Cutting Through the Noise with Jason Ray

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:

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 [email protected]  Interested in working with Athena? Reach out to [email protected]

Learn more about Paperless Parts at paperlessparts.com

"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 [email protected]

Interested in working with Athena? Reach out to [email protected]

Learn more about Paperless Parts at paperlessparts.com

In manufacturing, reputation is everything. A big part of your reputation is shaped by your brand, but too many shops still think of branding as just their logo and website. In reality, a lot more goes into it, and those signals can shape how potential customers perceive your business before they ever even speak with you. The way you quote, communicate, follow up, and position your business all contributes to the impression you leave.

In this episode of Cutting Through the Noise, Jason Ray is joined by Anne Marie Tracey, Director of Marketing Solutions at Paperless Parts, to unpack some of the less obvious things shaping your shop's brand, for better or worse.

From an outdated website to vague messaging, slow follow-up, and even the way you present your capabilities online, there are plenty of signals buyers pick up on before they ever contact your team.

Jason and Anne Marie also cover:

- How #ai is changing search behavior

- Why keeping your online presence current matters more than ever

- What it means to be more intentional about your brand

- How to think about your ideal part profile and why it matters

- How old marketing habits may be holding shops back

Learn more about Paperless Parts' specialized marketing solutions for job shop manufacturers: www.paperlessparts.com/manufacturing-marketing/

As the #1 fabricator in the U.S. for 15 consecutive years, with more than 80 years in business, 2,300+ employees, and 26 locations nationwide, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) brings a unique perspective on what it takes to modernize at scale.

In this episode of Cutting Through the Noise, Paperless Parts CEO Jason Ray talks with Daniel Bourquin, MEC's Chief Information Officer, about the work behind building one modern manufacturing enterprise.

Jason and Daniel talk about unifying systems across a growing multi-site organization, rethinking lead-to-order as a core value stream, and approaching transformation under MEC's "One MEC, One Mission" approach. They also get into change management, partner selection, and why AI should be treated as a capability built into the business, not just another piece of software to buy.

Learn more about MEC: https://www.mecinc.com/

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

Meta is putting $600 billion dollars into AI infrastructure over the next five years. If you bought $600 billion dollars worth of CNC machines, how many parts would you have to make - and what would you have to charge - to pay them off?

In this episode of Cutting Through the Noise, Jason Ray is joined by Scott Sawyer, Paperless Parts Co-Founder & Chief Scientist, to unpack what all the AI hype actually means for manufacturers.

Yes, the technology is moving fast. Yes, it is incredibly powerful. And yes, there is a real argument that AI may be as cheap as it is ever going to be right now. But that does not mean manufacturers should become overly dependent on it, start replacing critical people, or ignore the processes and business fundamentals that actually make technology valuable in the first place.

Learn how Paperless Parts is approaching AI: https://www.paperlessparts.com/artificial-intelligence-in-paperless-parts/

And visit our website to learn more: https://www.paperlessparts.com/

In this episode of Cutting Through the Noise, Jason is joined by Paperless Parts' CISO (Chief Information Security Officer), Colton Ericksen.

Jason and Colton cover the 10 most essential CMMC and cybersecurity-related questions all manufacturers should ask any software vendor they're considering working with.

Stream the episode now, or view a copy of the list of 10 questions, complete with links to key resources and references, here:

https://www.paperlessparts.com/wp-content/uploads/10-CMMC-Related-Questions-to-Ask-Every-Cloud-Based-Software-Vendor-Youre-Considering-Partnering-With.pdf

Learn more about Paperless Parts' approach to cybersecurity and CMMC compliance here: https://www.paperlessparts.com/cmmc/

U.S. manufacturing is "coming back," but not in the way most people picture.

In this episode of Cutting Through the Noise, Paperless Parts Co-Founder & CEO Jason Ray sits down with Bill Berrien, owner of Pindel Global Precision and founder of Liberty Precision, to talk about what Bill is seeing on the front lines of precision manufacturing. They cover:

- Why profitability is the foundation of supply chain resilience, and how shops can avoid the "death spiral" of low-margin work by getting disciplined about their ideal part profile, quoting, and pricing.

- Why the future of manufacturing is highly automated and driven by a smaller, highly trained, higher-paid workforce.

- Bill's perspective on the culture side of transformation, including why shops should "hire for attitude, train for skill."

- Why lifelong upskilling is non-negotiable as automation and AI accelerate.

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

Learn more about Pindel Globel Precision: https://www.pindel.com/

Subscribe for more conversations with people building the future of manufacturing.

Earlier this year, Paperless Parts surveyed 200 precision manufacturers about key trends shaping the custom part manufacturing industry. We used that data to compile our 2026 Build-to-Print Supplier Readiness Report: https://www.paperlessparts.com/wp-content/uploads/2026-SupplierReadinessReport.pdf

If you're an OEM or Tier 1 supplier, this is a direct line into what's really top of mind for your supply base, and includes actionable strategies for strengthening supplier relationships and building competitive advantages over the course of the next two years.

In this episode of Cutting Through the Noise, Jason Ray and Paperless Parts' VP of Business Development, Ken Cowan, share their biggest takeaways from the report, including:

- Why supply chain "resiliency" really means elasticity

- The fallacy of "generic capacity" and the true cost of switching suppliers

- How OEMs can reduce risk without simply paying more per part

- A playbook for building a supply base that can handle shocks

Want to learn how Paperless Parts can help your supply base? Visit our website today: https://www.paperlessparts.com/