to Build People: Sam Thevanayagam’s Model for Manufacturing Leadership

Machine Shop Mastery

Release Date: 08/27/2025

102. He Borrowed $1M to Save His Team: Gary Poesnecker with Spectrum Machine & Design show art 102. He Borrowed $1M to Save His Team: Gary Poesnecker with Spectrum Machine & Design

Machine Shop Mastery

Some machine shop owners talk about people-first leadership. Few are willing to put everything on the line to prove it. In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, I sit down with Gary Poesnecker, founder of Spectrum Machine & Design, whose leadership was tested when the world shut down. Faced with collapsing demand during COVID, Gary made a decision most owners wouldn’t: he borrowed over $1 million to keep his team employed and protect the tribal knowledge inside his shop. That moment didn’t happen in isolation. It was the result of decades of experience across precision grinding,...

info_outline 101. Extreme Specialization: The Strategy Behind a 123-Person Gear Company show art 101. Extreme Specialization: The Strategy Behind a 123-Person Gear Company

Machine Shop Mastery

Most machine shops grow by adding capabilities, chasing new markets, and saying “yes” as often as possible. Forest City Gear took the opposite path — and built a 123-person company by doing it. In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, I sit down with Kika Young, President of Forest City Gear, to unpack how extreme specialization became the company’s competitive advantage. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, Forest City Gear made the intentional decision to focus almost exclusively on one thing: high-precision, loose gears. That focus reshaped everything — from who...

info_outline 100. Collective Wisdom: Best Ideas from the First 99 Episodes of Machine Shop Mastery show art 100. Collective Wisdom: Best Ideas from the First 99 Episodes of Machine Shop Mastery

Machine Shop Mastery

Reaching 100 episodes is more than a milestone. It’s a moment to step back and recognize what’s been built together. In this special compilation episode of Machine Shop Mastery, I reflect on the most powerful ideas, lessons, and human stories that emerged from the first 99 conversations with shop owners and manufacturing leaders across the industry. When this podcast started, I thought we were chasing a simple question: what makes great shops great? What became clear over time is that we weren’t really talking about machines or parts at all. We were talking about responsibility,...

info_outline 99. Love God, Love People, and Make Chips: The Visionary Leadership of Bill Cox show art 99. Love God, Love People, and Make Chips: The Visionary Leadership of Bill Cox

Machine Shop Mastery

Some manufacturing businesses grow because of timing, technology, or market opportunity. Others endure because of values. In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, I sit down with Bill Cox of Cox Manufacturing, a nearly 70-year-old family business whose legacy was forged through resilience, faith, and an unwavering commitment to people. Bill shares the remarkable origin story of Cox Manufacturing, which began with a single Swiss machine purchased at auction in the 1950s and grew into a high-volume precision operation shipping millions of parts each week. Along the way, the company played a...

info_outline 98. Behind the Scenes of a Top Shop with Jayme Rahz show art 98. Behind the Scenes of a Top Shop with Jayme Rahz

Machine Shop Mastery

What does a truly dialed-in machine shop look like behind the scenes? In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, I sit down with Jayme Rahz of Midway Swiss Turn, one of the most intentional and well-run shops I’ve come across. I met Jayme at the Top Shops Conference, where Midway Swiss Turn was recognized for Shop Floor Best Practices, and after this conversation, it’s easy to see why. Jayme shares the full origin story of the business, which started in a garage with her father-in-law and grew into a highly automated Swiss-focused operation in Ohio. Over more than two decades, the shop...

info_outline 97. The Human Side of Hard Businesses: Culture, Trust, and Long-Term Leadership show art 97. The Human Side of Hard Businesses: Culture, Trust, and Long-Term Leadership

Machine Shop Mastery

Staying in business for decades requires more than machines, processes, and good customers.In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, I sit down with Bonnie and Ken Kuhn of Kuhn Tool, a multi-generation, family-owned shop in northwest Pennsylvania that has quietly endured for more than six decades. What makes this conversation special isn’t just the longevity of the business, but the way Bonnie and Ken have built it together. From surviving offshoring waves and major customer losses to steadily growing from a handful of employees into a thriving operation, their story is rooted in...

info_outline 96. From Pole Barn to Precision Powerhouse: Shane Grant’s 10-Year Shop Journey show art 96. From Pole Barn to Precision Powerhouse: Shane Grant’s 10-Year Shop Journey

Machine Shop Mastery

In this episode of Machine Shop Mastery, I finally sit down with Shane Grant from Machining Momentum, a guest I’ve been hoping to have on the show for a long time. Shane has spent the last decade building his shop from the ground up, literally starting in a backyard pole barn and growing it into a precision-focused operation that’s now hitting its stride in a new industrial facility. What makes Shane’s story compelling isn’t just the growth, but how intentionally it happened. He shares how early exposure to machining through a family business, followed by experience in automotive,...

info_outline 95. Why Clean Floors, Strong Culture & High-End Machines Drive Valuation show art 95. Why Clean Floors, Strong Culture & High-End Machines Drive Valuation

Machine Shop Mastery

One of the questions I think about constantly is what actually makes a machine shop valuable. Not just today, but five, ten, or even twenty years down the road. It’s easy to point to machines, revenue, or backlog, but the real drivers of long-term value usually run much deeper. That’s exactly why I wanted to sit down with Jamie Goettler, Chief Revenue Officer of BTX Precision, for this episode of Machine Shop Mastery. BTX Precision is one of the fastest-growing advanced manufacturing platforms in the country. Jamie brings a rare blend of perspectives to the conversation. With more than two...

info_outline 94. How Losing a Machine Shop Led to Gabe Draper’s Calling show art 94. How Losing a Machine Shop Led to Gabe Draper’s Calling

Machine Shop Mastery

Some conversations stay with you long after you hit “stop” on the recorder—and my time with Gabe Draper is absolutely one of them. I’ve known Gabe for years, but I never fully understood the depth of the journey he endured as he attempted to take over, stabilize, and ultimately shut down the family machine shop. His story isn’t just informative; it’s gut-wrenching, enlightening, and, ultimately, incredibly redemptive. In this episode, Gabe walks me through the emotional roller coaster of trying to save a failing shop, the painful impact of relying too heavily on one industry,...

info_outline 93. A Builder at Heart Pivots and Buys a Machine Shop show art 93. A Builder at Heart Pivots and Buys a Machine Shop

Machine Shop Mastery

Buying a machine shop is never simple — and for Matt Fortner, it was a leap into the unknown. Coming from backgrounds in plumbing, industrial fittings, product development, and even scrap metal buying, Matt felt a pull to get back to “building something real.” That pull led him to Progress Machining in Muskegon, Michigan — a shop he became the fifth person to attempt purchasing. Once inside, Matt quickly realized how much transformation the business needed. The shop was filled with aging machines, tribal knowledge, and 60 tons of accumulated scrap and unused tooling. Setups stretched...

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More Episodes

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 taken—it’s the way he flips the traditional narrative. Instead of using people to build a business, he uses his business to build people. From brewing oatmeal for his team to helping nearly 30 employees buy their first homes, Sam has built a culture of empowerment, grace, and second chances. His deep belief in redemption and workforce development has shaped his companies into places where lives are transformed as much as parts.

We also dive into the strategic side of running a high-mix, low-volume shop that supports the defense industry. Sam shares how he navigated workforce shortages by launching his own in-house machining institute, how he invests in quality through systems and prevention, and why he believes visibility and trust with customers are just as important as making parts.

This episode is packed with lessons about leadership, perseverance, and what it means to align a business with purpose. Whether you’re running a small shop or scaling a growing organization, Sam’s story will leave you thinking differently about the role of a manufacturer in today’s world. 

You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...

  • (0:20) Why Verdant Commercial Capital is a true partner
  • (1:35) Sam’s inspiring journey from Sri Lanka to the U.S. and early career in manufacturing
  • (5:17) Lessons from failure and turning point through education in operations and inventory control
  • (8:37) Starting Parts Life during the 2008 recession and pivoting into defense
  • (10:03) Solving obsolescence challenges with creativity and engineering detective work
  • (12:00) Early defense contracts that scaled Parts Life from survival to rapid growth
  • (13:37) Buying Deval Lifecycle out of bankruptcy—risk, faith, and a courtroom battle
  • (17:18) Building trust with employees, union challenges, and creating a culture of flexibility
  • (21:59) Using business to build people—minorities, refugees, second chances, and transformed lives
  • (24:33) Creativity before capital: oatmeal breakfasts, benevolence funds, and home ownership programs
  • (27:57) Find unrivaled transparency and customer service with Phoenix Heat Treating 
  • (29:39) Workforce challenges and launching an in-house machining and welding institute
  • (31:53) Investing in supervisor training, quality systems, and the “Four Absolutes of Quality”
  • (33:54) Learn more about their in-house machining and welding institute
  • (37:55) Measuring the cost of nonconformance in dollars and tying it back to empowerment
  • (40:38) Advice for shops seeking to enter the defense industry
  • (47:56) Strategic acquisitions and diversifying across the lifecycle of defense programs
  • (50:30) Building customer trust through visibility, communication, and systems
  • (52:43) Advice for early-stage companies: Find mentors, work on constraints, and scale wisely
  • (57:52) The future of subtractive machining versus additive manufacturing in defense
  • (1:01:00) Closing reflections and how to connect with Sam and his companies
  • (1:01:46) Grow your top and bottom line with CliftonLarsonAllen

Resources & People Mentioned

Connect with Sam Thevanayagam

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Audio Production and Show Notes by - PODCAST FAST TRACK