February 12, 2025 • 27 mins
The episode dives into the transformative journey of KCSP Machine, highlighting the company’s rebranding from Kansas City Screw Products to a modern precision machining entity. We discuss operational strategies, workplace culture, and the importance of networking within the manufacturing sector. Here are some of the topics Brandon shares his wisdom on.
• Importance of rebranding for modern manufacturing
• Overview of precision machining services
• Ideal clients and regional versus national partnerships
• Handling varying production needs: short-run and long-run
• Consultation with engineers and print-to-part approach
• Integrating long-term employees with new talent
• Emphasis on communication and company culture
• Emotional intelligence in leadership and management
• Building relationships through community engagement
• Future aspirations and continued growth through networking
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
All right, Brandon, we are officially recording now.
Man, it is great to have youhere.
Thanks for taking the time toinvest in a conversation today.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Sure, absolutely happy to do it.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
So you are with KCSP Machine and that is formerly
known as Kansas City ScrewProducts.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah, that's correct.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
All right, so you've changed it to KCSP.
Let's just start there.
Why the name change?
Why was that an importanttransition for your company?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
transition for your company.
Well, you know Kansas CityScrew Products.
It's been around since 1946.
So it was kind of a bigdecision.
But it started out originallyas a screw machine shop making
screw products.
But over the years the previousowner, Steve Leiter, had added
(01:09):
CNC machining and I felt likethat had become a very big part
of the business, yep, and stilldo some screw machine work and
still get that kind of work.
But it was really kind ofbalanced out over time.
So I felt like in the future Ikind of wanted to upgrade our
(01:32):
technology.
That was one of our big, one ofmy big goals was to upgrade our
equipment and modernize it,which meant eventually getting
away from the screw machines.
So I thought, in order to kindof build a foundation for that,
rebranding would be a good idea.
And as a new owner coming in,that's the time to do it.
(01:55):
And I think people understandwhen that ownership I was going
to be talking to all thecustomers about ownership change
.
So probably going ahead andmaking that change change, it
was the time to do it.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
So I wanted to transition to something it was a
little more just related toprecision machining, which is
what we do, rather than specificto you know screw machines and
screw products you know it's soimportant, brandon, that, um,
what you say and what you arematch each other, and saying
(02:27):
things in writing versus inperson, it all represents the
brand and I really respect whatyou're saying about.
Hey, we are becoming more thanthis and we don't want to be
pigeonholed into this, becausethen we have to do a whole
nother layer of complexity insales to get past what people
think we only do, right?
Speaker 2 (02:48):
And anytime I talk to somebody about the business,
they're all oh so you makescrews, you know.
So that was a challenge, and soI wanted to get past that.
We don't just make screws ormore than that.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
So let's understand the scope of your business and
then we're going to go back andlearn a little bit about how you
got into this business to beginwith.
So you're a 79-year-old company.
You've got some clients thatyou've had for multiple decades
and stuff.
Tell us about the services thatyou provide.
Who is your ideal client thatyou want to serve?
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Well, we do precision machined parts and we
specialize in that.
There are a lot of shopssimilar to ours that might do
some fabrication or assembly orwelding and things like that.
We kind of issue all that.
(03:48):
We stick to our core, which isprecision machined parts.
Now, that may be on the cnclathe the cnc mill, a swiss
machine or a screw machine, butthat's really what we stay
focused on.
That's really what we stayfocused on.
Yeah, um, so that's number one.
What we do.
(04:08):
Uh, our ideal customer is uhanother manufacturer who has uh
machinery of their own, or maybethey're uh they are what I was
saying like uh somebody who doesmore assemblies and they have
parts that go in thoseassemblies or those machines
they're into, into products thatthey either can't do or don't
want to do, and so we step inthere and we serve that role in
(04:31):
their supply chain.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Yeah, that's great man.
And so your partners do theytend to be local, or do you do
regional, or do you do outsideof the region?
Where are your ideal clientslocated?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
For us it's kind of a combination.
Some of our biggest clients areoutside of the region, but we
do quite a bit of work locallyas well.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
And do you do a lot of short-run stuff or is it more
repetitive longer-run stuff?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
We do it all.
So in terms of quantities, wewill.
We've helped several customerswith prototyping.
They just want 10 of these totry them out and we might even
go through several iterationswith them.
So we'll do short term, shortrun stuff, prototyping stuff,
and then we'll roll right intothe production level stuff.
(05:27):
So we might do, you know, fiveparts, 10 parts, and then turn
around and do 5,000.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Okay, very good.
And do you have engineeringin-house or do you work with
their company's engineer as theprimary lead in the project?
We don't do engineering.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
So we are a print to part shop.
So you bring us the part, theprint, and we'll turn it around.
Now we do lots of consultingwith engineers.
They'll bring a print to us andwe'll help them with machine.
You know machinability, uh, canthe, can the part be machined
(06:09):
and manufactured?
um, so we, we do consult in thatway and we get some customers
that come to us and, uh, maybethey just have a hand drawing or
something and we will put aprint together according to
their specifications for them.
Kind of small, low level stufflike that.
But we don't really doengineering.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Yep, that's great feedback.
That's helpful to put thatcontext out there.
So tell me about your personnel, tell me about the people that
you have in your company.
For the record, you've ownedthe company a little over a year
.
Is that right company?
For the record, you've ownedthe company a little over a year
.
Is that right, mm?
Hmm, your staff what percentageof them have are new since
(06:50):
you've acquired it?
How many of them have been herefor a couple of years versus?
Do you have any long term staff?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
I do have some long term staff.
So we're we are a small shopand I have my plant manager is.
One of the reasons I boughtthis company is I knew I had
this guy.
I had not had a chance to meethim personally, which is part of
that acquisition process, buthe's a 40 year guy, just
(07:19):
celebrated 40 years in 2024.
I just celebrated 40 years in2024.
He's just a top level machinistand human being and he's still
going strong and he's the heartof the shop and he's going to
help me transition to the futureand I'm just kind of humbled to
(07:42):
have a guy like that in myservice here.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
And I want to pause there, because sometimes people
see older people abilities andall they can think about is the
fact that I might not be able tokeep that person because they
might be getting close toretirement or whatever.
But I love your ability to sayI know a proven track record and
I believe we can create systemsto bring other people along.
(08:06):
So, even when the day comes forhim to leave, if we harness
that knowledge that he has andmake it replicatable, then we're
going to have an organizationthat can't be stopped even after
he leaves.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, exactly, and you know, the thing I'm really
grateful for is he understandsthat himself and he's, you know,
wants to help in thattransition.
You know, keep the shop movingforward and train new people.
So, on top of him, I have acouple other guys that are, like
(08:39):
, you know, 15, 14, 15 year guys, and then I have some.
I have a female, but she hasbeen about three years I
actually maybe four years nowand then I have added three
people, one of which is juststarting on Monday, to the shop
(09:03):
trying to, you know, and I'vegone through that process of
hiring, trying to find and hireexperienced machinists.
It's a challenge, but we'vedone a pretty decent job of it.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
That's great.
So how do you bring that?
The people that have been there14, 15 years and 40 years?
Obviously there's a existingculture there.
How do you bring in this newtalent and blend them into the
culture rather than create twoisolated sections that don't see
(09:33):
eye to eye on things?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Well, I will say that when I purchased the business
and got to know the previousowner, who was the third
generation owner, hisgrandfather had started the
original Kansas City ScrewProducts, you know.
I just had a really good rapportwith him and felt like he was a
(09:58):
good guy and I, you know, had agut feeling that the kind of
culture he would have promotedin his shop would be one that I
felt like I would be welcomingand positive, that I would, you
know, be happy to be a part of.
And that turned out to be thecase.
And so when I recruit, I wantto recruit people.
(10:24):
You know it's important torecruit people that are going to
maintain that culture.
So it's as much about theirskill sets, their experience,
but also, you know, are theygoing to have the same attitudes
we, but also, you know, arethey going to have the same
attitudes we have here?
Speaker 1 (10:41):
you know teamwork, positive positivity, and you
know yeah, I love thatintentionality and I think so
many people.
We often get so bogged down infilling holes that we don't give
the proper regard to thatculture piece and anything else
that you would want to sayBecause you're a smaller shop.
(11:03):
But what would you say to ashop your size or even a larger
shop about why you're protectingthat so intentionally?
Speaker 2 (11:13):
I mean, you know culture means everything.
You know, at the end of the day, you've got to have everybody
pulling together and I'm notperfect at it, you know, just
trying to do my best and I thinkI've done a pretty decent job,
bringing in people who fit in,bringing in people who fit in.
(11:41):
Over the year and a half here Ihave stubbed my toe.
It's hard to be disciplinedbecause you do.
You're in a productionenvironment, You've got
customers with deadlines.
At some point you're like gosh,I just need somebody in here.
You have to stick to your guns.
It's really important becausebringing somebody in here, but
you have to stick to your guns,it's really important because
bringing somebody in who's goingto harm your culture is just a
(12:03):
big mistake.
And it's painful as it is, yougot to stick it out.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Yeah, and it's very costly.
You know it costs a lot to havean open spot.
I've seen some reports where itcosts like $14,000 a year to
have an empty spot.
Obviously, that can go up to$250,000.
But when you hire someonethat's the wrong person, you
lose the time of investment, youlose the material that you lose
(12:29):
because it was the wrong person, who couldn't acclimate to
what's needed.
Plus, you lose the goodwill ofthe clients that you fall behind
on trusting that this person isgoing to meet it.
The cost of a bad hire is muchmore costly than not hiring
while you wait to get the righthire Right.
(12:49):
And so I appreciate yourdiscernment and your
encouragement.
I think that's true.
So I'm going to share this.
So you've been a part of thefree monthly peer advisory group
that I host and stuff, and oneof the things that I've learned
from you is You're such a greatlistener, and I not only say
that because you listen well inour conversations, but when you
(13:15):
respond it's very discerning.
I remember one time that I hadshared something and I said well
, and everybody does this.
And I asked what do you think,brandon?
And you paused for a moment andyou said well, I wouldn't say
everybody, and I just appreciatehow discerning you are in the
(13:36):
words that you speak as a shopowner.
How important is that?
Because so often under thepressure of deadlines you say
you stubbed your toe at timesand stuff, but under the
pressure of deadlines sometimeswe bark out the demands without
being filtered.
(13:56):
Help me understand a little bitof what you've learned in your
year plus in your shop.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Well, I've learned it not only from my time in my
shop, but, uh, you know, I'veowned and operated a business
before and, uh, you just learnedit over time.
It is uh it is tough to controlyour emotion when you're like,
uh, you know, for instance,you're just getting so behind in
(14:27):
your production schedule andeverything is conspiring and you
, you feel like you just want tosay you know, let's what's
going on, you know, let's getthis stuff done, why can't we do
this, why can't this happen?
And you, you have to just beable to take a little pause,
(14:48):
realize how destructive thatwould be, how wrong it would be
and unfair, because you have toassume positive intent with your
staff, everybody's out there.
They're trying their best.
Everybody wants to do a goodjob.
Everybody wants to be reliableand get their work done.
(15:09):
Mistakes happen.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
I want to camp on that a little bit, because I
love the phrase assume positiveintent.
I think sometimes as ownershipor managers, we start thinking
people are just there for thepaycheck and we've got to push
harder to get more out of thatpaycheck.
(15:31):
That mindset I think it'slacking in a lot of shops.
This assume positive intent.
How do you, how do you connectthe dot for people to understand
that what they're doing is morethan just exchanging time for a
paycheck, but they're actuallymaking a difference in aerospace
(15:55):
, or they're making a differencein fuel distribution or
whatever field?
How do you connect the dots tomake it more than changing time
for a paycheck?
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Well, a couple of things.
It's about your ownorganization.
It's also about theorganizations that you're
impacting, like you said.
So, as far as like what we dofor our customers I do try to
make a point to when I'm talkingto people on the shop floor,
they're working on a particularproject or a part.
(16:31):
If I know something about thatcustomer, I know something about
that part.
I'm going to talk to them aboutit.
Hey, do you know who thiscompany is?
Do you know what they do?
Do you know what this part goeson?
Because I'm out there talkingto those customers, I'm doing
all the research about them.
I know that this part goes onthis piece of machinery that
(16:53):
does this and I think that'spretty cool.
I mean, that's one reason I'mhere is because I think what we
do here is cool, and so I try toimpart that to them.
Like, hey, this is, you know wedo some military stuff.
You know this is the part thatgoes on this piece of machinery,
this weapon or whatever.
This is the part that goes onthis piece of machinery, this
weapon or whatever.
This is the part that goes onthis geotechnical machine.
(17:17):
You know it's pretty cool whatit does.
I think they appreciate that,you know, give them some context
, you know.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Anyway, I think that's some shops about the
importance of understanding thatthis isn't about what happens
in the walls of this building.
It's what the things from inthe walls in this building go to
that make a difference inpeople's lives.
And I try to encourage leaders,try to connect those dots for
your people because it makesthem feel like they're having an
(17:46):
impact, not just doing busywork.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Yeah absolutely, and we play an important role in
these customers' businesses and,in their end, customers' lives.
So, yeah, you do have to impartthat.
And then, as far as internallyI'm not very good at this right
now, I will totally admit that,but it's something that's on my
(18:13):
radar to be better at is justcommunicating with people about
how the business is going, wherethe business is going, and you
know, I want people to see whereI want to take the business,
what I want to do for it, andI've been able to communicate
(18:41):
that over time not, as I think,consistently, as I need to but
you have to sell people on yourvision.
You have to have a vision andyou have to sell people on that
vision.
It has to be something thatthey're going to contribute to
and benefit from, and you haveto be something that they're
going to contribute to andbenefit from and you have to be
telling them about it.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Yeah, and that could be a long conversation, because
if your vision changes everyweek, then your people can't
really trust that.
But if you've really done thework to create a vision that
you're committed to, then yourpeople feel a sense of stability
because you keep casting thesame vision over and over again
and it starts sinking in.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yeah, and you have to do your part.
Like you can't keep selling avision and the vision's not
happening right.
You have to see that progress.
You have your responsibility.
So they know what you're doingto drive the business forward.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
You know you've got your role to do too.
So in a moment I'm going to askyou a little bit about how you
got into this industry.
But before we jump into that, Iwould love to hear from you a
little bit about you've been apart of KCNTMA now, for the time
(19:48):
that you've been there Was theshop a part of KCNTMA before you
were there, or did you joinKCNTMA?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
I don't think so.
Steve wasn't when I bought thebusiness.
He may have joined for a briefperiod in the past.
Yep understood he wasn'tactively participating.
Yeah so what prompted you to geton board with KCNTMA?
(20:24):
Well, when I bought thebusiness, I I did not come from
a manufacturing background, so Icame, you know, more from a
technology background, so I have, like all my network and
connections and things are inthat industry in Kansas City so
and I just knew immediately Ineeded to, you know, find my
people, find my support group,you know other people doing what
(20:48):
I was now going to be engagingin and yeah, so that was the
main thing it's getting intothat community, finding people
that I could reach out to if Ineeded to or return the favor
(21:08):
down the road.
I think it's just reallyimportant.
So I joined the NTMA.
I've been trying to be as activein that as I can and, you know,
was invited to join the board.
So that's great.
I'm super happy about that.
I also joined the Kansas CityManufacturing Network, KCMN,
(21:30):
which is run by the Kansas andthe Missouri MEPs, and that's
been great and yeah, so I get tomeet a lot of people and other
manufacturers and I get to, youknow, the shop tours are amazing
and it's just been a realbenefit.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
So, in the year that you've been a part of it, has
the value been just in whateveremails you occasionally get, or
is the value?
Is it the shop tours that areimportant to you, or is it the
networking events?
What have you found has helpedyou understand and grow your
business?
Speaker 2 (22:15):
I mean it's really about people, you know it's
really about people.
You know it's relationships I'vehad, you know communities
pretty welcoming and that's beengreat, and so I've just been
able to talk to people and getgood advice, and now I've got
some numbers I can call if Ihave a question.
(22:36):
Yeah, I mean, that's it.
It's people relationships andsometimes just having a
relationship with somebody who'sgoing through the same
experience as you are Maybethey've been doing it a while
it's just, I think, healthypsychologically to just know
(22:56):
those people and be able to talkto them every once in a while.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yeah, that's great man, Great insights.
I appreciate you sharing that.
All right, Brandon, we are officially recording now.
Man, it is great to have youhere.
Thanks for taking the time toinvest in a conversation today.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Sure, absolutely happy to do it.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
So you are with KCSP Machine and that is formerly
known as Kansas City ScrewProducts.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah, that's correct.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
All right, so you've changed it to KCSP.
Let's just start there.
Why the name change?
Why was that an importanttransition for your company?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
transition for your company.
Well, you know Kansas CityScrew Products.
It's been around since 1946.
So it was kind of a bigdecision.
But it started out originallyas a screw machine shop making
screw products.
But over the years the previousowner, Steve Leiter, had added
(01:09):
CNC machining and I felt likethat had become a very big part
of the business, yep, and stilldo some screw machine work and
still get that kind of work.
But it was really kind ofbalanced out over time.
So I felt like in the future Ikind of wanted to upgrade our
(01:32):
technology.
That was one of our big, one ofmy big goals was to upgrade our
equipment and modernize it,which meant eventually getting
away from the screw machines.
So I thought, in order to kindof build a foundation for that,
rebranding would be a good idea.
And as a new owner coming in,that's the time to do it.
(01:55):
And I think people understandwhen that ownership I was going
to be talking to all thecustomers about ownership change
.
So probably going ahead andmaking that change change, it
was the time to do it.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
So I wanted to transition to something it was a
little more just related toprecision machining, which is
what we do, rather than specificto you know screw machines and
screw products you know it's soimportant, brandon, that, um,
what you say and what you arematch each other, and saying
(02:27):
things in writing versus inperson, it all represents the
brand and I really respect whatyou're saying about.
Hey, we are becoming more thanthis and we don't want to be
pigeonholed into this, becausethen we have to do a whole
nother layer of complexity insales to get past what people
think we only do, right?
Speaker 2 (02:48):
And anytime I talk to somebody about the business,
they're all oh so you makescrews, you know.
So that was a challenge, and soI wanted to get past that.
We don't just make screws ormore than that.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
So let's understand the scope of your business and
then we're going to go back andlearn a little bit about how you
got into this business to beginwith.
So you're a 79-year-old company.
You've got some clients thatyou've had for multiple decades
and stuff.
Tell us about the services thatyou provide.
Who is your ideal client thatyou want to serve?
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Well, we do precision machined parts and we
specialize in that.
There are a lot of shopssimilar to ours that might do
some fabrication or assembly orwelding and things like that.
We kind of issue all that.
(03:48):
We stick to our core, which isprecision machined parts.
Now, that may be on the cnclathe the cnc mill, a swiss
machine or a screw machine, butthat's really what we stay
focused on.
That's really what we stayfocused on.
Yeah, um, so that's number one.
What we do.
(04:08):
Uh, our ideal customer is uhanother manufacturer who has uh
machinery of their own, or maybethey're uh they are what I was
saying like uh somebody who doesmore assemblies and they have
parts that go in thoseassemblies or those machines
they're into, into products thatthey either can't do or don't
want to do, and so we step inthere and we serve that role in
(04:31):
their supply chain.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Yeah, that's great man.
And so your partners do theytend to be local, or do you do
regional, or do you do outsideof the region?
Where are your ideal clientslocated?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
For us it's kind of a combination.
Some of our biggest clients areoutside of the region, but we
do quite a bit of work locallyas well.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
And do you do a lot of short-run stuff or is it more
repetitive longer-run stuff?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
We do it all.
So in terms of quantities, wewill.
We've helped several customerswith prototyping.
They just want 10 of these totry them out and we might even
go through several iterationswith them.
So we'll do short term, shortrun stuff, prototyping stuff,
and then we'll roll right intothe production level stuff.
(05:27):
So we might do, you know, fiveparts, 10 parts, and then turn
around and do 5,000.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Okay, very good.
And do you have engineeringin-house or do you work with
their company's engineer as theprimary lead in the project?
We don't do engineering.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
So we are a print to part shop.
So you bring us the part, theprint, and we'll turn it around.
Now we do lots of consultingwith engineers.
They'll bring a print to us andwe'll help them with machine.
You know machinability, uh, canthe, can the part be machined
(06:09):
and manufactured?
um, so we, we do consult in thatway and we get some customers
that come to us and, uh, maybethey just have a hand drawing or
something and we will put aprint together according to
their specifications for them.
Kind of small, low level stufflike that.
But we don't really doengineering.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Yep, that's great feedback.
That's helpful to put thatcontext out there.
So tell me about your personnel, tell me about the people that
you have in your company.
For the record, you've ownedthe company a little over a year
.
Is that right company?
For the record, you've ownedthe company a little over a year
.
Is that right, mm?
Hmm, your staff what percentageof them have are new since
(06:50):
you've acquired it?
How many of them have been herefor a couple of years versus?
Do you have any long term staff?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
I do have some long term staff.
So we're we are a small shopand I have my plant manager is.
One of the reasons I boughtthis company is I knew I had
this guy.
I had not had a chance to meethim personally, which is part of
that acquisition process, buthe's a 40 year guy, just
(07:19):
celebrated 40 years in 2024.
I just celebrated 40 years in2024.
He's just a top level machinistand human being and he's still
going strong and he's the heartof the shop and he's going to
help me transition to the futureand I'm just kind of humbled to
(07:42):
have a guy like that in myservice here.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
And I want to pause there, because sometimes people
see older people abilities andall they can think about is the
fact that I might not be able tokeep that person because they
might be getting close toretirement or whatever.
But I love your ability to sayI know a proven track record and
I believe we can create systemsto bring other people along.
(08:06):
So, even when the day comes forhim to leave, if we harness
that knowledge that he has andmake it replicatable, then we're
going to have an organizationthat can't be stopped even after
he leaves.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Yeah, exactly, and you know, the thing I'm really
grateful for is he understandsthat himself and he's, you know,
wants to help in thattransition.
You know, keep the shop movingforward and train new people.
So, on top of him, I have acouple other guys that are, like
(08:39):
, you know, 15, 14, 15 year guys, and then I have some.
I have a female, but she hasbeen about three years I
actually maybe four years nowand then I have added three
people, one of which is juststarting on Monday, to the shop
(09:03):
trying to, you know, and I'vegone through that process of
hiring, trying to find and hireexperienced machinists.
It's a challenge, but we'vedone a pretty decent job of it.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
That's great.
So how do you bring that?
The people that have been there14, 15 years and 40 years?
Obviously there's a existingculture there.
How do you bring in this newtalent and blend them into the
culture rather than create twoisolated sections that don't see
(09:33):
eye to eye on things?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Well, I will say that when I purchased the business
and got to know the previousowner, who was the third
generation owner, hisgrandfather had started the
original Kansas City ScrewProducts, you know.
I just had a really good rapportwith him and felt like he was a
(09:58):
good guy and I, you know, had agut feeling that the kind of
culture he would have promotedin his shop would be one that I
felt like I would be welcomingand positive, that I would, you
know, be happy to be a part of.
And that turned out to be thecase.
And so when I recruit, I wantto recruit people.
(10:24):
You know it's important torecruit people that are going to
maintain that culture.
So it's as much about theirskill sets, their experience,
but also, you know, are theygoing to have the same attitudes
we, but also, you know, arethey going to have the same
attitudes we have here?
Speaker 1 (10:41):
you know teamwork, positive positivity, and you
know yeah, I love thatintentionality and I think so
many people.
We often get so bogged down infilling holes that we don't give
the proper regard to thatculture piece and anything else
that you would want to sayBecause you're a smaller shop.
(11:03):
But what would you say to ashop your size or even a larger
shop about why you're protectingthat so intentionally?
Speaker 2 (11:13):
I mean, you know culture means everything.
You know, at the end of the day, you've got to have everybody
pulling together and I'm notperfect at it, you know, just
trying to do my best and I thinkI've done a pretty decent job,
bringing in people who fit in,bringing in people who fit in.
(11:41):
Over the year and a half here Ihave stubbed my toe.
It's hard to be disciplinedbecause you do.
You're in a productionenvironment, You've got
customers with deadlines.
At some point you're like gosh,I just need somebody in here.
You have to stick to your guns.
It's really important becausebringing somebody in here, but
you have to stick to your guns,it's really important because
bringing somebody in who's goingto harm your culture is just a
(12:03):
big mistake.
And it's painful as it is, yougot to stick it out.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Yeah, and it's very costly.
You know it costs a lot to havean open spot.
I've seen some reports where itcosts like $14,000 a year to
have an empty spot.
Obviously, that can go up to$250,000.
But when you hire someonethat's the wrong person, you
lose the time of investment, youlose the material that you lose
(12:29):
because it was the wrong person, who couldn't acclimate to
what's needed.
Plus, you lose the goodwill ofthe clients that you fall behind
on trusting that this person isgoing to meet it.
The cost of a bad hire is muchmore costly than not hiring
while you wait to get the righthire Right.
(12:49):
And so I appreciate yourdiscernment and your
encouragement.
I think that's true.
So I'm going to share this.
So you've been a part of thefree monthly peer advisory group
that I host and stuff, and oneof the things that I've learned
from you is You're such a greatlistener, and I not only say
that because you listen well inour conversations, but when you
(13:15):
respond it's very discerning.
I remember one time that I hadshared something and I said well
, and everybody does this.
And I asked what do you think,brandon?
And you paused for a moment andyou said well, I wouldn't say
everybody, and I just appreciatehow discerning you are in the
(13:36):
words that you speak as a shopowner.
How important is that?
Because so often under thepressure of deadlines you say
you stubbed your toe at timesand stuff, but under the
pressure of deadlines sometimeswe bark out the demands without
being filtered.
(13:56):
Help me understand a little bitof what you've learned in your
year plus in your shop.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Well, I've learned it not only from my time in my
shop, but, uh, you know, I'veowned and operated a business
before and, uh, you just learnedit over time.
It is uh it is tough to controlyour emotion when you're like,
uh, you know, for instance,you're just getting so behind in
(14:27):
your production schedule andeverything is conspiring and you
, you feel like you just want tosay you know, let's what's
going on, you know, let's getthis stuff done, why can't we do
this, why can't this happen?
And you, you have to just beable to take a little pause,
(14:48):
realize how destructive thatwould be, how wrong it would be
and unfair, because you have toassume positive intent with your
staff, everybody's out there.
They're trying their best.
Everybody wants to do a goodjob.
Everybody wants to be reliableand get their work done.
(15:09):
Mistakes happen.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
I want to camp on that a little bit, because I
love the phrase assume positiveintent.
I think sometimes as ownershipor managers, we start thinking
people are just there for thepaycheck and we've got to push
harder to get more out of thatpaycheck.
(15:31):
That mindset I think it'slacking in a lot of shops.
This assume positive intent.
How do you, how do you connectthe dot for people to understand
that what they're doing is morethan just exchanging time for a
paycheck, but they're actuallymaking a difference in aerospace
(15:55):
, or they're making a differencein fuel distribution or
whatever field?
How do you connect the dots tomake it more than changing time
for a paycheck?
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Well, a couple of things.
It's about your ownorganization.
It's also about theorganizations that you're
impacting, like you said.
So, as far as like what we dofor our customers I do try to
make a point to when I'm talkingto people on the shop floor,
they're working on a particularproject or a part.
(16:31):
If I know something about thatcustomer, I know something about
that part.
I'm going to talk to them aboutit.
Hey, do you know who thiscompany is?
Do you know what they do?
Do you know what this part goeson?
Because I'm out there talkingto those customers, I'm doing
all the research about them.
I know that this part goes onthis piece of machinery that
(16:53):
does this and I think that'spretty cool.
I mean, that's one reason I'mhere is because I think what we
do here is cool, and so I try toimpart that to them.
Like, hey, this is, you know wedo some military stuff.
You know this is the part thatgoes on this piece of machinery,
this weapon or whatever.
This is the part that goes onthis piece of machinery, this
weapon or whatever.
This is the part that goes onthis geotechnical machine.
(17:17):
You know it's pretty cool whatit does.
I think they appreciate that,you know, give them some context
, you know.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Anyway, I think that's some shops about the
importance of understanding thatthis isn't about what happens
in the walls of this building.
It's what the things from inthe walls in this building go to
that make a difference inpeople's lives.
And I try to encourage leaders,try to connect those dots for
your people because it makesthem feel like they're having an
(17:46):
impact, not just doing busywork.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Yeah absolutely, and we play an important role in
these customers' businesses and,in their end, customers' lives.
So, yeah, you do have to impartthat.
And then, as far as internallyI'm not very good at this right
now, I will totally admit that,but it's something that's on my
(18:13):
radar to be better at is justcommunicating with people about
how the business is going, wherethe business is going, and you
know, I want people to see whereI want to take the business,
what I want to do for it, andI've been able to communicate
(18:41):
that over time not, as I think,consistently, as I need to but
you have to sell people on yourvision.
You have to have a vision andyou have to sell people on that
vision.
It has to be something thatthey're going to contribute to
and benefit from, and you haveto be something that they're
going to contribute to andbenefit from and you have to be
telling them about it.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Yeah, and that could be a long conversation, because
if your vision changes everyweek, then your people can't
really trust that.
But if you've really done thework to create a vision that
you're committed to, then yourpeople feel a sense of stability
because you keep casting thesame vision over and over again
and it starts sinking in.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yeah, and you have to do your part.
Like you can't keep selling avision and the vision's not
happening right.
You have to see that progress.
You have your responsibility.
So they know what you're doingto drive the business forward.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
You know you've got your role to do too.
So in a moment I'm going to askyou a little bit about how you
got into this industry.
But before we jump into that, Iwould love to hear from you a
little bit about you've been apart of KCNTMA now, for the time
(19:48):
that you've been there Was theshop a part of KCNTMA before you
were there, or did you joinKCNTMA?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
I don't think so.
Steve wasn't when I bought thebusiness.
He may have joined for a briefperiod in the past.
Yep understood he wasn'tactively participating.
Yeah so what prompted you to geton board with KCNTMA?
(20:24):
Well, when I bought thebusiness, I I did not come from
a manufacturing background, so Icame, you know, more from a
technology background, so I have, like all my network and
connections and things are inthat industry in Kansas City so
and I just knew immediately Ineeded to, you know, find my
people, find my support group,you know other people doing what
(20:48):
I was now going to be engagingin and yeah, so that was the
main thing it's getting intothat community, finding people
that I could reach out to if Ineeded to or return the favor
(21:08):
down the road.
I think it's just reallyimportant.
So I joined the NTMA.
I've been trying to be as activein that as I can and, you know,
was invited to join the board.
So that's great.
I'm super happy about that.
I also joined the Kansas CityManufacturing Network, KCMN,
(21:30):
which is run by the Kansas andthe Missouri MEPs, and that's
been great and yeah, so I get tomeet a lot of people and other
manufacturers and I get to, youknow, the shop tours are amazing
and it's just been a realbenefit.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
So, in the year that you've been a part of it, has
the value been just in whateveremails you occasionally get, or
is the value?
Is it the shop tours that areimportant to you, or is it the
networking events?
What have you found has helpedyou understand and grow your
business?
Speaker 2 (22:15):
I mean it's really about people, you know it's
really about people.
You know it's relationships I'vehad, you know communities
pretty welcoming and that's beengreat, and so I've just been
able to talk to people and getgood advice, and now I've got
some numbers I can call if Ihave a question.
(22:36):
Yeah, I mean, that's it.
It's people relationships andsometimes just having a
relationship with somebody who'sgoing through the same
experience as you are Maybethey've been doing it a while
it's just, I think, healthypsychologically to just know
(22:56):
those people and be able to talkto them every once in a while.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yeah, that's great man, Great insights.
I appreciate you sharing that.
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