Is This the End of the Family-Owned Machine Shop?

The family-owned machine shop — once the backbone of American manufacturing — is disappearing. Private equity is rolling up independents, succession is drying up, and the cost of staying competitive is through the roof. In this episode, I dig into how small, family-run shops evolved over the decades, the metrics driving consolidation, and why investors are buying us up. Is this truly the end of the family-owned shop… or just the next evolution?