Cutting Through the Noise: How to Stay Disciplined While Demand Explodes
In this episode of Cutting Through the Noise, Jason Ray sits down with Matt Newman, President of Athena Manufacturing, to talk about what it takes to manage growth when business is moving fast; Athena has grown 50% this year and now employs roughly 250 people. Matt has spent nearly 20 years at Athena, working his way from controller through engineering, program management, business development, and ultimately into the president's seat. Jason and Matt get into:
Why many shops overestimate their true capacity utilization
How Athena has approached automation, from its first FMS line to cobots and robotic welding
Where Matt sees a real use for AI today, and where he thinks shops may be getting ahead of themselves
Why he stopped solving problems for his management team and started making them bring him solutions
How Athena is building its own pipeline of machinists and welders through apprenticeships and local high school programs
What Matt is seeing in the manufacturing M&A market as shops look for faster ways to add people and capacity
The financial discipline required to grow without getting too far over your skis
About Athena
Athena Manufacturing is an AS9100D-registered precision machining and fabrication company based in Austin, Texas, serving aerospace, defense, and technology customers. The company has more than 8,700 source-controlled assemblies in service and has worked as an approved supplier to major defense contractors for more than a decade. Learn more at athenamfg.com
Interested in joining the Athena team? Reach out to hr@athenamfg.com.
Interested in working with Athena? Reach out to sales@athenamfg.com