As the current generation of machine shop owners ages into retirement, shops may experience some kind of ownership change within the next 10-15 years—either by selling the company to a third party, passing it to the next generation of family members or key employees, or simply closing their doors and selling off the assets. The reality is that less than 40% of all companies that go for sale will end up with a successful exit. And almost universally, shop owners believe their shops are worth far more than the market will pay. With these two statistics to consider, the likelihood of a successful sale for a price a shop owner wants is exceedingly low. Given the fact that many shop owners have the majority of their net worth tied up in their businesses, the outcome can be disappointing at best. The good news is that with forethought and planning, it's realistic to more than double the value of most shops in 2-3 years time, and dramatically increase the chance for a successful business transition.
The “Machine Shop Ownership Change Conference” focuses on providing shop owners information to improve their company value, make the process of business transition much less risky and increase their chance of success. Join us to learn how you can significantly improve your chance of success, even if your transition event is years away. Speakers are pulled from shop owners who have been through this process themselves, or experts who serve this industry who will share behind-the-scenes stories of business sales and transitions. This is the first time that a national event of this caliber brings together a collection of speakers with such a concentrated level of experience in this specific topic.
Attendees will be provided with recordings of all sessions as well as provided access to a directory of machine shop buyers and the opportunity to connect with those companies for future conversations. Your participation in this event is strictly confidential and your details will not be shared without your express permission.
Agenda
- 12:00pm ET: Introduction by Paul Van Metre and Pete Zelinski
- 12:15pm ET: Panel Discussion on Machine Shop Buyers, featuring Mike Payne (Hill Manufacturing), Dave Hannah (G Zero) and Justin Quinn (Focused On Machining)
- 1:00pm ET: Presentation on Family Succession, featuring Dave DeVandry (Deking Screw Products)
- 1:30pm ET: Presentation on Legal and Tax, featuring Tom Ritchie (Eide Bailly) and Reuben Ortega (Gravis Law)
- 2:00pm ET: Discussion with Paul and Pete
- 2:15pm ET: Presentation on Selling Our Shop: the inside story and details of selling a 75-person shop, featuring Darcy Hughes and Kelsey Heikoop
- 2:45pm ET: Panel Discussion on Machine Shop Valuation and Maximizing Value, featuring Dave Capkovitz (EBITDA Growth Systems) and Damon Pistulka (Exit Your Way)
- 3:30pm ET: The Private Equity Perspective - Buying Machine Shops, featuring Sean Lafferty (CMTH)
- 3:45pm ET: Wrap-Up with Paul and Pete
Presenters
Paul Van Metre:After 17 years as co-founder and president of machine shop Pro CNC, Paul co-founded ProShop ERP, a software company that develops leading industry 4.0, web-based and paperless ERP software for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in the metalworking industry.
Peter Zelinski:Peter Zelinski has been a writer and editor for Modern Machine Shop since 1997. His monthly column, “The Z Axis,” has been part of the magazine since 2000, and he became editor-in-chief in 2016. Pete is also an authority on the advance of 3D printing into industrial production, and in 2012 he helped to launch Additive Manufacturing magazine. Pete earned his degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Cincinnati, and he first learned about machining by running and programming machine tools in a metalworking laboratory within what is now GE Aviation.
Mike Payne:Throughout Mike's professional career of over 25 years, he has spent a great deal of time growing and operating companies across several industries. Immediately after graduation from the University of Tulsa, Mike formed a software company focused on shop floor data collection. The rapid growth of the company led Mike down a career path in private equity and M&A work where he spent the next 15 years helping fund, manage and exit over 30 companies. In 2018 he pursued his dream of purchasing locally-owned manufacturer Hill Manufacturing and Fabrication. In addition to Hill, Mike owns several other business interests in a variety of industries.
Dave Hannah:Dave Hannah started his career in the United States Air Force where he served as an aircraft mechanic on the F-15 and T-33 aircrafts. After serving four years, he was honorably discharged and obtained his airframe and power plant license and was hired by Northwest Airlines where he held multiple positions. In 2002, Dave was recruited to work for B/E Aerospace as an operations manager for a large OEM machine shop that manufactured parts for Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Bombardier and Learjet. After four years, Dave decided to start his own machine shop and relocated to Boise, Idaho, where he started G Zero CNC Machining in 2007. Since then he has grown the shop from two machines to 11 and recently obtained both AS9100 and ISO 9001 certificates.
Justin Quinn:In 2016—with a strong interest in manufacturing—Justin acquired Focused on Machining, where he is currently the president. As president, he manages the day-to-day operations, business development and strategic planning for the business. Under his ownership, the company has grown over 300% in the last four years with the addition of many new customers and pieces of equipment.
Dave DeVandry:David DeVandry grew up working in the family manufacturing business, Deking Screw Products, from a young age. After receiving his bachelor's degree in mathematics, David began working in operations for a math tutoring franchise. This is where David fell in love with business systems, which went hand-in-hand with his education background. During this time, Deking brought on a new partner and CNC Swiss-type screw machines, piquing David's interest in returning to manufacturing. in 2016, David rejoined Deking and started integrating Deking's ERP program with new business systems. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in March 2020, David's father Geno retired and David stepped up as Deking's third-generation CEO role.
Tom Ritchie:Tom has provided public accounting services to small businesses for over 28 years. He is a valued resource to his clients with extensive experience in state and local tax, including various tax services and tax credits. Tom also applies his tax expertise to create tax savings opportunities for his clients by securing federal and state tax credits. He has worked with tax credits for 14 years and has provided hundreds of clients the opportunity to save over $100 million.
Reuben Ortega:Reuben has always been an entrepreneurial-minded attorney and has always wanted to focus on bridging the gap between practical business answers and legal compliance. He enjoys working with small to mid-market companies during their transitional phases. Reuben has worked successfully with both public and private companies, investors and financial advisors to organize, structure and execute mergers or cash-out transactions. Whether reviewing corporate formation documents or maintaining corporate board meeting minutes and stock records, he enjoys advising the C-suite executives in a general counsel capacity and providing legal compliance and structure to an often chaotic and competitive environment.
Darcy Hughes:Darcy Hughes is a pirate from 1706 trapped in the body of a retired entrepreneur. He enjoys sailing, tavernas and helping fellow entrepreneurs to increase the value of their bounty. Darcy was one of the founders of Pro CNC, a Washington state aerospace manufacturing company which sold in 2014. His areas of expertise in manufacturing are finance and quality management systems; in piracy, they are brandishing a sword and saying "arrr" a lot.
Kelsey Heikoop:ProShop ERP
Dave Capkovitz:Dave Capkovitz is a principal at EBITDA Growth Systems and a scaling small business owner. He is a passionate business leader and profit expert driven to help others. He has extensive experience in manufacturing and business management. He started out as a tool and die maker in 1996 and went on to found eight startup companies with four successful exits to date. When it comes to growing businesses, he has a strong track record: achieving growth rates of 90% in 12 months, 100% in 18 months, 300% in 60 months and 176% (projected 2020) in 30 months.
Damon Pitsulka:Helping business owners translate goals into real-world results, Damon is focused on identifying and executing opportunities to increase business revenue, profitability and value. With over 20 years of experience in building and managing businesses in extreme conditions and diverse industries, Damon's drive to help clients reach their goals helps then crush competitors and dominate markets. The framework Damon and the Exit Your Way Team developed and used successfully in private equity-owned companies is being used to drive successful results daily. In the sale of client businesses, Damon utilizes the intimate knowledge of the private equity buyer's desires and client business to clearly articulate the opportunity so that buyers see the true value.
Sean Lafferty:CMTH
