About this episode

Andrew Henry discusses how his company, Henry Holsters, achieves success through lean practices without explicitly labeling them as such.

Most shops chase the big order. Andrew Henry built Henry Holsters by doing the opposite, and it's hard to argue with the results. I sat down with Andrew for what turns into a masterclass on running lean without ever saying the word lean. He walks through how a holster company in Spencer, Indiana turned tight inventory, fast changeovers, and short cash cycles into a flywheel that keeps spinning, no long-term contracts required. You'll hear why batches of 10 beat batches of 400, how a 90 second changeover changes everything about what you're willing to make, and why owning the inventory removes any incentive to stuff a customer's shelf. Andrew also gets honest about the parts of the business he's not great at, admits he loses IQ points the second he opens QuickBooks, and explains why brutal efficiency has covered for a lack of financial sophistication. The back half is a clear-eyed look at buying a palletized five axis Matsuura with almost no work lined up for it, what that decision cost in time and stress, and why he'd tell most shops his size not to do it without the cashflow to survive the learning curve. If you own a shop and you're weighing growth against risk, this one's…

People in this episode

Host: Paul Van Metre

Guest: Andrew Henry

Topics covered

• lean manufacturing
• inventory management
• business growth
• efficiency
• risk management

Keywords

• lean
• holsters
• inventory
• cash flow
• changeover
• efficiency
• business strategy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Henry Holsters

Places: Spencer, Indiana

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