We had an inquiry last Monday on an expensive CNC turning center from a machinery broker based in Chicago but representing a Chinese firm.

Thinking of a potential profit if we sold it, I asked Noah to quote the machine. His response was, “Dad, we can’t sell it to them. We are at war.”

I immediately knew he was correct. The parts made on this rare machine could be used in a missile or a drone that would threaten the United States or an ally like Taiwan.

On today’s podcast, I’m talking with Mike Payne, owner of Hill Manufacturing and Fabrication in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, to peek inside the mind of a prolific acquirer of manufacturing companies.

Before purchasing Hill in 2018, Mike spent 20 years in M&A, orchestrating over 100 deals across nearly every industry.

Since then, Mike has acquired four machine shops, and he’s constantly scouting for more opportunities to expand.

You may have noticed that I often talk about friction on this podcast.

That’s because everyone has to fight friction in business—and there is A LOT of friction in the manufacturing business.

Friction from time consuming stuff. Friction from stuff being too hard to figure out. Friction from stuff we’re not qualified to do or just don’t want to do.

I’ve interviewed a lot of interesting business coaches for this podcast, and all the coaches had one thing in common. They focused on coaching a company’s owner or management, rather than working with everyone at the company.