Blog · Owner Resources
Owner Resources
Machine shop and manufacturing insurance guides in owner resources, written and reviewed by Nate Jones, CPCU.
- Owner Resources
What Is My Machine Shop or Manufacturing Business Worth?
What drives a machine shop or manufacturer’s value — certifications, backlog, customer concentration — and the SDE and EBITDA multiples buyers use.
- Owner Resources
Automation for Small Machine Shops: Where to Start
How a small machine shop starts with one automated cell — robotic part-tending, lights-out runtime, and codifying a retiring machinist’s knowledge.
- Owner Resources
Business Continuity and Equipment Breakdown Planning
When a critical machine goes down, production stops. Redundancy, critical spares, cross-training, and a continuity plan turn a breakdown into a delay.
- Owner Resources
Hiring and Retaining Skilled Machinists
The skilled-labor shortage is manufacturers’ top challenge. How machine shops source, train, and keep CNC machinists, welders, and controls talent.
- Owner Resources
How Certifications Drive Manufacturing Business Valuation
Why AS9100, NADCAP, ISO 13485, and ITAR move a machine shop’s valuation multiple more than size does — the certification moat, explained for owners.
- Owner Resources
How to Prepare Your Manufacturing Business for Sale
What moves a machine shop or manufacturer’s sale multiple in the year or two before a sale — certifications, concentration, management, clean books.
- Owner Resources
How to Reduce Manufacturing Workers Comp Costs
Workers comp is a cost a machine shop can move — safety programs, class codes, claims management, and the experience mod that rewards a safer floor.
- Owner Resources
Reducing Customer Concentration as a Manufacturer
Why one customer carrying most of your revenue is both an operating risk and a valuation discount — and how to diversify the book.
- Owner Resources
The Reshoring Opportunity for Machine Shops
Reshoring is pushing work down to tier suppliers. How an independent machine shop positions for the ripple — and why capacity is the real constraint.
- Owner Resources
SDE vs EBITDA: How Manufacturers Are Valued by Earnings
How SDE and EBITDA differ for valuing a machine shop or manufacturer, which earnings measure fits which size, and the crossover where buyers switch.
- Owner Resources
What Insurance Do Your Manufacturing Customers Require?
What customers and OEMs require of a manufacturer’s insurance — COIs, additional-insured status, minimum limits, waivers, and primary wording.
- Owner Resources
Who Buys Machine Shops and Manufacturers? The Buyer Landscape
Who buys machine shops and manufacturers — owner-operators, SBA buyers, private-equity add-ons and platforms, public strategics — and how each values you.
Have a question about your shop or plant?
Talk to a specialist who writes the machine-shop and manufacturing class, or start a quote.