Zimmer Design and Manufacturing, LLC

Headed north to Leander this morning for a visit with a couple of Austin Regional Manufacturers Association (ARMA) members, both located right off of Hero Way … fitting for today’s manufacturing heroes. First stop was at Striking Precision Welding and Fabrication and a chat with Erik Medina, picking up on a welding conversation that generated from my FABTECH Expo visit last week. We talked at length about the TIG skills needed in today’s #advancedmanufacturing, and #cleanroom welding to meet the #semiconductor requirements. I appreciate the much needed feedback that I will take to our education partners. Next stop was Zimmer Design and Manufacturing, LLC and a tour with Adam Zimmer. We discussed resources for small manufacturers to build and run a successful shop, which includes their use of ProShop ERP. Congrats on the successful AS9001 audit! (Paul Van Metre, I believe a poker night podcast is in the making!) I wish to thank Erik and Adam for sharing their stories on how they went from mastering a trade to becoming entrepreneurs and owning their own shops. Manufacturing provides many great career pathways, including becoming your own boss! ARMA is committed to supporting our small manufacturers who are critical to the entire supply chain ecosystem, which feeds into our large manufacturers. In 2025, our support will include providing best practices and resources to address how to run a small business and improve profitability. We are developing some great partnerships and resource tools!

Did you know that there are nearly 10,000 aerospace companies that maintain AS9100 certification in the US? California has the most AS9100 Certifications at 2369 companies. The next 5 states combined total 2412. (Texas, Florida, Ohio, Connecticut and Arizona) This means that roughly half of the aerospace and defense happens in just a few places in America. While Texas, Florida and California have some geographical advantages when it comes to launching space hardware, some of the reasons for this distribution are not so obvious. There are many companies that are positioned in more affordable regions around the US that could be serving these 10,000 businesses that simply don't know how to get seen by them. There are approximately 634,666 manufacturing companies registered as businesses in the US. Only 1.57% of those companies serve this industry that is expected to reach $791 billion dollars in the next 10 years. This works out to an average of $79 million per business per year that is AS9100 certified. Opportunity to be had!

Hire People BETTER and DIFFERENT Than You. Then do the thing that 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑙𝑒… Learn from them. Sounds simple, right? But here’s the twist—so many leaders can’t seem to do it. Why? Because underneath that simplicity is a lot of ego, fear, and insecurity. Here’s why many leaders get stuck: 1. Insecurity → It’s tough to feel like the least capable person in the room, even though that's the very thing that would unlock exponential growth. 2. Control → Hiring people with less skill lets some leaders hold onto control. It’s an ego-protecting mechanism. 3. Fear of Challenge → Different perspectives mean different ways of thinking. Leaders avoid it because they might get called out or challenged. 4. Comfort Zone → Familiarity feels safe. New people shake things up and push the boundaries. 5. Misguided Loyalty → Leaders hire based on relationships instead of results. 6. Short-Term Thinking → Hiring “cheap” talent might work for quick wins, but you lose the long-term gains from skilled and diverse teams. 7. Lack of Awareness → Some leaders genuinely don’t see the value of hiring beyond their mirror image. ↓ Leaders who avoid surrounding themselves with A-players miss out on so much: ✪ Amplified Intelligence: ↳ Your team's collective genius soars when you're surrounded by people who stretch your thinking. Their diverse skill sets and perspectives catch blind spots and unlock unseen potential. ✪ Fast-Track Growth: ↳ You grow faster because you’re learning from experts who’ve already been where you’re trying to go. When I launched Brain Apes, I knew I needed to learn from people who had specialties I didn’t. The result? We hit five figures in the first month. ✪ Constant Innovation: ↳ The best ideas don’t come from echo chambers. Humility fosters creativity. Hire outside your comfort zone and watch new, innovative solutions pour in. ✪ Better Decision Making: ↳ Different minds, different angles. A diverse team challenges assumptions and spots the things you miss. ✪ Collaboration: ↳ Strong teams are built on complementary skill sets. The whole is stronger than the sum of its parts. ✪ Trust and Culture: ↳ When you empower great people, they don’t just get the job done—they build a culture of loyalty and trust that feeds back into the business. ✪ Sustainability: ↳ It’s about building a team that can run without you. The goal of every great leader? Make yourself replaceable. I’ve done it with Brain Apes. We keep scaling because we have systems and people in place. In the end, leadership isn’t about being the smartest person in the room—it’s about being the most strategic. Hire better, learn faster, and get out of your own way. The rest will take care of itself. シ ♻️ Be kind. Smash that repost button. 💬 Which (1-7) holds the most leaders back?

Thanks to MFG Tribe - (INDUSTRIAL Sales & Marketing Agency) for this great recap video of our sold-out 2024 Sporting Clays event held last month at Staccato Ranch, LLC. Thanks to all who participated and braved the Texas summer heat! A special thank you goes to our lead sponsor Texas Capital for making it all possible. Participants enjoyed a tour of Staccato's factory, a fun tournament of 4-man shooting teams on an 80-target course, followed by happy hour and BBQ. We are already looking forward to next year's Sporting Clays event. You won't want to miss it! #networking #manufacturing #fun #sportingclays