VIDEO: The 3 Keys to Manufacturing Success with Mitch Free, ZYCI CNC Machining
Mitch Free, founder of ZYCI CNC Machining, shares why part accuracy, quality, and on-time delivery are expectations, not differentiators.
Watch time: 3:42 minutes
Watch time: 3:42 minutes
Author: ZYCI Contributor
Author: ZYCI Contributor
Posted date:
May 26, 2022
Posted date:
May 26, 2022
Looking for full transcript of video? Read now
Video Highlights
Mitch Free, a serial entrepreneur and founder of Mfg.com, Fast Radius and ZYCI CNC Machining, shares insights into how custom manufacturers and OEMs can differentiate their businesses.
Mitch explains how these three advantages can help industrials set themselves apart:
Service
Creativity
Partners
Articles and resources referenced in this episode:
Mitch Free is a serial entrepreneur and manufacturing industry expert. He currently serves as the founder and CEO of ZYCI. Mitch began his career as a CNC machinist and worked in the aerospace and automotive sectors producing some of the most complex parts and assemblies. After working in job shops for seven years, Northwest Airlines recruited him to develop methods to rapidly reverse engineer and produce aircraft parts when they could not be quickly obtained from the OEM or surplus market. While at the airline, he was awarded multiple patents for technologies he created for inspection and repair of jet engine components.
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Video Transcript
I think there's never been a better time to be in manufacturing. It's like a new gold rush.
Customers want their suppliers to produce increasingly complex parts. Product life cycles are only accelerating, and companies are iterating more. Right now, it's not a question of how much business is out there. It's not about the lowest price. It's about who can deliver. For us as manufacturers, it's about increasing efficiency and finding smarter ways of being creative.
Like many entrepreneurs, I've had an unpredictable journey. When I had just turned 16, my parents helped me buy a ‘65 Mustang. It needed a lot of work. And so for me, that became a project. At that moment, I remember thinking, ‘this is fun.’ This isn't like work. And I went to trade school and took machining. That's where I found my passion. Then I was recruited to Northwest Airlines, I started a CAD CAM reseller business that kind of led me into MFG.com, where I created an online marketplace. I sold part of that to Jeff Bezos, part to Fidelity, and the rest to a private equity group in 2013.
But then I took some time off and thought about what did I really want to do next? What was I passionate about? And I realized it was manufacturing. I really liked making things.
So I started two companies simultaneously, I started ZYCI, a CNC machining business. And I started Fast Radius, a global additive manufacturing business.
ZYCI is by far my favorite. I love that we're producing tangible, real, complex parts, in an industry that is so in demand. I love that I got to start this business with my wife. I couldn't imagine a better partner.
In the course of running ZYCI, I've learned that having great equipment, producing high quality parts, delivering on time, it's an expectation. But there are really three things I have found that are differentiators; and they are service, creativity, and partners.
Service is what separates truly great manufacturers from the pack. Customers want quick communication. They want help with DFM design for manufacturability. They want to know are there any challenges along the way, not when they're expecting their parts to arrive.
The second differentiator is creativity. It's the heart of a machine shop. That's where the magic comes in. Engineers are designing ever more complex parts these days. And it requires creative thinking and the application of new technologies.
The third differentiator is partners. Partners are so important. They give us demonstrations, they give us samples, they help us figure out what's the best way.
This is a great time to be in manufacturing. Soon ZYCI CNC Machining will be expanding into our third and largest location, a 70,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility with room for even more equipment, capabilities, capacity, and creativity. There are so many exciting opportunities to create and innovate better than ever before. And our team, our customers and our strategic partners are helping us do just that.
