From Motorcycles to Machining: Building a Business Around What You Love | Ep. 544

[0:00] Carrie, how many bones have you not broken? We were having this conversation yesterday. It was pretty gnarly. I’m in the high eighties for broken bones. I had my 23rd surgery last year and I tore my sphinctest in half. Oh my gosh, dude. Yeah, I beat myself up pretty good, but I still love riding, love motorcycles. Paul. Mike. Crazy IMTS. Yes, it is. Only day two. My feet hurt already. I’m worn out. And I bought the best shoes I could possibly buy. I did that and help. Yeah. I don’t know if I told you yesterday, you know, we recorded in the morning and I went, I actually ran over to Kenna metal and I ran somewhere else and I got back over here and I sat down, I grabbed my coffee. I’m like, ah, like, man, I’m so tired. And I looked at my watch and it was 11 a.m. It’s about right. Like two hours into day one. I’m already tired. Yes, sir. But speaking of running over to the Kenna metal booth, I saw like maybe my favorite thing here so far. And so we have the guys behind that here with us today. Super cool. Let you guys maybe do some introductions here. Yeah.

[1:15] Start here. My name is Taylor Schultz. I’m a custom painter from Sonoma County, California. I paint helmets, motorcycles, anything that needs paint pretty much. So I’m here painting the Indian motorcycle in the booth here at Kenna metal with these lovely gentlemen to my right. I’m Kerry Hart. My day job is professional motocross. And I’ve been building bikes for 12 years, exclusively with Indian for the last 10. Nice. Super cool. And my name is Satya Krause, Krause Motor Company. We manufacture aftermarket motorcycle parts, mostly for the V-Twin industry. So, uh, you know, Harleys and Indians. This week we’re building an Indian. It’s coming out pretty nice. So we’re bolting some of our parts on it and having some fun. And some lucky guest is going to take this thing home on Friday. Yeah. Yeah. I hope so. Maybe, maybe we can rig it. Maybe someone at this table can take it. That’d be amazing. Yeah. We, you know what? We could swap you. We’re giving away a machine. Sweet. That’s a fair trade for me. Oh yeah. I don’t know. I could work this out. I got a few bikes. Well, we were talking a little bit before and love to kind of get your guys’ like kind of individual stories of kind of how you got into this, you know, building bikes and manufacturing and like that whole like origin story piece and painting and everything.

[2:30] Yeah, absolutely. I started around 2004, building bikes, building custom bikes, you know, handmade, just fabricating, you know, welding, bending material, shaping sheet metal. And then around 2012, I started thinking about product line and developing a product line because I was just tired of using my two hands and wanted some robots to do the work. So started designing and started picking up CAD and doing CAD work. And then 2015 bought my first machine, bought a first Haas machine and started machining. And then, you know, two years later, bought two more and more and more. And now I have 19 spindles and running a big production shop and, you know, kind of premier onshore manufacturing in our industry. So we crank out about 3000 parts a week out of that shop. Yeah. It’s a, it’s pretty interesting. When you started doing it, it was because you just, you loved motorcycles. I love motorcycles. Yeah. I love motorcycles. And, you know, I wanted to make things. Yeah. It was like, how can I make things? And so I started making things, you know, the old school way of just like, you know, craft, craft making things and then realize that, wait, there’s a better way to do this. Right. What was your first real part that you took a production? We did a lot of breaking stuff. I realized that in the, in the V-Twin industry, the Harley industry, and we really, their breaks were terrible. So I would take breaks off his sport bikes and then convert them and adapt over to the Harley industry.

[3:58] And we started doing that with braking and suspension and really got into more of like the performance scene, building performance into these bikes. I was coming from sport bikes and off-road bikes, dirt bikes and stuff like that, and really like had performance need, performance needs is the way I was riding. And so that conversion from Harley, you know, I, I love the Harleys. I love that, that kind of scene, but they handled terrible. So it was like, how can I make these bikes better? And that’s really actually over the years, like guys like Kerry, you know, Taylor, we’ve all really worked to transform the V-Twin industry from kind of the old biker style into like a new kind of performance, you know, young, young version. That’s pretty neat. That’s really cool. Mine’s kind of interesting. So I, as I like to say, my day job is I ride professional motocross. Um, if you were ever a fan of the X games back in the 2000s, I was the first person did a backflip on a dirt bike a million years ago. I was a very big name in freestyle motocross and I still technically ride motorcycles for a living, dirt bikes. I guess it was probably about 13 years ago or so. I got invited to be the grand marshal at the Sturgis motorcycle rally. You know, this was like in the peak of my motocross career. That’s cool. And I have a really cool shop and I like to tinker. So I got a motorcycle from Harley Davidson to, for my role as a grand marshal. Did some customizing on it, you know, like as you kind of do.

[5:20] I went to the event, fulfilled my obligations, couple of magazines, shot my bike, like no big deal, but you know, bucket list kind of type situation. When Sturgis was over, I remember getting a phone call from the guys at a hot bike magazine, which is the big hop-up magazine. And they’re like, Hey, we got a hot bike tour coming up next year. How serious about bike building are you? And without even thinking twice, I just blurted out. I was like, yeah, I’m super into it. And they said, well, do you want to be a featured builder next year on the tour? And I was like, yeah. So hung up the phone and I’m like, all right, well, I guess I’m going to start tinkering on, you know, V-Twin bikes more. Fast forward to, I kind of dove into the deep end and started building bikes and, you know, learning a craft, learning how to fabric, you know, primarily fabrication and, and working with people like Krause. Yeah. And then fast forward, you know, 10 years later, I’ve been exclusively on the Indian platform. I go to events for Indian, you know, fly the flag. I said, I’m a old dirt bike rider. I have a lot of, a lot of fan base on the V-Twin side that kind of jumped the fence with me. And I build anywhere from two to five bikes a year with my best friend. Um, launched a small little parts company that’s exclusively on Indian platform and just have fun building bikes and kind of learning the craft and just trying to expand my own craft. That’s very cool. Very cool. How about you, Taylor? Oh, me, I grew up working at a body shop.

[6:35] I was a young kid. I, uh, let’s see, worked after school, whenever I could, any vacation that I had, I worked in the body shop. Thought I was going to work in the body shop for the rest of my life. And then, uh, in high school, I got a scholarship to art school in San Francisco on a whim. Dropped out after a year. Didn’t really know what I was going to do. And my brother, uh, worked next to a custom motorcycle paint place, and they also built bikes. And so I walked in one day and I was laid off from the body shop. And I said, Hey, do you guys need any help? They said, absolutely. So I started working in a custom field, doing custom bikes, got to know everybody in the industry, met Satya, met a bunch of people. Very young. I was only about 22 years old. Kind of knew that I wanted to do my own thing. So I started going back to the body shop I worked at as a kid and I asked him if I could rent some space from him. And when I did that, I knew I was going to quit the day job stuff. And I was having more fun working on my buddy’s bikes and painting those. So sure enough, I got laid off. I got in my car and just went straight to my shop that I was renting at night and then kind of evolved from there, kind of grew up in that whole scene where it wasn’t a YouTube, there wasn’t all this stuff that you can go, you know, watch videos to learn from.

[7:53] So it was very old school when I started learning, which I’m thankful for. But I definitely looked up to both these guys when I was younger, you know, obviously Kerry for what he’s done in the industry and Satya for the bikes that he used to build and the ones that I saw, you know, he was building bikes way ahead of anybody at the time, you know, in the early 2000s. So yeah. And then how I ended up here is I was working with Sherwin-Williams and Kimberly Wilson, that’s at Kenamental. She, she left there and started working at Kenamental after working at Sherwin. And, and, um, our relationship continued into that field. So we kind of put this whole thing together and here we are. You can’t spell high end without DN. If you’re serious about taking your shop to the next level, it might be time to stop thinking in terms of good enough and start thinking in terms of capability, flexibility, and my favorite, automation. DN Solutions is helping manufacturers move into true high-end machining with their SMX multitasking series, the DVF 5-axis machines, and advanced automation solutions designed for shops that want to run smarter, faster, and more competitively. The SMX platform gives you the ability to combine multiple operations into one setup, reducing handling, improving accuracy, and helping you get complex parts out the door faster. Their DVF 5-axis lineup delivers the precision, rigidity, and confidence manufacturers need for today’s demanding aerospace, medical, and high-performance applications.

[9:21] And when you pair those machines with automation, you’re not just buying equipment, you’re building a more scalable business, high-end parts, high-end capability, high-end thinking. Because you can’t spell high-end without DN. Learn more at dnsolutions.com. That’s part of what I, you know, I want to talk a little bit about today. So, I mean, we’ve all been to tons of shows and there’s, you know, tens of thousands of people here this week. And so when I went to the Kindermetal booth yesterday, what was so cool about it is like, I walked into an experience, right? Like something was going on and, and there was a, there was a drive and a passion around it that you don’t get in every booth you go to. Yeah, it draws you in for sure. Yeah. That’s memorable. You guys kind of created that whole vibe going on, right? I mean, this was like, kind of started with you going, you know what? I mean, I can, I’m going to make a few phone calls. Yeah. And that’s, Kim and I talked and I introduced her to Satya and then we kind of evolved and introduced Carrie to her. And then this is kind of, we got Indian involved and got them to donate the bike for this. But it was very organic, which was cool. It wasn’t like a forced thing. And all three of us have known about activations in our world of the motorcycle world and it’s, you know, very much an experience, so we definitely tried to bring that aspect to this, which it definitely was, I thought, you know? Yeah.

[10:43] I mean, you know, this was obviously the backbone of Kimberly and her team and, you know, you can always throw ideas around, but it takes a special group of people to make it actually happen. So it was really cool to kind of go from just the, the conversation aspect of it and kicking ideas around on a conference call to showing up here and having, you know, I’ve been joking, calling it like our little fishbowl over there where our shop’s at. And it’s, it’s been super fun because it seems as though, though this is a manufacturing footprint, you know, maybe a lot of people haven’t seen, you know, but three guys and a couple of extra, a couple extra set of hands can do in the course of, you know, a few days at a trade show. So it’s been really fun. Yeah. We, uh, we were doing some demo stuff over there too. So, you know, Kim got ahold of me and said, Hey, and we run a lot of tooling in our shop. Like at this point we’re, we’re using a ton of their tooling and it’s great stuff. And so she got ahold of me and said, Hey, is there something we can demo? You know, is there a part we can demo? And I said, yeah, absolutely. So I sent her over some drawings, uh, models and they, they, you know, got their, their pros on, you know, cam and that stuff. And I, I sent them our cam and everything. And you know, the tooling we’re using, they, they, they got a machine over there sitting there and they’re making that part and it’s pretty neat. So that part’s actually going to get put on the, on the motorcycle before Friday, before it goes to, you know, to get, to get given away. So it’s pretty cool. This whole, this whole thing, we’re doing a little demo on what tools we’re using and stuff like that.

[12:08] So, you know, like kind of bringing it together and saying, Hey, you know, what are, what are these parts that we’re all making? We’re all here with neat machines and making stuff, right? What are these, what does these things really do? We’re lucky enough to actually get to bolt these things on bikes and go, you know, go rip down the road and have fun with them. So we’re really like end consumers at the same time we’re developers and manufacturers. Right. Right. Yeah. Paul, I mean, I’d love to hear your take on that, you know, with like, was your think of machinists drive, right? I mean, when we talk about, obviously there’s national security, I mean, there’s a lot of crazy applications, but then even just in this case where like, this is for fun too, right? I mean, and, but we need all of that. Yeah. Yeah. And you’ve seen a lot of those shops around. Sure. I mean, every machine part has an end application. Some are very mundane and they go in a piston that goes on a machine that goes up and down. And some things are just super cool. They go on a fricking motorcycle, it’s badass and it’s just loud and it’s beautiful. Right. Right. And so whatever the application is, there’s not a product in this hall in the world that would not exist without a machinist, right? Every single thing starts with a machinist one way or another. So that’s been one of my mantras for years now. Being able to do something that is your passion, that is, you know, creates joy, not just, you know, a business. Like how fun is that? Oh, it’s amazing. You know, and what we’re focused on is really like onshore manufacturing.

[13:34] And that’s one of the great things about Kenna Metal as well. You know, American company doing it here. And so, you know, for us, it’s, it’s really important to work with those companies and support that. You know, we do consumer product. Not a lot of consumer product is made in the U.S. We’re making a ton of aerospace stuff and, you know, defense stuff, but consumer product, it’s all sent overseas. And it’s hard to compete in the consumer market. Absolutely. I mean, in a lot of cases. And that’s where efficiencies, you know, things like your machines, your workholding, your tooling, your automation, all those things come into, you know, major consideration. Yeah. Yeah. You got to optimize that cost. Got to have quality. Got to, you know, be competitive. I’m sure your, your parts, you know, come out of premium because they’re just really cool and there’s demand, but at the same time you got to make a margin and make sure you can keep doing it here forever. Absolutely. Being competitive is number one. You know, it’s like, I, I would say that you can create a competitive company. You can get a monopolistic company, you know, and you want to be a monopoly where you can, but it’s not always in product and there’s only so many product ideas out there. So really it’s like, how are, what are your systems? What are your models? You know, how are you running your business? What’s your culture? All of those things really, you can create more monopoly around your business. And then your product, you have to, you have to keep efficient. Right. You know, so you’re really thinking about how am I developing this stuff? How am I manufacturing this stuff? That’s what’s great for me about being here is being able to walk around and see all of these amazing technologies and amazing tools and just sit here and be like, man, I wish I could go shopping, you know, it’s like, wow. So you just brought up a point.

[15:02] I mean, you guys have been busy building a motorcycle. I mean, obviously, but, but you just said you have walked around a little bit. So just a little bit, I’m trying to get out more. So one question I wanted to ask each of you is, is this your first IMTS? Have you been multiple times? Yeah. First time. And first time for those of you, okay. I thought maybe you’d been, since you have a job. I’ve been wanting to go for years and years and just never put it together. So in whatever limited time you have had to walk around, what do you think of IMTS? It’s massive. Massive. Yeah. I mean, for me, it’s, yeah, it’s huge. For me, I feel like it’s kind of interesting because like, I’m never going to be Krauss, right? But I have enough intrigue and interest in, you know, CNC and machining. Uh, you know, I, I fabricate myself and it’s been really eye-opening because from, you know, I, I like using the term, I know just enough to be dangerous. You know, I think like, Oh, cool. You buy one five axis machine and you’re pumping out $10 million a year in parts and it does not work like that, you know, and, uh, and it’s really cool. It’s been like a huge learning experience for me and just seeing all the tech. And what I see come out of this is like, yeah, you know, keeping, keeping manufacturing, you know, in America or bringing it back, you know, and seeing more, you know, products being manufactured here and it’s just, it’s just super humbling, but it’s also like exciting.

[16:20] Cause like through my little bike building journey, which I do for a living, but more so as a passion, you know, like I’m constantly kind of pushing myself and learning more, you know, like in the early days, it was just bolting parts on a motorcycle, then it turned into fabrication and now I have a lot of interest in CAD design and machine work. So, you know, if I can keep challenging myself and coming to a place like this, it’s really inspiring and it makes me want to kind of keep pushing. Yeah. That’s awesome. How about you, Taylor? This is, you know, I’m a painter, right? So everything that I do is pretty much hand done. So when I see stuff like this, it makes me appreciate so much more about what these guys do, you know? And we were talking today at breakfast, uh, Krauss and I about for years, every time I look at a piece that Krauss makes, it’s, I always wonder how he can make something that looks like a piece of art out of a machine that doesn’t know how to be artistic, you know? That’s a, that’s a really great point. And that’s every time I see a part, like the struts that he has on this Indian, that’s what I, I see a piece of art, you know, and not just because I’m an artist, but I just look at him like, man, I can appreciate it. They’re so often very beautiful. I mean, really, I mean, it’s, it’s insane. Yeah. So it’s very humbling for me to be here too, because I don’t know this world, but I can very much appreciate it, you know? And it’s a world of makers still, right? I mean, like, I mean, you’re a maker, whether you run in a machine or you’re painting or you’re fabbing, I mean, you’re a maker and everybody here’s a maker. Yeah.

[17:42] There’s a lot of creativity and that’s one thing with the automation, AI, all the things that are coming to us is that we can’t, we can’t copy creativity. You know, it takes human beings to really go in there and have those ideas and really make things amazing. So yeah, that’s something that, you know, all of this stuff is always going to take human beings. If you’re looking to increase your spindle uptime without adding any head count, check out the Hennig Workflow Automation System. I’ve seen it. I love it. It’s a compact automated pallet delivery solution that lets you work ahead of your machine so your shop never stops. You can load up to 40 pallets with material, fixtures, programs, and just let the workflow cook. Hennig Workflow is designed for high mix machining, works with a wide range of machines, and even with 125 pound payload on top of a 300 millimeter pallet, yet still takes up less space than most competitors pallet automation system. That means more production, fewer manual changeovers, really just a practical path to high profit lights out machining. Learn more about Hennig Workflow by visiting hennigworldwide.com slash workflow. You had mentioned you went to art school. You’re obviously creative. Nick went to art school. Titan was, Titan started out to be an artist.

[19:01] Yeah. You know, you go down this list, it’s actually pretty, there’s, there’s two trends here that I’m seeing. One, so many people in this industry that, that I’ve had the opportunity to talk to have an art background or wanted to, you know, like we’re pursuing that. The other thing that we’ve talked a lot about, I think is very applicable to you guys that, and Paul’s a good case, is automotive and I mean, or automotive or motorcycles, whatever, I mean, Paul got his start in this industry because of cars. Yeah. I went to school for sort of engineering, but I fell in love with the Formula SAE competition. So built a tiny little race car every single year, you know, machine shop in our college, up all night long building parts and then going and racing against other schools and I got into the business cause I wanted to start a small niche car company, right? Like it’s, I mean, talk about the creativity and just like the artistry of it. You know, you open up, you know, the hood of a car, you look at a motorcycle that has a bunch of billet on it and there’s just something about that, it’s just so sexy, you know, that was the vision, but we knew we couldn’t start a car company from scratch, so we started a machine shop and here we are 26 years later. It’s about creating things, you know, and having your, kind of having your foot, your hand print on, on the world.

[20:16] I think, you know, that’s a big one. There’s another topic I’d love to get your guys’ opinions on, and it’s a theme of all the conferences here and the discussions is, is that like the labor shortage and the, and you know, we don’t have people pouring into the industry necessarily, but you guys are coming into it from three different ways, right? So any advice you have for like, how can we continue to attract that next generation and, and in any of these fields, right? In fab and machining and painting, like whatever, we need all of that. Yeah, absolutely. For me, it’s really about, you know, again, it’s about creativity and doing something real, you know, I see all these, you know, our devices and all the AI stuff and it’s like, oh, look what I just created. But, you know, there’s something different about really just making something, you know, if it’s making something from your hand or painting something the way Taylor does, you know, or, you know, developing something in 3D and send it over to a machine, it’s about making real things. I mean, we, we need things to survive with, you know, and help us survive and have fun with and, and if we lose that, you know, that’s going to be, that’s going to be tough. So I think for me, it’s about the creative side and bringing people in and showing people that, you know, the joy that they can have in, in creating, you know, as far as, you know, the automation stuff, we’re putting a ton of automation into the, into the shop, into the, the business in all different forms and ways, but there’s always needs for, for people. And it really just changes. It doesn’t, you know, we’re never going to have less people, you know, we’re never going to need less people.

[21:49] It just changes what people are doing and gives people an advantage where, you know, some of those process jobs, which are really monotonous and, and really wear people out, those jobs that, you know, they get to the end of their, you know, their careers and they’re beat up and they can’t walk and they can’t move because they’ve done the same thing over and over for 20 years. You know, those kinds of jobs are the ones that we can hand off to robots and we can put people in those jobs that are more creative and more fun and more exciting. And so I think it’s just us shifting the industry and how we do things to fit. Awesome. My perspective might be a little bit more entry level, but you know, I got two young kids and I’m kind of trying, I, I, I have a 15 year old daughter who’s got her eyes set on Broadway and we’re living in New York and she’s going to school for that, but she’s been MIG welding since she was five years old, like using tools. I, you know, like my son who is probably going to spend his life spreading his seed, you know, I’m going to push him into like, you know, using his hands and, you know, like getting into the trade business. And I don’t think it really helped that there was a period and a few generations of, you know, you got to go to college and get a, you know, be a lawyer or a doctor where it’s like, well, that’s not going to get your toilet to flush and it’s not going to get your houses built and your automobiles running on the road. So I think shining a really cool light on the trades and manufacturing and getting your hands dirty is something pretty cool. Yeah.

[23:08] And I think about shop class, bringing it back to shop class, you know? I mean, they’re not gone, gone, but they’re coming back, but I haven’t seen one in a while. The importance of them are huge. And that’s what I’m like, what was echoing with me when you said that was the importance of shop class, whether you’re an artist or you’re in the trades or anything is the basis is getting back. I’m a big Mike Rowe fan. He always talks about shop class, you know, so that’s a big thing for me. Yeah. I was just talking to a customer of ours at our booth, ARE Manufacturing in Portland, and they sponsor and help build this high school machining company called Tiger Manufacturing. And the students run a for-profit business out of the high school. They grossed $70,000 last year making machine parts. Wow. Amazing. And they’re learning machining. They’re learning the business skills or learning quoting. They’re learning sales, you know, logistics. So those things exist. There’s not enough of them. We need more of them. Like I had a guest on, on, on my podcast, Machine Shop Mastery a couple of weeks ago, Josiah Falaise, who makes drift car parts, but he has such, he’s, he’s built like a quarter million followers on Instagram, just showing how he builds his parts, how he designs them, just the things in his shop and like, he has no problem finding people.

[24:26] When he posts something, he gets a flood of applicants. So even though not everybody can work on something quite that sexy, getting your name out there, showing what you’re doing, you know, whether you’re making aerospace parts or motorcycle parts, like just showing people what you do, I think is a huge part of attracting applicants and getting your name out there. A lot of shop owners aren’t good at that. So they like to just be in behind their doors and do their little thing. But I think they need to push past their comfort zone. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, some of the funnest thing to watch for me, like, you know, if I open up my Instagram or whatever is, is machine shops doing interesting things? You know, it’s like, wow, look at the way that guy is fixturing that thing. You know, it’s, I mean, that’s the stuff I love, you know? So it’s, it, it got me into it and it got me excited about it. And so, you know, I know that’s out there for somebody else too. So the more that we can do it, obviously, you know, the better. Yeah. You bet. You bet. There’s always things to learn from shop tours and yeah, people sharing online. Yeah. Anytime anybody invites me into their shop, I’m there like, yeah. Oh, you’ll give me a tour? Absolutely. I’d love to come see your facility, come see your shops, come see how you do stuff. You know, so often you can’t take pictures of the parts, right? Cause it’s maybe aerospace defense or whatever, but I’m usually like, I don’t really want to take pictures of your parts. I want to take pictures of like your little processes and your little, you know, like, I mean, I’m sure we would probably do the same thing. Like I don’t, the part is the part, like I’m interested in all the stuff around it.

[25:50] Yeah. Yeah. Systems. Yeah. You know, that’s what, that’s what I, I was really into building, you know, building things, making things. And then when I started really doing the business side, you know, I came from a craft, a craftsman. I was like, oh, I’m a craftsman, you know? And then I was like, oh, right now I got to run a business. Now I have a business with almost 50 employees. And it’s like, I’m. So it was about building the business. Right. So I transferred from like building things into building business and started really enjoying building business, building systems within the business, you know, processes and things like that. And it’s all the same stuff. It’s really creating and building and developing. And, and I think, you know, we get focused on, oh, this is what I do. Well, it’s really nice to be able to say, you know what, I’m transforming what I’m doing into something else, but I’m keeping an underlying stream of creativity, right? And developing. That’s a good way to put it. You know, we were talking about like watching the videos and so forth. We, we were talking last week, it sounds like maybe our shops are similar size. And, and we’re talking about, you know, like for me, my younger generation that does embrace those things and they go home at the end of the day and they’re watching those same videos on Instagram or YouTube or whatever, those are the ones. I mean, they’re not my most experienced machinists. I mean, I’ve got guys have been doing it for 30, 40 years, whatever. But that younger generation, like they’re closing that gap so fast, right? Because they see the types of things you guys do and, and it is fun to watch, right? Like it’s cool. They come back in with a, like just a different hunger, right? Like, oh, I want to do this cool thing I saw last night, or I want to hold this part a different way or, you know, continuing that and like telling these types of stories and all that is, I think that can have a huge impact on that next generation and, and as we all know, we, we, we need to develop that.

[27:32] Yeah. One of the things that I always think about is like social media, I’m not on social media much, but when I am looking at stuff, I’m trying to learn something. I’m trying to get something from it, you know, it’s like, yeah, there’s an entertainment side, but really it’s like, what can, what can I learn? What can I bring into myself? What can I do differently? You know, how can I improve? You know, we have a big media department, you know, content department in our business. We’re always looking at like, how do we, how do we create, you know kind of, you know, bring positivity and bring something more to the table. So I think as media people, we really need to think about that and provide more information, get it out there. You know? Yeah. I, yeah, that’s a great way to look at it. I really want to hear more about like your experience walking in here. And I, I’d almost love, I’d love, almost love to talk to you at the end of the week after you’ve had more time to walk around, but I haven’t walked around much. I’ve been stuck over there painting, but you know, the limited time that we have been walking around, it’s, it’s very overwhelming. Has, has anything like really stood out to you? Like you didn’t even know that existed? Uh, I don’t even know what that machine was called. That was, had the Corvette that. Oh yeah. The big robot arm. Yeah, you walk in and you’re just like, what? Some of the stuff that I’m just, it’s, it’s sensory overload a little bit for me, but, uh, you know, I’m, I’m learning pretty fast what things are.

[28:47] That same booth, which you will hate it, but that same booth, just down from the Corvette, there’s a robotic painter. Oh, perfect. Painting football helmets. I’m retired. I think they were painting football helmets or something like that. Somebody has got to program it. That’s right. You got to become a programmer. Well, and I think that’s back to your point, right? It’s like some of the stuff, like it is okay to automate. I mean, if you need, if you need 150 white football helmets, probably not a bad idea. I definitely see the collision repair world going that route. You know, but I don’t see what I do going, you know, that’s a totally different game. So I feel like the more that AI is getting introduced to things, the more it’s going to drive people to appreciate handmade things and especially hand painted things. You know, I had a customer the other day, he said, I want to see the brushstroke. There you go. I thought that was pretty cool. You know, like you wanted to make sure that you could tell it was hand done. Friend of ours, Al Whatmo, he talks about that. He thinks that AI will drive back the importance of like sitting down and sharing a meal, right? Of course. I mean, it’s, it’s going to bring back the personal connection. I don’t want an email from you. I want to sit down and I want to share a meal with you and shake your hand. Yeah. Yeah. That’s for sure. Yeah. It’s for, for me coming here, it’s, it’s kind of funny.

[30:03] Cause I, in my head, I’m like, you know, I got my little machine shop that everything in there is all manual and I just kind of do it my old fashioned way. And stepping in here, I had no idea this stuff was this advanced. I mean, and that’s going to sound like probably really stupid, but the fact of coming in and seeing like how advanced everything is, it’s, it’s amazing. It’s super cool. Like I just get, I mean, I, I can literally sit here and like, I see out of the corner of my eye, just, just B roll of a machine running and milling on that camera and I could, or on that TV and I could watch that for hours. Right. Like, it’s just really cool. And you’re tangential to the industry. We need to get everyone to know that this industry exists and how cool that is. There would be waiting lists to get into shop class. There’d be waiting lists to get into tech schools, right? We need to bring that back. That’s, that’s the bummer. Like, I mean, I’m 51, so I don’t, I took shop, you know, I took wood shop. I took fabrication and I don’t know when it left the high school level. And it’s, it’s a shame, you know? And I don’t, I don’t know, I don’t know what the magic fix there is, but that’s where it needs to start out. It’s just educating kids on there’s something other than just going into debt in college or, you know, doing the very basics, which is like swinging a shovel or doing an adult content website-based page, right? Like there’s other things to do out there. Trying to tiptoe around that one. Well, you know, you’re picking up on what I’m putting down.

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[32:52] Let’s talk, I’d love to know a little bit about your machines, your shop, how you went from the one Haas to what you have today, the breadth of, because I mean, most of the shops here, they’re trying to learn so they can grow, right? They want to get new technologies, create demand, hire people, support their communities. Yeah. What was the kind of the journey of the growth of your shop? Yeah, a lot of it. I mean, you know, you hear people say that they’re lucky, right? And it’s like, oh, I just been lucky. Well, you know, there is a certain amount of that, but it’s about really sitting down and saying, what do I want to do and creating intention. And so when I started, I really wanted to manufacture on shore and I didn’t, in our industry, that just was not happening. We’re an industry that really got offshored many years ago, and then the distributors really kind of took over. And so offshore product through distributors and, and there’s, you know, real strict margins that have to be kind of followed through the dealerships. And, and so really like looking at that model in our industry and saying, hey, how can I kind of, how can I do it my own way? You know? And so when I started, started doing this, I didn’t, I didn’t come from manufacturing, I didn’t come from business, I didn’t come from machining. It was really ground floor, like, okay, I’m going to buy a machine. My dad and I were working together at that point. And he came from some gunsmithing, just manual gunsmithing stuff.

[34:14] And he was really interested in machining. So we just, you know, we got together and said, let’s, let’s buy this machine. Let’s get after it. We started learning and then started making a couple of products. And luckily we were kind of in this, in this, you know, industry that needed kind of a new path, right? And so we were on the forefront of that new path. The products we were developing started becoming more, you know, successful. I mean, we were only making a, you know, 30 parts here and there, you know? And it was like, okay, we’re going to do a run at 30 of these, you know, and get them out there. And then, you know, those increased to 50 parts and a hundred parts and runs. And so we, we started adding SKUs and I was really into developing. And so I developed a lot of product. I wasn’t afraid to develop product. I have a big R&D, uh, department now. I have, um, multiple, uh, mechanical engineers on staff and designers. And we really put a lot of emphasis into R&D and development. So, you know, I, I, I make sure to invest in that. And a lot of people don’t do that. A lot of people kind of, you know, develop a part and then they kind of, okay, I’ve got my part and we’re just going to send it to production and that’s it. And we’ve always said we got to continue developing, continue making things. When we did that, you know, it’s like, okay, well, we need another machine. We need another machine. We started with vertical Haas machines, you know, added some fourth axis units on it and whatnot.

[35:30] And then, and then eventually, Hey, let’s go to a horizontal machine. Let’s, you know, do something different. And so step it up to a big horizontal machines, pallet machine. It was a big buy, you know, it was a big spend, but got that thing tooled and running and then just saw the difference right in production. And it was like, Oh, we were in a different production zone here. And now like we’re going from like flipping every part door opening after every part and somebody sitting there just being babying the machine after three to three minutes, you know, 20 minutes, whatever the runtime was that machine running overnight. Then it’s like, let’s try some fourth or fifth axis stuff. And, you know, we’ve got some five axis machines and landed a five axis machine said, Whoa, this is a different world, you know, and now we can hold a part and get our tolerances just right. And, you know, you know, work holding is very different and just started and continuing to learn, continuing to learn. And it was always just, what can we do next? What, how can we learn something new? You know, it’s been a slow growth over time. And that’s one thing I would say is just be patient. You know, you’re not going to get there in a year or two. It’s not going to take you three years. It’s going to take you 10 years, you know, to build something amazing. And so patience is a really important part of it.

[36:45] Knowing that you can do it, putting intention towards what you want to do and really having some goals, that’s why it’s so good to come out to something like this and see what’s possible, you know, you can walk around and see machines and tooling and all this stuff, but you can also talk to people about what’s possible and what they’ve done. Yeah. And that was a big one too, because it’s just kind of opening your mind to the possibilities and then being able to kind of draw yourself in and say, yeah, I’ve got this idea and I know that I can get there and, and that slow growth of just, you know, machine after machine or, you know, spindle after spindle tooling, you know, working with great tooling companies, working with the resources. You have, there’s a lot of resources that we have, you know, and a lot of times we don’t access those resources. We don’t find ways to pull those people in or, or go visit other shops, go visit places and kind of dig into what you’re interested in. And so I think all of those things, you put those things together and then team, you know, it’s really just about having an amazing team behind you, you know, for somebody like me, it’s about my team. It’s about the people that, that, um, that do this work with me and they are so, you know, dedicated, uh, culture, you know, like companies with good culture or everything, so… Every podcast comes back to culture. We’re laughing because every podcast comes back to culture. Culture.

[38:01] It’s all, I mean… It’s always culture. It’s always about culture. It should be. Yeah. Absolutely. And especially when you’re doing something hard, this is really hard that we’re doing. This isn’t easy stuff, you know, and so you got to have a good culture behind you because if you don’t have a good culture, everybody’s going to run, right? Yeah, for sure. Yeah. So it’s been a, it’s an amazing journey, you know? Well, thank you for sharing that. Yeah. I mean, when you come to a show like this, you see the tech, you learn about new things you can do. As you were saying, sort of like learning about what people have done, you know, meeting other shop owners, you know, sitting out in the food court and just striking up a conversation with someone next to you, it’s like, you never know who you’re going to meet and how you’re going to be inspired what they doing. Or, you know, they’ll invite you to come to their shop. And, you know, I think this industry is just becoming more collaborative, more open, more sharing. We realized that we’re all in this together to try to support American manufacturing, and so we all got to kind of pour our best energy in it and share. And, and it’s just cool to be a part of it. It is really cool. I’m so, I’m so stoked to be a part of, you know, manufacturing and to have a footprint and to be able to do the things that I get to do every day. It’s, yeah, it’s amazing. Sounds like you’re building an incredible organization. I need to see this shop. I know I’m sitting here thinking, I actually just want to go see this shop. But one thing I don’t want to leave out, you know, as we start to wrap up is I’m also just a big fan of all entrepreneurs and, and I love like each of your zone story and, and, but, you know, it all comes back to what you guys said earlier too, it’s like you started something you were passionate about, right? And it, and then it’s so easy to drive forward and it’s not easy, but it’s, it’s easy to, it doesn’t feel hard. Yeah.

[39:39] It’s, it’s really, it’s about the people, you know, the people along the ride with you, you know, it’s like, Taylor’s been painting my bikes for, you know, 15 years. Right. And we’ve been working together. So everything that I build, it’s like, I call Taylor and I go, Hey, I got a new project and he’s like, let’s go. You know, and then, you know, Carrie, we’ve been friends for a long time and we, we work on projects together. We go ride bikes together. We go, we, we do promotional stuff together. We just, you know, have a good time and bring that kind of culture into ourselves and then share that out. And I think that’s a really key thing is really, you know, your friends, your family, the people around, enjoy what you’re doing. I think that’s the, that’s the key thing for us. Well, it’s been an inspiring conversation. I’m so glad we got to tell you guys a story. Cause I appreciate you guys. Yeah, it was really cool. This has been a pretty amazing experience. Like to have Kenna metal, you know, jump on board with like the three of us. I mean, I mean, Krauss is in his own world, but you know, like jump on board with us and give us this opportunity to, you know, get, get out in front of everybody and build a motorcycle. And just, just the experience has been really great. I’m sure in those early conversations, like, see, this might sound crazy, but let’s just try it and then here you are. Yeah, here we are. And then, so this bike is being given away on Friday. Now, obviously this is coming out after the show. Yeah, that is true. So this, somebody will already have won this thing, but, uh, that’s so cool that, that, uh, yeah, on Friday, someone’s going to either get this thing shipped out or wheel it out.

[41:03] I almost made the horrible mistake of thinking and see if I could start it while I was in the trade show booth and not thinking it’s not like an operating shop. So, um, yeah, well, it’s… Did you actually start it? I was about to, I was thinking about it. It was a terrible idea now that I look back on it, but, um, yeah. Would have gotten attention. Yeah. Good or bad, I guess. It’s a great bike. You know, these Indians are amazing bikes. You know, we put a bunch of product on it. Krauss put a bunch of product on it. Taylor’s obviously got his paint all over it. You know, Kerry did most of the work. He’s, you know, he’s, he’s the one who was there actually wrenching on the bike and doing stuff. Me and Taylor were just sitting around kind of, well, Taylor was painting. I was sitting around not doing anything. These parts that are on this bike, you’ll be able to see, you’ll be able to go touch and feel like, you know, we, um, we manufacture these things with Canna Metal tooling. So it is about Canna Metal, you know, and us being here for Canna Metal and, and, you know, you know, to go, uh, look at that stuff and, and look at the, you know, the kind of finishes and the kind of work that we’re doing with that tooling, like super important. So just want to thank, thank Canna Metal for bringing us out and, um, and sharing, you know, sharing this, this experience with us. Well, and you will be listening to this after the show, but if you need to go look at pictures of it, you guys showed us a few pictures just before we hit record and it’s beautiful. I mean, your paint is flawless. Yeah, I appreciate it.

[42:18] I don’t know if you can see the brush strokes over there, but I’m going to come look. Oh, if you want it, you can. Hopefully you’ll ride it home. It’ll, it’ll, it’ll be on the, you know, the social channels, our own social channels. I’m sure Canna Metal will have it on the social channels. So yeah, take a, take a look at it, go see it, you know, because it’s pretty, it’s pretty amazing. We’ll make sure to link to it in the podcast too and get some photos of it. Cause it’s, it’s, it’s a gorgeous bike. Absolutely gorgeous. Thank you. Appreciate it. All right. Well, beyond the inspiration of manufacturing, I think I’m inspired to go get some more tattoos. I’m feeling like I don’t have enough. I’m a little bare myself. I have one, but, uh, so I’m, I’m, I’m in low main on that totem pole cause I have one less than you have. So there you go. Well guys, thank you for being here with us. This has been a super fun conversation. Thank you guys. If people want to learn more, tell them your social channels so they can look them up. Yeah. So Krauss Moto, K-R-A-U-S-S-M-O-T-O on Instagram, KraussMotoCo or KraussMoto.com. Check out our stuff. Yeah. My, my Instagram handle is heartluck. Um, and then my parts company is heartluck parts. Pretty easy. I like it. Yeah. Mine’s SchultzDesigns on Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok, all the Facebook, everything. So yeah, let’s make sure we link all those in the podcast too. You sure will. And I have one last question.

[43:36] Kerry, how many bones have you not broken? We were having this conversation yesterday. It was pretty gnarly. Uh, I’m in the high eighties for broken bones. I had my 23rd surgery last year and I tore my sphintestin in half. Oh my gosh, dude. Yeah. I beat myself up pretty good, but I still love riding. Love, love motorcycles. Okay. That’s incredible. All right. If you’re not inspired by your passion to get into machining and then you’re not making chips, you’re not making money. Bam.