The Manufacturing Automation Podcast

Michael opens on the road — again — and makes a decision he's been circling for a while: IntraLoad is done, full-service in-person turnkeys are done, and the business is going all-in on product revenue and remote Turnkey Direct installs. The goal is scalability without him being the critical path. Matt's feeling a different kind of drain — not hours, but context switching. Negotiating contracts, building comp structures, prepping for Automate, and trying to find time for a deal pipeline audit that hasn't happened in seven weeks. Both hosts land on the same diagnosis: the grind doesn't get lighter, the weight just shifts.On the marketing and sales side, Michael launches a 3D configurator with 300 machine models that lets customers visualize and add-to-cart a full automation package in one click — built on Replit, deployed via iframe, and now wrestling with an SEO tradeoff Matt pushes back on. They go deep on keyword strategy for machine-specific CNC tending pages and whether low-difficulty brand keywords are actually worth chasing. Matt, meanwhile, is seven weeks behind on a deal pipeline audit and actively designing his first sales hire — with a margin-based comp structure his roundtable helped him shape that ties commission to delivery, not just close.Engineering covers Develop completing its full hiring wave — CNC machinist, two new engineers on June 1st — and a site visit to a multi-robot machine that's running beyond KPIs with operators onboarding in under a day. Michael's Coolant Clear 2 production prototype is wrapped, supply is being reshored, and a viral Instagram reel hit a million views in two minutes of filming. The episode closes on cash strategy — Matt's three-tier war chest structure and a frank conversation about what happens when you pour every dollar of margin back into R&D.

Michael opens with something he hasn't been able to say in a while — things are calming down. Passive revenue is growing, repeat customers are showing up, and he's starting to feel less like the linchpin of every transaction. Matt, meanwhile, is deep in financial planning for a line of credit renewal that has to account for two of the largest projects in Develop's history landing back to back in 90 days, with multi-million dollar material procurement timelines to match.On the sales side, Develop closes one of its biggest deals to date — booked for Q3 to fit existing capacity — while Michael sells through his entire CoolantClear inventory and launches Rev 2 with domestic machining, an integrated solenoid, and a redesign that expands compatibility to Brother machines. The Spindle Storm billet chip fan is also weeks from launch at $129, going head to head with a $400 competitor. Matt credits Claude and connected HubSpot and QuickBooks data for building his most thorough bank model yet.Engineering covers Develop's full mechanical team locked on the complex case packing machine through Q2, a FANUC training week for team members, and a growing facility question — add 12,000 square feet onto the current building, or move entirely? Michael wraps with a candid take on AI-driven ad optimization: out of roughly 100 SKUs, Google Shopping ads were only profitable on about a dozen. Turning the rest off nearly doubled ROAS overnight.

Matt opens the week with a closing runway feeling — Automate is on the horizon and there's a lot to do. He walks through Develop's most ambitious trade show setup yet: a 10x30 booth with a 10x20 LED wall, live HMI demos where attendees can actually run a machine, and a complete website overhaul cutting everything that isn't hyper-focused on automation. The website nearly tripled in traffic over the last six weeks — partly explained by an A3 and FANUC SI certification press release going out around the same time.Michael's week is defined by one thing: Gim Command going live internally. The custom AI-built ERP has already replaced multiple SaaS subscriptions, moved all task and Kanban management out of Notion, and has Claude embedded directly into the system for user-level queries. He's 100-plus hours in, spending $3–4K a month on AI credits, and describes the experience as "transformative" — while Matt remains skeptical and reminds him that every software project he's ever seen runs long. Meanwhile, CoolantClear goes viral again with a million-view Instagram reel — and breaks the supply chain. The AI-caused Tumble Blast product ID deletion from last week wiped out Google Shopping ad learning worth tens of thousands in spend. Michael's reflection: AI is like automation — you can make a lot of parts fast, or you can make a lot of scrap fast.The episode closes with a substantive exchange on CI discipline — Matt's WIP-cap system, budgeted CI pools, and why letting small improvements die on the vine is often the right call — and a fractional CFO update: two weeks in, already identifying changes, and told to stop asking for permission.