About BTM Industries
BTM Industries, Inc. represents a proud tradition of family ownership and operation, now spanning three generations. The company was originally started in 1963 by Glenn Porter. In 1976, Glenn retired, and his sons, Bryan and Tim, became the second generation to manage the family business. Their partnership continued until Bryan retired from the business in 2009.
The third generation took the helm when Tim’s daughter, and Glenn’s granddaughter, Kyra Tillman, returned to the family business in 2013. Upon her return, Kyra discovered how much productivity was being lost due to machinists manually filling out index cards. Between handwritten job numbers, order quantities, delivery dates, and other data segregated to job travelers, notes, or Excel spreadsheets, the business wasn’t in a position to meet modern manufacturing demands.
In 2017, Kyra officially took ownership of BTM Industries, purchasing the business from her father. Assuming the responsibilities of both owner and operator, she set out to implement new processes that would modernize her shop and help achieve new business objectives.
In recent years, Kyra has even added her own children to BTM Industries’ generational growth. Now, she’s looking ahead and building a scalable, sustainable business she can pass on to her children and continue carrying on the family legacy.
The Challenge: From One Paper-Filled Process to Another
“In 2014, I talked my dad into investing into the company’s first ERP system. We used that system for about 7 years before we realized that we were fighting against ourselves. We had never used an ERP prior to this purchase, so we didn’t know what we didn’t know. Eventually, we realized that there were things we would like our ERP to do that could make us better. And that just wasn’t possible with our existing system.”
Manual workflows and overreliance on tribal knowledge prevent manufacturers from modernizing their business models. BTM Industries struggled with similar challenges, with workers often using index cards to punch in on jobs. Additionally, the team lacked proper systems for other key metrics, such as tracking estimates or evaluating work inspections.
By 2014, Kyra secured the first ERP system for the shop. Unfortunately, their chosen ERP ended up causing just as many problems as they were trying to solve. The ERP still required paper travelers and paper inspection documents for every job on the shop floor. Many of these documents would be lost, or the attached sticky notes would peel off from one work station to the next — creating shop floor chaos.
Kyra acknowledged that the ERP system was an improvement on their legacy systems, which relied on index cards to keep track of important job data. But the system wasn’t solving the core issues that needed to be addressed.
“If there were changes that needed to be made to work orders, we would be running around the shop trying to find the work order document, or even the person who last had the document, so that the changes could be applied. We spent so much time just trying to stay on top of our processes, and after 7 years of trying to make it work, we needed an upgrade.”
The Solution: A Lifesaving Digital Manufacturing Ecosystem
In 2022, BTM Industries upgraded their ERP by investing in ProShop, the all-in-one digital solution that Kyra described as “a lifesaver.” ProShop is purpose-built by machinists and shop owners who possess deep shop floor insight. It functions as a digitized single source of truth — eliminating paper, silos, and manual processes from evolving business models.
“The fact that we’re all working in the same system, looking at all the same information, at all times, has been huge. Our communication has greatly improved because we’re all working from the same set of facts. We may be viewing the data in slightly different ways, depending on our primary roles and functions, but it’s all pulling from one centralized source.”
As a reliable shop floor management ecosystem containing all critical job data — such as tool lists, drawings, and inventory — ProShop helped BTM Industries streamline their entire operation. Not only did they see a boost in productivity, but they actually introduced ProShop into their shop tours with visiting clients.
The Results: 30% Increase in Annual Shop Revenue
Demonstrating all of ProShop’s capabilities for intrigued clients, Kyra and her team proved just how much their entire business had transformed. Clients were so amazed by the new efficiencies and how fast jobs were being completed that they volunteered more work orders for the business.
Within the first full year of implementing ProShop, BTM Industries increased revenue by 30% — primarily from existing customers who expanded the size and quantity of job work orders.
“Our existing customers started asking questions like ‘how are you getting things done faster? What’s going on over there?’ When they went on our shop tours, learned about ProShop, and realized our new efficiencies weren’t a fluke — they were impressed, to say the least. They actually started coming back to visit, asking ‘can you show us that system again?’ Eventually, they told us that they had more work we could do. We didn’t require any more machines, or any more people, to win those new work orders — just a new and improved process.”
The Efficiencies: Faster, Innovative, and Satisfying
Upon onboarding with ProShop, BTM Industries gradually familiarized themselves with the various features and modules of the platform. Most importantly, they benefited from:
- Positive impact on overall cash flow
- An average 15% reduction in job setup times
- Improved setup data and tooling information
- Faster, more reliable job completion rates
“Before, when we had disorganized paper travelers, I’d order material that we didn’t need for months on end. So, we were out all the cash for that material that couldn’t be billed for two to three months down the road, after we’d machine it and deliver it to the customer. Getting rid of that problem has had a huge impact on our cash flow.”
When ProShop was first implemented, Kyra admits that she was worried about resistance to the new technology. Specifically, there were long-time workers on the shop floor who, at first, were adamant about holding onto their paper traveler processes, and preserving the legacy way of doing things.
All that changed within one week. Suddenly, her most experienced workers were getting excited about uploading all data from the floor into ProShop, because of how much easier it made their day-to-day responsibilities. Immediately, every employee was brainstorming new ways to use the platform and create even more efficiencies.
“ProShop has created so much positive change throughout our organization that I never anticipated. I had hoped it would make us more efficient. I never expected how much it would change everyone’s attitude and outlook. Every time one of my employees comes to me with a new idea for how to use ProShop, it makes me even more confident that I made the right purchase.”
The Future: Higher Profits, Reliable Partnerships
The most important metric for any small to mid-sized business owner, manufacturing or otherwise, is profitability. BTM Industries underwent quite the journey as they optimized their shop, increased revenue, and improved their bottom line. In the end, all that dedicated effort paid off in spades.
“We went from a struggling shop to a break-even business, and eventually to turning a nice profit that we can invest back into the company. More importantly, we can invest in our team members and try to help make their lives a little better. All of these tweaks have accelerated job completion rates and granted more control over our day-to-day productivity, making everyone’s lives easier.”
Kyra described her first ERP investment back in 2014 as a daunting undertaking. Choosing to upgrade that system in 2022 was an even bigger undertaking.
However, she is incredibly grateful that ProShop is fundamentally a software built by machinists, for machinists. Not once has she felt alone in her experience with ProShop, or treated like some random number on an account.
“For us, the most critical element of this partnership is we know we’re working with a company that not only understands their system, but that also understands what we do. Most of our ProShop contacts know what it’s like to be in a machine shop. They know how to machine parts, so they understand our language. We don’t have to explain end mills, turning, or milling — or any of the problems we’re trying to solve. The ProShop team is so well-versed that it’s truly amazing.”
Interested in achieving similar success for your machine shop? Book a call with our expert specialists to discuss how ProShop can make you the next BTM Industries case study and success story.