The very technical definition of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is that it is an employee benefit plan that gives workers ownership interest in the company; this interest takes the form of shares of stock. ESOPs give the sponsoring company—the selling shareholder—and participants various tax benefits, making them qualified plans. Employers often use ESOPs as a corporate-finance...
View article
What does your hiring process look like? We have a great three-step process in place at ZENGERS that helps us hire the right people. What does it look like?
View article
In a recent episode of Making Chips, we talked about preparing your family and your business for the potential of a recession. But how do you forecast future growth? What questions should you ask to determine goals and next steps?
View article
Manufacturers who are AS9100 certified demonstrate to their customers that they are serious about creating and delivering high-quality systems through tested processes. The AS9100 standard works in conjunction with the ISO 9001 standard and is the quality management system (QMS) standard for aviation, aerospace, and defense. As important as this certification can be, it is no surprise that the...
View article
I’ve been in business for 41 years and I’ve never seen anything like this. Business is better than it’s ever been. But I haven’t been able to sleep at night. Why? I think about why we’ve been so busy. The majority of the reasons are positive: We’ve done a great job of identifying industries that are a good fit for what we do. We’ve been focusing on creating a dynamic and authentic culture ...
View article
When Titan Gilroy first started in manufacturing, he was told “If you can solve people’s problems, you’ll always be successful.” He’s taken that to heart in everything he does. He built this incredible platform that’s available in 170 countries. He's serving the industry with free education. He works with companies to sponsor the machines they run, tools they use, etc. Doing so allows him to...
View article
Many colleges and schools that “teach” manufacturing don’t have sufficient material, the latest in tooling technology, or any true curriculum to teach manufacturing. Every teacher is creating their own curriculum based on their own experiences and they’re not on the cutting edge because most are retired from the industry.
View article
One of the great things about manufacturing is that you don’t need to have a college education or degree to be a success. The opportunity is available to anyone who recognizes the opportunity and is willing to do what is required to take advantage of it. Titan Gilroy is a prime example of the kind of success we’re talking about. He grew up very poor in Hawaii. His mother didn’t even own a...
View article
Industry-wide supply shortages are creating demand. What happens when there’s demand? Prices skyrocket. Cars, raw materials, weight equipment, etc. are all rocketing in price. Car manufacturers can’t get chips which is driving up the price of current inventory. In some areas, a new Escalade is running $20,000 above the sticker price. What’s even worse? Everyone is buying computers, laptops,...
View article
Jim 100% cares about his employees and treats them well, probably more than many other employers. But at the end of the day, he’s the leader who has to create an environment that’s running efficiently. Some people treat their team as human resources or simply numbers that drive results. Nick really likes the people he works with and is even part of a fantasy football league with them....
View article
What do we do in this crazy labor market? Do you need to focus on retention? Up your recruiting? Hold on to employees that are just okay? Leverage is changing and employees are increasingly aware of their value. As business owners, we need to be aware of this and compensate our teams accordingly. While retention is key, what do we do when we have no choice and we need to hire in this market...
View article
If you’re a long-time listener, you know that I’ve been in the process of moving Carr Machine & Tool. This is the first move I’ve made in my career and probably the last. But why? Because I understand the power of branding and design well. I know that existing and future clients are going to be more sophisticated and they will want to partner with similar brands. I also want to attract and...
View article
Keep in touchSubscribe to our Podcast and Newsletter to stay in the loop!
Connect with MakingChipsWant to reach out to our team? Fill out the form below.
