02/04/2021
Mark and Kristy Kidd are problem solvers.
When the Kidds noticed that more and more manufacturing jobs were moving overseas, they took matters into their own hands. With the purchase of Machine Design Services in 2018, the Kidds leveraged their extensive background in manufacturing and began growing the company, keeping work local rather than going overseas.
This is no small feat. While Mark is a seasoned machinist, finding others who are trained to do a project from conception to completion was difficult. “Machining in general is a lost art,” Kristy Kidd said. “There aren’t a lot of qualified machinists that can do a job from start to finish because generally it isn’t taught that way now. People learn how to put the part in the machine, and they push a button, but someone else is doing the programming. We think it's important to know the whole process.”
To ensure their team would have the proper training, the Kidds started an apprenticeship program in partnership with Hutchinson Community College. They have one apprentice machinist in the program now. “We are so proud of the commitment that he has made to work hard both in the class and on the job,” said Kristy.
“As we grow in the future, we hope this partnering can be a resource for qualified employees for us and provide HCC a place to offer their students an internship in the machine shop.” This apprenticeship “provides a quality education at an affordable rate” while “keeping things as local as possible.”
The result of this program: Machine Design Services can do things that other machinists can’t, and it’s often faster and less expensive than producing the parts overseas. “We know how to do what needs to be done to make sure that a project happens within very tight tolerances. People can come to us with an idea, uncertain it can be done, and we have the skills to figure it out,” said Kristy.
The Kidds also know that part of having a good team is having good business support partners to help them solve problems as they arise.
“When we went to purchase this business, we were told we needed a great banker, a great accountant, and a great attorney,” Kristy Kidd said. “It took us a while to find those three key people, but those are the people I turn too for help even today. Those connections are very important.”
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