Our STORY

 

Who is Kurtis Wolfinger

 

Kurtis Wolfinger is a Combat Veteran who proudly served in the US Army with the

25th ID 114th Infantry. During his deployment to Iraq, Kurtis encountered several

IEDs that left him with a TBI. This drastically changed his life. From the way he processed information, held conversations and occasionally lost his vision from intense cluster migraines. 

 

In 2018  Kurtis discovered CNC Machining. The TBI that Kurtis felt was his biggest burden, suddenly became his greatest asset. His brain, which struggled with most information, was suddenly thriving. As he describes, "it's like someone flipped a switch! I could visualize the manufacturing process in 4d.  My brain was able to process and remember machining information. From the hundreds of lines of gcode, speeds and feeds, and machining processes for different types of material."

 

When NASCAR Technical Institute introduced their new CNC Machining  Kurtis quickly enrolled. Before even graduating, Kurtis was offered a part-time position at a local race shop as a CNC Machine Operator. He would routinely take home the machine manuals to learn more about the machines he was running.

 

Kurtis flew up the career ladder

 

Over the next couple of years, Kurtis worked at several machine shops. 

While he began his career at the race shop as a CNC Machine Operator, he was now the CNC Manufacturing Engineer. Managing 2 departments of 20 employees at a company that manufactured custom construction attachments. 

 

 

Unfortunately, no matter what machine shop Kurtis worked at, he noticed two common issues.

 

These shops had amazing infrastructure, machines and technology available, but refused to fully utilize it. They were stuck in a mindset of "We've done it this way for 20 years". 

With technology ever evolving in the manufacturing industry, this mindset was equivalent to riding a bicycle to Lowes to purchase lumber to build your house. 

Why not just order a flatbed tractor trailer to deliver the lumber right to your build site? 

 

The second issue was how Veterans were treated.

Each year, thousands of companies publicly boast their pride in supporting American Veterans. Unfortunately that support is not extended when Veterans have to attend mandatory C&P exams, experience sudden PTSD episodes or are struggling to learn skills with their new disabilities. 

 

A dream was planted

 

Kurtis and his wife, Rebecca, started talking about how differently they would run these machine shops if they were owners. How they would embrace technology and machine capabilities, and most importantly, support their fellow Veterans as they transition from active duty to civilian life. 

However, with startup costs for a fully functioning CNC machine shop averaging over $200,000, this dream seemed unobtainable. 

 

 In 2022,  Kurtis and Rebecca found a creative solution to jump into entrepreneurship without the massive start-up expenses. They founded 

Mil-Spec Manufacturing as a remote CAD/CAM Programming company. This route allowed them to continue working full-time for their employers, build their company brand, network and continually invest into Mil-Spec Manufacturing. 

Within a year, they rented a brick and mortar in Salisbury, NC, and bought their first CNC Machine. Between the cost of rigging, their CNC machine, inspection equipment, electrical equipment, software, etc.... their total investment was just shy of $40,000.

A staggering 80% less than the average startup!

 

Practical Machinist

 

This caught the eye of Practical Machinist, a worldwide media company for the manufacturing industry. In July 2023, Practical Machinist, and host Ian Sandusky, traveled to North Carolina to feature Mil-Spec Manufacturing in an episode of their famous

"Shop Tours". This episode, titled: "This shop started with less than $40,000!", exploded with popularity, having over 30,000 views within the first 24 hours.

 

"The manufacturing community was extremely interested in how we did it. Like us, many people thought it was impossible to start a machine shop for under three figures."

 

Kurtis and Rebecca partnered with Practical Machinist to create the video series

"Becoming a Practical Machinist". This series follows their journey on starting a machine shop from scratch. "We are extremely transparent in our videos.  From the price breakdowns of what we bought, our mistakes, what customers to avoid, marketing and more." The transition from machinist to business owner doesn't exactly come with a

"How-to Manual." These videos fill in the gaps.

 

 

The rise to fame

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Within 6 months of the first episode of "Becoming A Practical Machinist" going live,

Kurtis and Rebecca have become thought leaders in the manufacturing industry. 

"We receive hundreds of emails and DMs every month. Asking for advice on how to find customers, what programming software to use, or to how to setup a business website", said Rebecca. "We've been given a once in a lifetime opportunity to make an impact in the manufacturing industry.  We're going to give everyone a hand-up!"

 

 

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