ProShop ERP

ProShop is a revolutionary software for small to medium manufacturing companies to help them realize considerably more profit and throughput with far less frustration.  Our software was built over 17 years while my partners and I grew and sold Pro CNC (see below) and includes all the traditional functions of ERP, MES and QMS, but it is a completely novel approach that works considerably better than other products on the market. We also take a very intimate approach to helping our customers implement and realize improvements in their business.

The ProShop team is made up of two corporate entities. Adion Systems in Vancouver, and ProShop USA in Bellingham WA. About half the team is employed in each location.

Co-Founder - ProShop ERP

Machine Shop Mastery

The Machine Shop Mastery Podcast helps to elevate the importance of the machine shop industry and reveal the secrets of success for machine shops, to inspire other shop owners or would-be shop owners to follow their passions, start and grow their shops to be an economic driver for our economy and their stakeholders.

Host

Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance

Board Member

DFM Partners

DFM Partners consults with companies to improve their bottom line profitability through deep engagement with Design for Manufacturability on the engineering of mechanical products and the manufacturing processes to make those products. Two decades of engineering and manufacturing experience, including 5 years of directly advising customers on how to reduce the manufacturing cost of their products, gives us a unique background to affect significant change through the value stream.  We can engage deeply with your engineers in a humble and non-threatening way to improve the mechanical design of your products so they are less expensive to manufacture.  We can then engage with your manufacturer to improve their process to eliminate cost and lead time.  In one notable example we were able to save 20% of the machining cost of a very high volume part - roughly $5M per year in just a few days work.

President

Pro CNC (Trulife Engineered Solutions)

Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Trulife Engineered Solutions. Responsible for all sales and marketing for aerospace and commercial business for two facilities with combined 170 employees and 50+ CNC machines, composites, stamping, waterjet, molding, vacuum forming, etc.

VP Sales & Marketing

I work with the team at Pro CNC to ensure that we are working towards our strategic goals.  I am fortunate to be able to work with many of our customers, including engineers at these organizations which is very rewarding.

Western Washington University Formula SAE

I started as a team member working on the braking system and other components of Viking 24. The next year I was team captain for Viking 26 and lead the team to a 4th place overall finish.  The following year I was team co-captain for Viking 28.

Team Captain and Co-Captain

Magic Motorcycle

Kicked it with some very cool people and made cool stuff.

Machinist

I love helping companies improve! Seeing them become more efficient and have more fun at work! How did I get this amazing job? I started a machine shop out of college called Pro CNC. We eventually sold that company but during that time, we developed a web based ERP, MES and QMS system called ProShop. We now sell ProShop to companies around the world. It's incredibly rewarding to see the vast improvements we are able to help clients achieve by implementing ProShop.  We are able to make meaningful improvements, not only in their businesses, but in their personal lives as well, as they have more success in business with less stress and fewer hours.  It's humbling to be a part of such change. What could be better?!

My second passion is DFM.  I started Pro CNC with partners in 1997.  We grew the company for 17+ years.  Over those years I worked with and trained hundreds of engineers on how to significantly reduce the cost of their mechanical designs through DFM best practices as well as working with manufacturers to reduce their cost as well.  The world needs more DFM and I'm happy to share what I know.

This an awesome full circle ⭕️ moment!! 
The young man I’m shaking hands with is Garret, who learned machining skills and ProShop ERP skills while a high school student and employee of BC Eagle Manufacturing in Brown County High School, led by Chris Townsend. (We donate ProShop to that school to run their student led business and teach their students employability skills.)

He interned and then when he graduated he got a job here at Olson Custom Designs and is well on his way to be a leader at this shop. His machining skills were in high demand, and I hope his proficiency in ProShop was also a bonus. He’s been mentored by Jeff Frazee and the OCD team including Chris, Brian and Mitch.

It’s a great story about a talented kid applying himself in school, and immediately launching into a great paying career with a fast growing company that values people like Garret. 

Share this with a young person or their parents. There are thousands of shops around the country eager to meet people like Garret! 

And thanks for choosing to be a machinist, Garret! #ThankAMachinist

Paul Van Metre

I Help Machine Shops Excel - Former Machine Shop Owner - ERP QMS MES Solutions & 3x Podcast Host 🎙

I took this bad picture of the ID plate of the plane I’m flying home tonight from Austin to Tampa. It’s a 737-700 serial number 36647. ChatGPT tells me it flew first on June 25, 2009. That’s pretty cool. 

When looking up a history of old 737 serial numbers I saw many with the status “broken up”. That seems to be the technical term for dismantled. I learned something today. 

It’s pretty wild what AI can tell you about a plane with a simple photo. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It says 12,255 737s have been made. That’s a lot. 

Oh yea. #ThankAMachinist

https://lnkd.in/gB9CMKPE

Hello, my name is Paul ProShop (as the name tag indicates) and I’m addicted to touring machine shops. 

This was a great one at Catamount Machine Works with Chris Basgall! Chris bought this shop several years ago and has been building the foundation for significant growth! This a tech-forward, lean, clean, organized and modern shop with a great culture and a wonderful crew. Including Duke who is a 71 year old second generation machinist and he loves ProShop ERP!! So I got to #ThankAMachinst today not only for the essential work he does, but also for the kind words he had to say about ProShop. He loves snapping pics or videos of his job setups and uploading them to the system so he can see exactly what he did last time. Makes my whole day!! 😊 I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks! 😉

I got to visit Ferrera Tooling Inc  last week. What an amazing company! Beautiful equipment. 8 CMMs!! 🤯

Doing very high end world for demanding industries like Space, defense, aerospace. Can’t show the parts but the facilities are beautiful. Brian Herrera and his 60+ strong team, including Cody Joy, Tyler Stagner, Terry, Martin Kompas are really building something special. And they LOVE ProShop ERP!! 😊

To quote them “Thank you for ProShop. We love, absolutely love it! A game changer for the company and our team.”

It’s our honor guys! We love nothing more than supporting the essential companies that make everything in the world possible. Thank you for trusting your business with us! 

#ThankAMachinist

#LoveYourERP
#PoweredByProShop

Kicking off Top Shops with a welcome address by Brent M. Donaldson here at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  Excited for a day of fantastic presentations, sharing best practices, networking and peer collaboration.  As the audience asks questions they’ll be getting the ProShop ERP Catchbox microphone thrown their way. 😂 

I appreciate Modern Machine Shop for putting on the Top Shops survey and conference. Having such a benchmarking program is really important for our industry to share best practices and give shop leaders ideas of where they can improve their business. On the MakingChips podcast, our Machine Shop MBA series over 2025 has shared insights from many former Top Shops winners. Check it out on your favorite podcast player. We’ll be wrapping up the series by interviewing the 4 top honorees this evening during the reception. 

Mike Payne Nick Goellner Jennifer Dubose

🔥 Starting a machine shop from scratch—with no customers, no legacy systems, and no traditional hiring model—might sound risky. But for Matthew Bruner and John Celley, it was the perfect opportunity to build something bold, modern, and meaningful.

American Precision Works, Inc (APW), founded in October 2024 in Southwest Philadelphia, is redefining what a machine shop can be. With a “clean slate” mindset, APW was designed to run on smart systems, automation, and a people-first philosophy. Instead of hiring seasoned machinists, Matt and John built a playbook that empowers newcomers to thrive—like their first hire, who had never seen a CNC machine before but now runs a 5-axis confidently thanks to intuitive tooling and zero-point fixturing.

💻 From day one, APW adopted ProShop ERP as its operational backbone. That decision eliminated spreadsheets, streamlined tooling management, and enabled seamless integration with CAM data. They even built a Chrome extension to print tool tags in two clicks—proof that small innovations can drive big efficiency. AI plays a supporting role too, helping automate repetitive tasks and freeing up time for high-impact work.

📊 While job costing and financials matter, APW’s real focus is daily throughput and machine-level performance. ProShop’s integration with QuickBooks has surprised even seasoned finance professionals with its simplicity and power. By separating accounting from operations, APW keeps its systems lean and scalable—without sacrificing insight or control.

Matt’s journey—from working in his family’s shop to launching APW—shows what’s possible when you combine vision, grit, and the right tools. For those curious about modern manufacturing, APW is a blueprint worth watching.

#Manufacturing #ERP #MachineShop #ProShop #Automation #UrbanManufacturing #Leadership #Innovation #SmartShop #AmericanPrecisionWorks

On a mission to bring world-class CNC machining and advanced manufacturing services to urban Philadelphia.

VP of manufacturing at American Precision works.

American Precision Works, Inc

Matthew Bruner

Awesome day with new and old friends on the eve of Top Shops! I got to meet Jason Davis and Leslie Boyd for the first time. And see Dwain Dyer and Brannon McKinney again.  Jason treated us all to a Panthers game (sorry Jason about the outcome 😢), with pictures perfect weather and great conversation. 

Of course we had our eyes open for reasons to #ThankAMachinist including a sniper rifle keeping us all safe, the SkyCam, and a huge drone that flew the American flag, among many others. 

Fun fact, I flew in on a 717-200, serial number 55025 which was “born” on July 5, 2001, 17 days before my first son was born, FWIW.

Can’t wait to tour Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions tomorrow and record an At The Boring Bar episode of MakingChips with Nick, Mike, James, Jason, Doug, Leslie, Jon and others!

👀 Have you ever seen a polished aluminum Cobra? Well, you can when you join me at our next free in-person education event on December 9 at Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions in Mooresville NC. 

This is a day about networking with other shop owners, learning about how to maximize the profit your shop makes, touring one of the most world-class machine shops you’ll ever see, and investing in yourself and your business. It’s going to be a ton of fun and learning. It’s just for machining industry leaders, so you know the quality of the attendees will be awesome! We will have speakers from not only ProShop ERP but also other leading shops such as Jeff Justesen with Oakdale Precision Inc.  

Come join me. Registration link is in the first comment. Hope to see you there!

A huge, monumental, and very heartfelt and genuine thank you to Doug Yates and Todd English for the massive gift of allowing us to come tour your world-class, aspirational facility! The number of hours that you put in to allowing this tour and our very late night after hours podcast to be recorded at your Heritage Center was beyond generous! Thank you so very much! 🙏

What skills go into making a machine shop that makes race car engines? Top Shops Conference 2025 attendees got a chance to find out today during a tour of Roush Yates Manufacturing Solutions. Thanks again Paul Van Metre for helping set this in motion and to the good folks at Roush Yates for for hosting the tour!

Stay tuned for more Top Shops Conference 2025 coverage throughout the week.

#TopShops #Manufacturing #Machining #metalworking #CNC

Heading to Florida, Austin and DC this week, and gone for 3 weeks in total. Some business and much pleasure. Gonna see this little man. Need me some baby time. 

And of course, there are a whole mess of machined parts here at my seat, and of course at the door, and all over this plane, so it’s time to #ThankAMachinist

They say you’re the average of the 5 people you spend time with and are influenced by. The lucky audience at Top Shops that just got to hear Matt Wardle  of JD Machine Corp. talk about workforce development got a serious uplift in their inspiration and ideas that really move the needle on how to attract, train and retain workers. Matt and his 220 strong team have invested deeply in this area and made significant strides that have not only helped their company but their local community of other machine shops. I encourage you to learn more about what they’re doing and replicate it in your company. It can make a huge difference to your ability to grow with labor being less of a constraint. 

One way to learn more about what JD Machine is doing is to listen to Matt’s episode of the Machine Shop Mastery podcast. Link in the first comment. It was a really great episode.

Some of my contacts will enjoy this article. A 1000hp, 28lb motor. Things are getting wild! 😜 How about 1 on each corner? #ThankAMachinist

https://lnkd.in/grgarHGg

True story. I did two webinars today, and on both, we discussed using your software tech stack as a sales tool to demonstrate why you are a high-performing shop. 

This afternoon I got an email from a customer that was completely unrelated and unsolicited. This is what he said:  

Successful shops are selling with their software/QMS/BSM/Tech-Stack - whatever you want to call it! And when your customers tell you that your system is better than theirs, that helps build trust. Trust = POs

If you don't feel proud of showing off your system, we'd love to help. No time like the present! #PoweredByProShop #LoveYourERP

This is what partnership looks like with a customer. Putting in the time to ensure their success. What started from Mike listening to the MakingChips podcast in 2018 and coming to IMTS - International Manufacturing Technology Show to get a demo of ProShop ERP, has turned into a nearly 8 year and 6 company partnership as Mike and his team grow the Hill family of companies into the manufacturing powerhouse it is today. We’re honored and proud that they’re #PoweredByProShop

#LoveYourERP

#MFGLeader | 2x Podcast Host | Growth Driver, Deal Maker & Numbers Guy | Building the Future of Manufacturing

Appreciate ProShop ERP  and Kevin Sagely  for making the trip out to QMI Manufacturing  this week for training and onboarding.

It’s hard to put a value on having a true partner that’s fully vested in your success, but it shows up every day in how our team learns, improves, and performs.

Our strength has always come from our people, processes, and systems… and having ProShop ERP  as part of that ecosystem is a huge part of who we are and where we’re going.

Excellence in process. Excellence in performance.

#Manufacturing #ERP #ProShop #QualityParts #OnTime #EveryTime #MFGLeader

Paul Van Metre  

Hill Manufacturing & Fabrication  QMI Manufacturing  Steven Riggs  Miguel Sanchez  Brett Thompson  Corey Bartmier  Tony Lang  Andrew Payne  Rhett Dawson  Hank Anglin  Tammy Buff Justin Thomas Jo Anna Condry Heidi Huegerich

🔥 Sometimes you meet someone who completely reignites your passion for this industry.

For me, that person was Ty Haguewood—the General Manager and CFO of  Manufacturing Technologies, Inc. (MTI) and Stone Mather Designs (SMD).

Ty didn’t grow up in machining. He was a finance guy who accidentally walked into a machine shop six years ago…and never left.

Today, he leads two thriving businesses north of Albuquerque—one building precision aerospace components, the other crafting lighting for brands like Planet Fitness and Dairy Queen. But what really stood out to me is the way he leads: with humility, intentionality, and deep care for his people.

We talk about:
 👉 Building culture that retains talent for 5+ years
 👉 Turning performance reviews into celebrations
 👉 Why authenticity and leadership start with self-discipline

This episode hit me hard. It’s about purpose, people, and what happens when passion meets precision.

🎧 🎥  https://lnkd.in/gVubaaKT

#MachineShopMastery #ManufacturingLeadership #ShopCulture #MachineShopOwners #ProShopERP

I will 100% be there and hope you come too! What an awesome idea that Al came up with!! Let’s go! ⛷️

CEO, Toolpath Labs - Let's define Ai for CNC together.

Turn off the machines. Let’s hit the mountains.

Fresh air, fresh powder, and a crew that gets you.
Picture this: sixty machinists on the slopes, getting randomly paired at the lift line.

Twenty minutes up. Shared views, easy convo about the future of machining. Then carving back down and doing it all over again with someone new.

If you’re down for a chill hangout and some off the shop floor fun… let us know in the comments section.

This is going to be a series worth watching! Stay tuned for the first videos coming up soon. Follow TradeCraft to see updates.

We interviewed several outstanding shops to be featured in the pilot episode of our show. We were looking for an organization who embodied perseverance, a hard-working company that was dedicated to quality in the services they provide, and a group of individuals who were willing to go on-camera to candidly reflect on the challenges they face everyday and the incredible opportunities they have in front of them.

We found the ideal business in the heart of America (Poseyville, IN), and we couldn't be more excited to Introduce NIX® Industrial as the first of many featured shops on TradeCraft: The Future of Manufacturing!

It feels so great to support amazing shop owners like Kyra Tillman, with tools that allow them to make meaningful improvements to their businesses. This is why I love my job and believe so much in our mission.

Late jobs. Hidden bottlenecks. Unknown margins.

BTM Industries faced the same challenges most machine shops do. Then they went paperless with ProShop.

The result? 30% revenue growth and a 3x increase in throughput, all with the same team.

See how they did it → https://lnkd.in/dEn__Pcr

#DigitalTransformation #ShopFloorManagement #ManufacturingSuccess #IncreaseThroughput #ManufacturingSoftware

This is a nice upgrade for our customers who do their FAIs and IPCs in ProShop with CMM data.

Big news for manufacturers!

ProShop now lets you import inspection results directly into First Article Inspection & In Process Checks reports — no more tedious manual data entry.

In just a few clicks, you can:
· Upload CSV files from your CMM or inspection software
· Save hours of time
· Reduce human error
· Improve compliance & traceability

Upgrade your inspection process today —> Discover ProShop: https://hubs.ly/Q03NHzxz0

#ProShopQMS #PaperlessShop #ManufacturingExcellence #ManufacturingCompliance

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