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

Machine Shop Mastery

Release Date: 02/04/2026

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,...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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More Episodes

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, machine rebuilding, offshore oil equipment, and ultimately high-risk aerospace manufacturing, where a single part can be worth hundreds of thousands — or even millions — of dollars.

Gary shares how starting in a garage, working two full-time jobs, and getting fired shaped his views on culture, loyalty, and responsibility. We dig into the realities of AS9100, NADCAP, model-based definition, managing extreme risk, and why refusing high turnover has become a strategic advantage.

This conversation is about what it really takes to build a high-stakes manufacturing business — and what it means to lead when the cost of failure is measured in both dollars and people.

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

  • (0:00) Why culture, turnover, and tribal knowledge matter more than most shops admit
  • (1:03) Introducing Gary Poesnecker and Spectrum Machine & Design
  • (3:08) What Spectrum Machine & Design does today and why aerospace is different
  • (6:28) Gary’s early machining background and learning precision the hard way
  • (8:07) Why you need to register and come see us at IMTS 2026!
  • (10:08) Lessons from machine repair, offshore oil work, and complex systems
  • (14:18) Working two full-time jobs to fund the shop and ease into ownership
  • (15:46) Getting fired, witnessing bad culture, and deciding to lead differently
  • (18:00) Hiring the first employee and committing to long-term loyalty
  • (23:43) Transitioning from toolmaking into aerospace production work
  • (27:36) COVID, lost demand, and the decision to pivot to survive
  • (33:45) Check out Phoenix Heat Treating for outside processing
  • (34:51) Borrowing over $1M to protect payroll and keep the team intact
  • (36:34) Recruiting and training young talent through technical schools
  • (42:25) Building a culture people choose to stay in
  • (44:23) Implementing systems and ERP to gain visibility and control
  • (47:36) Managing risk on extremely high-value aerospace parts
  • (50:20) Current challenges around systems, lean, and process discipline
  • (51:29) What makes shop ownership worth it despite the pressure
  • (52:30) Advice for owners growing through complexity and specialization
  • (53:25) Look to Hire MFG Leaders to make your next hire
  • (55:17) Where to learn more about Spectrum Machine & Design

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