Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders

Manufacturing doesn't always start with a perfectly funded plan or a shop full of machines. Sometimes it starts in a garage, with curiosity, grit, and a willingness to learn by doing.
In this episode, we sit down with Caleb Harris, founder of Covenant Manufacturing, to talk about what it really looks like to start a CNC business at a young age. Caleb didn't inherit a shop or wait until everything felt safe. He learned by working in high-mix job shops, making mistakes, taking calculated risks, and slowly building confidence as both a machinist and a business owner.
We dig into the early decisions that mattered most, from buying the first machine and pricing early jobs to managing cash, handling subcontracting issues, and building trust with customers. Along the way, Caleb shares honest lessons about risk, accountability, and why reputation matters even more when you're small.
This conversation kicks off a new chapter of MakingChips focused on young founders who are stepping into manufacturing early and building businesses with intention. If you're under 30, thinking about ownership, or simply curious what the next generation of shop leaders is learning the hard way, this episode offers a real, unfiltered look at the journey.
Segments
(0:00) Why we're focusing on young founders and early ownership stories
(2:24) Meeting Caleb Harris and how Covenant Manufacturing got its start
(4:12) Get a free demo of Scaylor and finally unify your business data once and for all
(5:25) Growing up homeschooled and discovering a passion for making
(7:28) Knife making, early entrepreneurship, and learning what doesn't scale
(10:01) Caleb's first exposure to CNC machining and seeing a viable business path
(15:47) Working in a job shop to learn programming, setup, and workflow
(20:26) Learning under pressure in a high-mix manufacturing environment
(24:07) Understanding shop economics and thinking like an owner
(31:07) Deciding to start a shop while still employed full time
(32:47) Buying a first machine with limited capital and unloading it solo
(35:32) Landing early jobs and growing through overflow work
(41:32) Why you need to join us at IMTS 2026
(42:21) Managing risk without putting the business in danger
(44:03) A subcontracting mistake and lessons on accountability
(50:12) Building trust, culture, and reputation as a small shop
(53:02) What growth looks like next for Covenant Manufacturing
(57:46) Being young in manufacturing and turning age into an advantage
(1:01:13) Advice for younger founders thinking about starting a shop
(1:04:40) The role of community, mentorship, and industry relationships
(1:07:50) Why we love SMW Autoblok workholding 
(1:09:01) Why these stories matter for the future of manufacturing
Resources mentioned on this episode
Get a free demo of Scaylor at Scaylor.com
Register for IMTS 2026
We love SMW Autoblok workholding
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Covenant Manufacturing
Follow Covenant on Instagram
Connect with Caleb on LinkedIn 
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As new manufacturers step into ownership, one challenge shows up faster than almost any other: building a team.
Before you can scale production, invest in automation, or grow revenue, you need people — and not just any people, but a workforce that can grow with the business. That's where this conversation fits.
In this episode, MakingChips is sharing a powerful discussion from Manufacturing Executive, where host Joe Sullivan sits down with John Loyack, Vice President of Economic Development for the North Carolina Community College System. Together, they explore what happens when workforce development is treated as critical infrastructure — the same way we think about roads, utilities, and power.
Using North Carolina as a real-world example, John explains how long-term investment in education, customized training, and public–private collaboration has helped manufacturers start, scale, and stay competitive. These systems didn't appear overnight. They were built intentionally, with the understanding that skilled people are foundational to economic growth.
The conversation digs into how workforce ecosystems actually function behind the scenes, from customized training programs to leadership development and upskilling. It also highlights why one-size-fits-all solutions rarely work, and how manufacturers can better engage with state and regional resources to support their teams.
As you listen, consider this episode a wide-angle view of what it takes to build a manufacturing business that lasts. For aspiring shop owners and young entrepreneurs, it offers context that often gets overlooked early on — but makes all the difference long term.
Segments
(0:00) Why we're sharing a Manufacturing Executive episode
(1:49) Why workforce should be treated as critical infrastructure
(3:58) Joe introduces John Loyack and North Carolina's manufacturing strategy
(10:33) Defining what "workforce as infrastructure" really means
(13:42) Why we created Hire MFG Leaders: culture-first recruiting for manufacturers
(14:20) How NC EDGE and customized workforce training programs work
(20:51) Gorilla76 — revenue-focused industrial marketing
(22:44) Leadership development as part of workforce strategy
(25:27) Factur: Building consistent sales pipelines for manufacturers
(30:59) Where manufacturers can learn more about NC EDGE
(32:00) IMTS Exhibitor Workshop dates and registration details
Resources mentioned on this episode
Workforce as Critical Infrastructure: Following North Carolina's Model
Connect with John Loyack on LinkedIn
Why we created Hire MFG Leaders: culture-first recruiting for manufacturers
Gorilla76 — revenue-focused industrial marketing
Factur: Building consistent sales pipelines for manufacturers
Why you should join us at the 2026 IMTS Exhibitor Workshop
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Kicking off a new year often comes with big goals, bold plans, and fresh momentum. But before chasing what's next, we decided to slow down and focus on something more foundational: our core values.
In this episode, we share the behind-the-scenes process of defining the values that will guide MakingChips through 2026 and beyond. With the help of Jim Mayer, we took the ideas, behaviors, and instincts that had shaped the brand for years and intentionally put words around them.
We talk about why core values are more than slogans on a wall. When done right, they become filters for decisions, hiring, investments, partnerships, and even the content we create. We also challenge a common misconception: that shared values require everyone to think the same way. Instead, strong values allow for diversity of background, belief, and perspective while still pulling people in the same direction.
Along the way, the conversation blends humor, honesty, and real-world examples from manufacturing shops that live their values every day. From having fun at work to taking responsibility seriously, we explore how culture, action, and consistency are deeply connected.
Whether you're running a shop, leading a team, or building a brand, this episode offers both inspiration and a practical framework for defining values that actually get used, not ignored. It's a reset for the year and a reminder that intentional culture is never accidental.
Segments
(0:00) Work, play, and why loving what you do matters
(3:37) Why we decided to define our core values intentionally
(4:19) Mission versus values and how they work together
(6:30) Why we decided to do this exercise
(7:28) Join us at the 2026 IMTS Exhibitor Workshop
(9:35) Why shared values don't require identical beliefs
(11:09) What core values are not and why posters don't work
(13:57) Dissecting aspirational versus practical values
(16:05) The process we used to define our values
(20:52) Value #1: Elevating our Metalworking Nation
(22:33) Value #2: Being real, raw, and bold
(23:17) Investing in ProShop is an investment in your business
(25:25) Value #3: Action is the outcome: say it, do it, own it
(27:56) Value #4: Serious about manufacturing, never too serious about ourselves
(33:16) Value #5: Contagious energy and unstoppable passion
(35:43) A practical framework for defining your own values
(37:42) Why we created Hire MFG Leaders (and why you should use it)
(38:51) Putting values to work in reviews, hiring, and decisions
Resources mentioned on this episode
Join us at the 2026 IMTS Exhibitor Workshop
Invest in ProShop, invest in your business
Check out Hire MFG Leaders for your next hire 
Kyra Tillman of BTM Industries
Connect with Jim Mayer to define your core values
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We've kicked off a lot of years on MakingChips, but never quite like this.
To start 2026, we decided to try something completely different. Instead of bringing on a shop owner, a technology provider, or an industry expert, Mike and Paul invited three artificial intelligence chatbots to join the conversation. No prep calls. No talking points. Just live questions and real-time answers from Miles (from Sesame), Gemini, and ChatGPT.
The result was equal parts fascinating, funny, and just a little bit eerie.
In this episode, we explore what happens when you ask AI the same kinds of questions we ask manufacturing leaders every week. What should machine shops focus on in 2026? How do you increase throughput? Where is growth coming from? And can a chatbot actually understand culture, leadership, and systems inside a machine shop?
Along the way, we react in real time to the different personalities and strengths of each tool. Miles sounds uncannily human and leans hard into people and culture. Gemini delivers concise, structured answers around automation and data. ChatGPT takes a broader strategic view of markets, customers, and growth opportunities. Each one brings something different to the table, and none of them sound quite the same.
This episode isn't about replacing human judgment or experience. It's about curiosity. It's about new tools. And it's about kicking off the year with a reminder that learning, experimentation, and asking better questions still matter, whether those questions are aimed at a peer, a mentor, or an AI.
If you're looking for a lighthearted but thought-provoking way to start 2026, this one's for you.
Segments
(0:00) Kicking off the episode and setting up a very different kind of guest
(1:22) Why we decided to interview AI to start the year
(2:50) Asking Miles: the top three things machine shops should do to succeed
(4:55) How Factur can generate new opportunities for your shop
(6:00) Reacting to AI advice on people, data, and flexibility
(7:13) Digging deeper with Miles on culture, mission, and core values
(11:50) Bringing on Gemini and asking about maximizing throughput in 2026
(13:20) Automation, machine monitoring, and practical first steps
(15:21) AI search, discoverability, and how customers may find shops in the future
(16:21) Why you need to join us at the 2026 IMTS Exhibitor Workshop
(18:29) Real-world experiences with machine monitoring and productivity gains
(19:38) Bringing in ChatGPT to talk sales growth and new markets
(22:36) Growth sectors and what may accelerate in the years ahead
(24:11) Practical strategies for breaking into new customers and markets
(27:19) Reflecting on how far AI tools have come in just a few years
(28:36) Letting AI summarize lessons from decades of machine shop conversations
(32:15) Why we love Phoenix Heat Treating for outside processing
(33:30) Reacting to AI-generated insights on people, process, and growth
(34:08) Final takeaways and why curiosity still matters
Resources mentioned on this episode
Get a free report about the opportunities available to you at Facturmfg.com/chips
Join us at the 2026 IMTS Exhibitor Workshop
MakingChips Interviews ChatGPT about Manufacturing Leadership, 342
Why we love Phoenix Heat Treating for outside processing
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As we close out 2025, we're wrapping up more than just a year. This episode marks the conclusion of the Machine Shop MBA series, a collaboration with CLA and Modern Machine Shop built around insights from the Top Shops benchmarking program. What started as a practical exploration of shop metrics ends with a much bigger question: what truly separates shops that survive from shops that endure?
For this final chapter, we're joined again by Brent Donaldson of Modern Machine Shop, who helped kick off the series earlier in the year. Drawing from hundreds of shop visits and years of benchmarking data, Brent helps us connect the dots across operations, finance, leadership, and strategy. Together, we reflect on a clear shift happening across manufacturing: moving away from pure "rise and grind" thinking and toward intentionally designed systems.
Throughout the episode, we revisit five deceptively simple questions pulled directly from the Top Shops survey. These questions challenge assumptions and expose where real opportunity lives. From RFQ response time and revenue per employee to reinvestment discipline, standardized scheduling, and succession planning, each one reinforces a central theme we've explored all year.
Rather than chasing the next machine or relying on one big customer, the most resilient shops we see are building repeatable processes, measuring what matters, and reducing dependence on tribal knowledge. This conversation serves as both a reflection on what we've learned through the Machine Shop MBA series and a call to action as we head into 2026.
If there's one takeaway we hope sticks, it's this: the shops that last aren't just collections of people and equipment. They are systems. Designed on purpose. Improved on purpose. And built to outlast any one individual.
Segments
(0:00) Wrapping up 2025 and closing out the Machine Shop MBA series
(0:36) Why we created the series and partnered with CLA and Modern Machine Shop
(2:25) Why you need to head to the 2026 IMTS Exhibitor Workshop
(4:34) The shift from viewing shops as machines and people to viewing them as systems
(7:52) Moving from survival mode to disciplined, systems-based thinking
(12:33) Top Shops Question #1: RFQ response time as a competitive advantage
(15:55) Top Shops Question #2: Revenue per employee as a true efficiency metric
(17:15) What's Your Method? The unique financing process with Methods Machine Tools
(26:47) Grow your top and bottom line with CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA)
(27:37) How automation, workholding, and systems increase output per person
(32:16) Top Shops Question #3: Reinvesting in equipment, software, and training
(36:50) Why consistent reinvestment beats sporadic big spending
(37:51) Top Shops Question #4: Standardized scheduling versus tribal knowledge
(40:22) How poor systems create stress and constant firefighting
(43:05) Top Shops Question #5: Leadership and ownership transition planning
(46:01) The Top Shops 2026 Benchmarking survey opens February 1st, 2026
(47:27) How benchmarking accelerates maturity and reveals real gaps
(48:19) How we use the Top Shops survey as part of annual strategic planning
(49:19) Looking ahead to 2026 and continued collaboration
(50:00) Why we love the SMW Autoblok catalog and quality
(51:11) Final call to action and why benchmarking matters
Resources mentioned on this episode
Why you need to head to the 2026 IMTS Exhibitor Workshop
What's Your Method? The financing process with Methods Machine Tools
The Top Shops 2026 Benchmarking survey opens February 1st, 2026
Check out the SMW Autoblok catalog and quality
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