Having taken over Hi Tec Machining, a company founded by his father 30 years ago, Carey Strickland has seen a lot of developments in the machining industry. Today he joins us to share his story, discuss the business, and talk about the challenges of marrying the old with the new in the world of machining. Tuning in you’ll hear some background into Carey’s company and career, what a typical day at Hi Tec Machining’s facility is like, and some of the challenges that they face. You’ll hear about the struggles of hiring new people, why Carey believes the youth are reluctant to get involved in manufacturing, and what Hi Tec Machining does to improve employee retention. We also discuss the development of robots, how Carey uses them in his facility, and how he foresees their role in the future of the industry in general. To hear Carey’s advice to anyone pursuing a career in manufacturing, his tips on where to find helpful resources, why he believes in the value of being honest, and his thoughts on how to be a better leader, tune in today!
Having taken over Hi Tec Machining, a company founded by his father 30 years ago, Carey Strickland has seen a lot of developments in the machining industry. Today he joins us to share his story, discuss the business, and talk about the challenges of marrying the old with the new in the world of machining. Tuning in you’ll hear some background into Carey’s company and career, what a typical day at Hi Tec Machining’s facility is like, and some of the challenges that they face. You’ll hear about the struggles of hiring new people, why Carey believes the youth are reluctant to get involved in manufacturing, and what Hi Tec Machining does to improve employee retention. We also discuss the development of robots, how Carey uses them in his facility, and how he foresees their role in the future of the industry in general. To hear Carey’s advice to anyone pursuing a career in manufacturing, his tips on where to find helpful resources, why he believes in the value of being honest, and his thoughts on how to be a better leader, tune in today!
EPISODE 12
[INTRODUCTION]
[00:00:02] MH: You’re listening to The Industrial Movement, where we discuss the people, the processes, and the equipment that drives American manufacturing. If this is your first time listening, then thanks for coming. The Industrial Movement podcast is produced every week for your enjoyment, and the show notes can be found at our website at www.theindustrialmovement.com.
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Now, let’s get on to the show.
[EPISODE]
[00:00:40] MH: Hi, folks. Welcome back to The Industrial Movement. My name is Morty Hodge, I’m your host and with me as always, my trusty sidekick, Greg Smith.
[00:00:48] GS: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the show.
[00:00:49] MH: Today we’re honored to have a special guest, Carey Strickland with Hi Tec Machining, based out of Jefferson, Georgia. Carey and I have been friends for many years. We got to know each other through our son’s playing baseball together. That’s where you meet a lot of your friends when your kids are in school. A lot of your friends come from sports teams, and that’s how Carey and I met. He is a manufacturer here in Jefferson, Georgia. He’s agreed to come on and talk to us a little bit about Hi Tec Machining. Carey, welcome to the show.
[00:01:21] CS: Thank you, Morty. Good to be here.
[00:01:23] MH: Carey, tell us a little bit about Hi Tec Machining. When did it start? How did it get started?
[00:01:29] CS: Well, Hi Tec is a family-owned business. We started in 1984. My father actually was the original founder. I came on board when the company was in, what I call its infancy, just a few years into the operation and 30-something years later, I’m still here.
[00:01:47] MH: Your dad founded the business?
[00:01:49] CS: He did, that’s correct. He had a machining background. And of course, I went to school for machining myself, and I came on board, and we had just a few employees and then we’ve grown to where we are today.
[00:02:03] MH: Tell me exactly what does Hi Tec machining do?
[00:02:07] CS: We do CNC milling and turning. Basically, we go out and make parts for original equipment manufacturers, whether it be on the laser or the mill. Mostly the stuff we do is for new equipment or for spare parts for existing equipment.
[00:02:28] MH: Tell me a little bit about your journey. You talked about you going to school for machining, tell us what your career path was, and what your training, educational path and your development that brought you to where you’re at now.
[00:02:42] CS: Well, when I left high school, I went to technical school back in the late ’80s. Of course, technical school has evolved over the last 30 years, but they handed us a file and told us to make parts. We started from the bottom, and then progressed up to the equipment and individually the CNC equipment. I would have played baseball, but the Braves never called. I’m still waiting on that call. I don’t know if 30 years later, they just don’t have my number. Baseball didn’t work out, so machining did. I say that, I love baseball.
Once I got to school, we were working and we had no CNC equipment. It was all manual. Then so we begin to evolve into purchasing, CNC equipment, purchasing ERP software to run a company. We just begin to grow literally, one person at a time, one machine at a time. We did not try to grow too fast, watched a lot of people come and go, grow and fast. We grew slowly, steadily and found out really early, that the secret to our success was to be able to give people our word, and keep our word and deliver parts. We’ve been doing it 30 something years now.
[00:04:10] GS: What’s the biggest challenge the industry is facing today or in 10 years?
[00:04:14] CS: I think it’s skill labor. We’re struggling as most companies are to find people as our experience people are retiring. And the younger generations coming along, where you’re struggling finding people that are, number one are interested in this field and then getting them to plug in and understand the machining principles, the basic principles. With all the technology we have, you still have basic machining principles that you got to go by.
To me, our biggest struggle is taking the old school and introducing it to the young people coming along. But at the same time, understanding they have ideas and they have visions, and how you marry those two together? Old school— I’m old school all day long. I mean, I am. You get up, and you go to work and you give it your all and you don’t get a corner office given to you. You get up every day and you earn it. Then guess what, you get up tomorrow and you do the same thing again. That’s the biggest struggle we’ve seen is watching people retire, and trying to get the new generation. I don’t think I’m alone in that. I think that’s all the way across the board.
[00:05:30] MH: I was just going to say that. We hear that a lot from different guests that have been on our show. Why do you think the younger generation is not following in our footsteps and heading towards manufacturing?
[00:05:42] CS: I wish I had the answer for that, Morty. I think number one, they just are not aware of what is out there. Everybody’s got the latest and greatest cell phone technology, and I’m not against cell phone technology. It’s improved the business world in many facets. But those types of things don’t just appear, they have to be engineered, they have to be designed, they have to be made. What I think the younger people don’t understand is behind every product that lands on the shelf, there’s an engineer, there’s a designer, there’s a machinist, there’s an electrician, there’s industry got it there.
[00:06:23] MH: If there was other younger folks or other people in manufacturing that wanted to get into leadership, what advice would you give them wanting to pursue a career similar to yours?
[00:06:33] CS: I’ve had the privilege of being on the advisory committee at the local technical college where I went to school. Here’s what I tell the students when I have the opportunity to meet with them, going through the program for machining is, jump into the pool, you may be behind a machine today, but you may be a plant manager in 10 years, or you may branch off into purchasing, or into engineering, or the manufacturing world or the manufacturing pool is very broad. You guys touch a facet of that, and that’s what I try to tell the students, is jump into the pool, get started, learn machining and there’s no telling what it will branch off to. It could be anything from plant manager to plant engineer, to lead machinist, to purchasing, to sales. The sky’s literally the limit and the direction you can go. But you got to get in the pool first.
[00:07:33] GS: Awesome. Any books or other resources that have helped you along the way on your journey?
[00:07:38] CS: I’m reading a book right now called the Effective CEO. That’s one thing that I’ve had to transition from is being a machinist and trying to grow business to taking on a CEO role. The thinking is different, so I’m reading that book now. But I tell you, YouTube is amazing. You can see so many videos of how things are made, and how parts are made now, which should be right up the alley of the younger generation because they’re on it every day. But there’s a lot of resources there. That’s the biggest thing I’ve seen in 30 years. We didn’t have those resources that they have now.
[00:08:30] MH: Not even close.
[00:08:32] CS: No, no, no.
[00:08:34] MH: Who are some people that have been influential to you in business and in life?
[00:08:41] CS: Well, obviously, my father has been a very big influence on it. But I’ve had the privilege of working with many people. One in particular who worked with us for about 15 years, he was a friend. But more so, I look at him as a mentor. He kind of took me under his wing, that tall, skinny kid that’s trying to learn about the business. And he kind of just took me under his wing and just taught me the basic every day. Make sure you’re honest with people, make sure you give them your word, make sure you follow up what you can control. There’s going to be 1000 things you can’t control, but make sure you are doing your best. He taught me how to quote, and how to how to approach a job and how to think about a job. I literally can never repay for those. He didn’t have to do that. I hope somewhere down the line, I can take someone under my wing and say – pull that kid aside and say, “Hey! It’s going to be all right. There are going to be days you will be frustrated. You’re going to quit 1000 times, but you’ll be back tomorrow morning. Here’s what you got to do to be successful.” Hopefully, I get that opportunity one day.
[00:10:00] MH: What was the gentleman’s name?
[00:10:02] CS: His name was Dennis Drake.
[00:10:04] MH: Dennis Drake, if you’re listening, tip of the cap to you, sir.
[00:10:07] CS: Tip of the cap. He’s retired now, had some health issues, but he’s doing okay. He passed it along and that’s what I’ll always be grateful for.
[00:10:16] GS: What is your biggest lesson learned and what did you take away from it?
[00:10:20] CS: Biggest lesson learned? Wow! I think my biggest lesson learned is being honest with people. My grandfather always said, your words, your bond. And in the world of contracts and negotiations, my grandfather never had a contract, it was always a handshake. I understand, we can’t do business that way today. But if he told me once, he told me 1000 times, “So in your words, you bond. When you give a man your word, you keep it.” I think that’s why I’ve been able to be in business for 30 years, because and I tell my staff, when we make a promise, let’s keep. It doesn’t matter the COVID is going on, it doesn’t matter that things happen, let’s keep our word to people. I think that’s why I’ve done a lot of business over the years, because the people sitting across the table knew if I said it, I would do it as best I could.
Not to pat myself on the back. Don’t get me wrong. It’s my team. But we’ve had that philosophy as a company to keep your word. Because how many times have you been lied to over your career, and hung out to dry? It’s nice to have somebody that you can count on. If I could pass that lesson forward is be somebody that people can depend on and count on.
[00:11:51] MH: What are some of the day-to-day challenges that you face in your position,
[00:11:55] CS: Right now in this environment, obviously, material is an ongoing battle. The price of material is skyrocketing in many, many ways. Availability, supply chain issues. And again, I think that’s all the way across the board. Every industry, sometimes even go the grocery store now and shelves are empty. That’s what we’re finding every day now. Before or pre-COVID, you would sometime have issues but not on the scale. People been hard to come by in our business. You got to keep them loyal, you got to keep them happy, you got to keep them in the building. It’s hard to keep all those promises that we made when chaos is ensuing all around us.
[00:12:55] MH: Do you have any initiatives or things that you guys do for employee or team member retention?
[00:13:02] CS: We do the best we can with our benefits. Obviously, we have the vacation, and the insurance and the holiday pay and whatnot. We try to be as lenient and work with people as we can. We understand life happens, and flat tires happen, and dead batteries happen, and sick kids happen. We try our best to create an environment where there’s a little bit of slack, a little bit of leeway. But at the same time, everybody has to be committed to the fact that if we don’t meet our goals, we won’t have a second chance. That’s the thing that we try to – we want people to be part of the family when they come in, and not just a number. Hopefully we can get to know this person, and get to know their family and a lot of my people honestly have worked in larger plants and just didn’t like the environment, the smaller environment where they have a voice, they have an opinion. That’s what we try to do, our employees is put them in a position as if they own the place. What would you do in this situation? How would you handle this situation? So far, it’s worked.
[00:14:27] GS: All right. Well, let’s talk about some processes. Tell us about a typical day at your facility. What’s the process?
[00:14:32] CS: The process at our facility, we’re going to get this raw material into our facility, whether it be and bar stock, or flat bar stock, or our burn out or some kind of – however that material lands at our place. Then we’re going to have routed this job. Every step of the way, we’re going to document it on paper as to how we’re going to machine this part, whether it goes through the lathe, whether it goes to the mill. Whatever that process is, we’re going to document it out. We’re going to record it every step of the way for a quality assurance standpoint, and we’re going to have this part laid out on paper, how it flows through our shop, from the get go. And then once that material arrives, we work the plan, and that part makes its way through our shop and then out the door to our customer.
Of course, there’s always going to be bumps in the road, there’s always going to be delays here or there. Most of our day is planning and then adjusting the plan to work to make it happen when Murphy’s Law kicks in.
[00:15:47] MH: That sounds like a great process, and you guys have thought it through. What processes or plans do you have in place to maintain efficiency and productivity?
[00:15:58] CS: A major part of that is keeping our equipment maintained, and cross training our people, so that if one person is out, we can – someone else can step in and fill that gap. Maintaining the equipment, good equipment is very important. When we look for equipment, we go out and we buy what we think is the best that fit for our equipments. Our equipment, if we maintain it, we find has a long-life cycle to it. We can literally run this machine, sometimes 10 or 15 years, and maybe even 20 if we maintain it properly. That’s the thing that we try to do, is manage what we have. But at the same time, we try to be almost a revolving door when a piece of equipment reaches a certain age, we will try to step back and replace that piece of equipment with the latest and greatest technology so that we don’t get behind the curve of technology.
Technology today is amazing, versus what it was in 1990. Not to knock the 1990s, but technology has come so far in inserts, in tooling, in cutting and whatnot when we’re strictly talking about machining. What we try to do is provide those people with the latest and greatest work equipment, tooling, so that they have what they need. Then if we can keep everybody healthy, it’s game on.
[00:17:46] MH: You brought up technology, and you’re right, it’s transformed manufacturing, it’s transformed every aspect of business and our personal lives. How has it impacted your industry as a whole technology?
[00:18:01] CS: I think first and foremost, communication. Thirty years ago, if you needed a draw on, somebody had to mail it to you, physically in the mail or you had to go meet with them face to face and pick it up. Now, we can send blueprints all over the world almost instantaneously. Communications is the big thing, but I think the advancement of machining technology, and tooling has come a long way. I mean, when I started out in school, they handed you a blank, and you had to grind that tool to cut that metal. Now you’ve got every grade of insert, every shape, size. If you’re cutting a certain type of metal, then they’ve got an insert for it. Now, we’re just putting the puzzle together match, and what are you cutting, what shapes are you cutting, what material are you cutting. It’s kind of plug and play. No more going over and spending 30 minutes trying to hand grind a tool. It’s there readily available for you.
Then the CNC aspect of it, whoever designed the CNC, just, oh my goodness. I mean, the technology, what they can do. The lasers, the robots and whatnot, it’s phenomenal. It’s mind boggling what they can do.
[00:19:37] GS: I would imagine the precision levels going way up too?
[00:19:40] CS: It has. It really has. The tolerances that the machines will hold, I mean, you’re literally talking tens of a thousands. It’s amazing.
[00:19:52] GS: Is any of the equipment unique to your industry of what you make, how to use them?
[00:19:57] CS: I wouldn’t think it would be unique to us, ourselves. I mean, to the industry and whole. You can probably go in another shop our size, and you’re going to be able to see CNC turning and CNC milling. We do some robot welding, and that’s very common in a lot of welding shops and whatnot. I don’t think we’re on the cutting edge of all technologies that are out there. I mean, yes, when we buy a new piece of equipment, it’s the latest and greatest. But for our standpoint, it’s basically just turning and milling. That’s a pretty common in our industry. But again, the technology still, it’s mind boggling.
[00:20:43] MH: You talked about robots. Tell us, what do you use the robots for? Is that a newer piece of equipment that you guys have?
[00:20:51] CS: That is. iRobot is a robot welder and it actually does welding. The robot does the welding and I’m like a kid at the candy store when I’m looking at it. I mean, I’ve been in this industry a long time, but just to sit and watch this machine work, it’s fluid. It’s like watching a dance performance. The way the arm of the welder works, and then sit back and watch the time saving from having to do something manually versus letting a robot do it. It’s, again, it’s how they come up with this technology and how they do it, I just am fascinated to watch it every day. What we found is, it’s helped our capabilities, it’s helped our lead times. You can’t outrun the technology. It’s amazing.
[00:21:51] MH: And the robot never calls in sick.
[00:21:52] CS: Never calls in sick.
[00:21:54] MH: Never has a flat tire.
[00:21:55] CS: Never has a flat tire. Never argues back. No sick kids. Well, I shouldn’t say never argues back. If we don’t program it right, it will definitely let us know.
[00:22:06] GS: What is one common myth about your profession or field that you would want to debunk?
[00:22:11] CS: That machining is a nasty, greasy job. Yes, there’s oil and greases involved and coolants and whatnot. But for the most part, most of our machining is done in an enclosed CNC. A guy can literally almost dress like he’s going to church now, because everything’s taking place inside the CNC. For people to look at this job and go, “Well, I’m just going to get nasty, it’s going to be greasy and people are not very intelligent. Now, these are some of the most creative, intelligent people you will ever come across.
You’re asking a man or a lady to take a piece of metal and make a precision machine parts that may have a five tense tolerance to it. To give you some perspective on that, if you pull a hair off your head, that’s going to measure about 3000s, 0.003. And we’re talking about holding tolerance at 0.0005. So you can break down how many times you have to cut that hair, how many pieces you have to cut down. That’s how small. You’re asking a person to take in precisionally machine this. These people are talented. No, you don’t hear their name on the news every day. And no, they may not be making millions of millions of dollars, but they are very talented. To just be some – he’s just a dumb guy who works in the greasy shop. That is not what we deal with every day.
These people are genius. They have engineering capabilities. They have machining capabilities. They can think their way through a problem. I mean, those are skill sets, that the people that we come across every day is phenomenal. They’ve solved some of the major problems in this nation. That would be a major one I would want to debunk. Oh, this guy’s just the dumb guy that works in a greasy shop. No, he’s probably one of the sharpest, most intelligent people you ever meet.
[00:24:40] MH: Where do you see your industry or your business in 10 years?
[00:24:45] CS: I think industry will continue to evolve. I think we’ve learned a lot through COVID, how much that has changed things. I think in 10 years, you will still have advanced technology. We mentioned robots earlier. I think you’re going to see manufacturers go to a more automated robot loading of machines. It’s already happening now because they cannot find the skilled workers that they need.
Now, we personally, when I mentioned robots before, we’re doing robot welding, but we’re not loading our machines with robots. But I think you’re going to start seeing that trend happen a lot, because parts have still got to be made, to keep manufacturing going, to keep industry going. You got to have parts for your air compressors, you got to have parts for your equipment, you got to have parts for all the equipment that makes food and makes everything that we use as a nation. So parts have got to be made, and somebody’s got to make them. If there’s not a skilled body there, then the alternative is going to be to have a robot loaded. I’m not saying like that at times, I’d rather have that skill person standing there. But I think you’re going to see that a lot in next 10 years.
[00:26:11] GS: What is one thing that you would want to share with our listeners that will help them be better managers?
[00:26:16] CS: I think is you just got to be real with people. I really do. I hope that I’ve learned over 30 years, it’s okay to say, “You know what, I don’t have the answer to this. I don’t know. Let’s solve it together. Let’s figure it out.” Just because you’re in management, don’t mean you know every answer. You may have a sharp team member and utilize those skills, let them shine, don’t be afraid to let the spotlight shine on somebody else. Because the worst thing you can do is never ask any questions. If you walk into that situation, and all you’re bound and determined, I’ve got the answer. Well, that’s the only answer you’re ever going to get. But if you let that team jump in there and say, “Hey!” These intelligent people that are, from my standpoint that are working on these machines, “How do you see us fixing this problem?” That’s helped me throughout the years, and it makes people take a little ownership into what it is. And not just manufacturing all the way across the board. If people feel important and feel like they have a little stake in the game, they’re willing – a lot of people are willing to work, a lot of people just gets frustrated, because they feel like they’re never heard.
I think a manager’s got to listen, and give people the opportunity to shine and not be afraid when they do. I mean, the team wins or we lose that. That’s kind of the philosophy we take. I think that’s what a manager should do is, is you got to be a leader, and you got to lead by example, but you got to be – you can’t be afraid to let your team speak up either.
[00:27:54] MH: One of our goals of creating this podcast is to connect manufacturing leaders to other manufacturing leaders. If our listeners wanted to reach out to you, maybe to bounce ideas off of you or ask you questions of how you overcame a certain obstacle. How could they get in touch with you?
[00:28:10] CS: You have all my contact information, and you’re more than welcome to. Probably email is the best and be more than glad for them to reach out email wise. If I can help, I would be more than glad to and if I can update you.
[00:28:25] MH: Do you want to give your email out or do you want them to contact me and I’ll put you in touch?
[00:28:28] CS: You can contact and put them in touch, and that might be just the cleanest, easiest way to do it.
[00:28:33] MH: Perfect. So email me, morty@theindustrialmovement.com. If you need to get in touch with Carey Strickland, I’ll be happy to connect you to him. I know he’d be happy to help any other fellow manufacturing leader.
[00:28:47] CS: Absolutely. Absolutely.
[00:28:49] MH: Carey, thank you so much for being on the show today.
[00:28:52] CS: Thank you, Morty.
[00:28:52] MH: It was a true pleasure to get to know you.
[00:28:54] GS: Thank you so much.
[00:28:55] CS: Thank you. Thank you, guys. Appreciate you so much, Morty.
[00:28:57] MH: Have a good day.
[OUTRO]
[00:28:59] MH: Well, folks, that’s it for this week’s episode. Be sure to visit our website www.theindustrialmovement.com to view today’s show notes and get more golden nuggets of value that we have collected from manufacturing industrial professionals in our archived episodes.
On our website, you can also sign up for our newsletter and find links to join The Industrial Movement community on Facebook. The Industrial Movement podcast is where we discuss the people, the process, and the equipment that drives American manufacturing. I’m your host Morty Hodge, wishing you great success.
[END]