160: Buying a Manufacturing Company and Reimagining Upskilling with Bill Berrien, CEO of Pindel Global Precision

Manufacturing Happy Hour · 7 Nov 2023 · 46m

What this episode covers

Bill Berrien, CEO of Pindel Global Precision, explains his strategy of acquiring a legacy machine shop and transforming it by investing in advanced CNC technology and a rigorous upskilling program. He details how Pindel shifted from low-value, multi-operation parts to high-complexity, single-operation machining, allowing them to capture more value through automation. Berrien emphasizes a 'hire for attitude, train for skill' philosophy, citing examples like promoting a janitorial worker to CNC operator, and discusses using AI tools like Otter.ai and ChatGPT to streamline training and administrative tasks.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Manufacturing Executive · 36m

    The Shared Responsibility of Upskilling the Workforce w/ Bill Berrien

    Bill Berrien, CEO of Pindal Global Precision and Liberty Precision Manufacturing, discusses upskilling the existing manufacturing workforce as a solution to labor shortages, drawing parallels between his Navy SEAL background and modern shop floor operations. He argues against the fallacy that education ends in the first 25 years of life, advocating for industry-led, continuous professional development modeled after the military's NCO corps structure. Berrien highlights specific success stories at his Wisconsin facility, such as material handlers becoming CNC operators, and proposes a 'shared economy' model for training to increase scalability.

  • The Manufacturing Executive · 38m

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