137. Building More Than Parts: How Chris King Creates Products, Jobs and Community

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A beautifully machined bicycle component might get your attention. But what does it take to build a company that earns that same loyalty for 50 years?

In this episode, I sit down with Kirby Bedsaul, president of Chris King Precision Components, to explore the business behind an iconic cycling brand. From bearing production to the finishing details that make their parts look like jewelry, there’s a remarkable amount happening behind the factory doors in Portland, Oregon. And some of their most interesting decisions have as much to do with what they value as what they manufacture.

We get into owning your processes, building a workplace people want to stay in, and finding capable employees beyond the usual hiring pool. Kirby also shares the pressures of keeping manufacturing local—and why an empty factory represents a much bigger loss than the jobs inside it.

Whether you make bicycle components or run a job shop, this conversation raises some worthwhile questions about the business you’re building, the people you’re trusting, and what your community gains when you succeed.

What’s Covered in this Episode

• (0:00) Kirby on rallying yourself as a leader on a bad day, and owning the apology
• (1:01) Introducing Kirby Bedsaul and Chris King Precision Components
• (6:50) Hennig Workflow: automated pallet delivery that adds spindle uptime without adding headcount
• (7:41) High-end bicycle component manufacturer: products that wear-in, not out
• (10:41) Owning every process so you control cost, performance, and what happens to the waste
• (12:11) The anodizing partnership and why finish is make or break
• (16:42) Walnut shells, dry paste tumbling, and a plant with no wastewater permit
• (19:37) Hire MFG Leaders: recruiters who are current and former shop owners
• (20:06) The benefits package, the bike commute challenges, and funding a program so it works
• (25:56) Hiring for mechanical aptitude instead of experience and explaining the job
• (32:00) Navu: AI chat trained on your own website content so buyers get answers fast
• (33:12) How transparent to be with numbers, and why Kirby shares revenue instead of EBITDA
• (36:46) Working leads on the floor, and the daily scrap, quality, and DMR meetings
• (37:52) The empty buildings in his neighborhood, and what’s pushing shops five miles out
• (44:48) Ground Control: automated FAI generation and PO review for aerospace and defense
• (45:28) West Coast costs, tariffs, and exporting without a tariff department on staff
• (48:13) Why you should be targeting an unreasonable amount of margin
• (49:57) Hire people way smarter than you and put the ego in your pocket
• (53:15) Clarity and elevate the team as core values, and why leadership is hard

Resources Mentioned

• Hennig Workflow
• Hire MFG Leaders
• Navu
• Ground Control
• ProShop ERP
• Portland Community College
• Mount Hood Community College

Connect with Kirby Bedsaul

• Chris King Precision Components
• Connect with Kirby on LinkedIn