A technology investment can make financial sense and still sit unused if the people responsible for it aren't bought in. In this episode, Paperless Parts Co-Founder and CEO Jason Ray talks with Lance Thrailkill of All Metals Fabricating about what manufacturers should consider before investing in new equipment, automation or AI.

They discuss:

- Why employee buy-in needs to happen before purchasing new technology

- Lance's framework for evaluating whether an investment addresses a constraint, improves efficiency and adds a new capability

- How automation moves bottlenecks downstream and can create new staffing or capacity needs

- Why faster equipment shouldn't automatically lead to lower prices

- How accurate job costing helps shops understand profitability and protect their margins

- The AI agents AMF is building to review POs, check revision levels, pull historical job data and reduce administrative work

- Why clean data, human oversight and strong security practices need to be in place before scaling AI

- How Paperless Parts helped AMF standardize quoting, manage a major increase in requoting and grow roughly 20% without adding another estimator

Learn more about All Metals Fabricating: https://www.ametals.com/

Learn more about Paperless Parts: https://www.paperlessparts.com/

The CMMC Phase II pause changed the timeline for third-party assessments, but defense manufacturers still need to protect controlled unclassified information (CUI) and meet the cybersecurity requirements written into their contracts.

Paperless Parts Co-Founder and CEO Jason Ray sits down with our CTO Jason Luce and CISO Colton Erickson to discuss what has changed, what remains in place, how shops should respond, and what they should expect from software and AI vendors.

They cover:

- Why DFARS 252.204-7012 and NIST SP 800-171 still apply

- Whether shops should move forward with a CMMC Level 2 assessment

- How prime contractors are evaluating their suppliers' cybersecurity posture

- The risks of entering CUI into general-purpose AI tools

- How inaccurate SPRS scores can create legal exposure

- Where to find reliable updates as the CMMC program evolves

If your shop handles defense work, this conversation will help you make a more informed decision about your assessment plan and the systems your team uses to manage sensitive data.

Learn more about how Paperless Parts protects sensitive manufacturing data: https://www.paperlessparts.com/security/

"Pick a target product, go after that, make relationships with your customers, and make money."

Manufacturing demand is strong, but more work does not automatically mean your shop is ready to grow.

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

Learn more about Paperless Parts at paperlessparts.com