Something we’re all proud of here at MakingChips is that each of us comes from a multi-generational, family-owned manufacturing business background. And  just as those who have come before us took the time to teach and guide us in this business, at

Our goal with this three part post has been to inspire the next generation of manufacturing leaders to think beyond themselves as they build their business. The mission and vision of MakingChips isn’t to grow Carr Machine & Tool, sell more cutting

Never underestimate the power of finding a few good mentors.

 There’s nothing the Metalworking Nation needs more than young entrepreneurial manufacturing talent. Yet, the overwhelming narrative in the media is the manufacturing industry’s desperate search for skilled workers.

Manufacturing is a cyclical industry. When things are booming, it's hard to keep up. So we work more. Then, when things are slow, it's hard to survive. So we work more. The sales may fluctuate, the market may boom or tank, but the amount of effort

Hello, My name is Dietmar, and I’m a recovering workaholic. 

If you are at least vaguely familiar with “Search Engine Optimization” (SEO) then you probably know it matters for sales and marketing. However, it’s rare for me to find another manufacturing leader that thinks about link building.

What the heck is SEO? Why do I need it? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is a marketing strategy used to optimize your opportunity to appear “organically” on Google search. This allows for your website to be found when someone searches

In this week’s MakingChips news segment, Nick shared an article from LinkedIn Business titled, These Industries Will Face the Biggest Talent Shortages by 2030, where manufacturing was third on the list.

Your website is still your biggest lead generation asset, but don’t overlook implementing social media strategy to reach the metalworking nation.

In this week’s MakingChips podcast episode we discussed the Bloomberg news article, “Inside Wisconsin’s Disastrous $4.5 Billion Deal with Foxconn”, by Austin Carr (no relation to our very own Jim Carr).

Change is scary, but when it is embraced, it encourages development and opens new doors of opportunity.

Industrial manufacturers can grow their business using LinkedIn to find, connect, and communicate their marketing message while generating a steady stream of leads.

Leveraging simple, but powerful techniques to shorten the sales cycle and create a repeatable process for your industrial sales team.

Building a predictable revenue engine requires creating a company mission centered on the goals of customers and a culture of helping customers achieve those goals.