Uptool | Company

98% of U.S. Manufacturers are small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). A large segment of these, about 50,000 businesses, are machine and fabrication shops creating components for rockets and satellites, developing parts for medical devices, and producing precision tools for the automotive industry. But despite their critical role, these shops have been left behind in the wave of digital transformation that has reshaped most other industries over the last two decades.

Small, high-mix shops actually need sophisticated software more than their high-volume counterparts. When every job is different - materials, geometries, and specifications - the complexity compounds quickly. This is further amplified by the speed demanded from quick-turn, job shop manufacturers. Without the right systems, that complexity becomes chaos. Local manufacturers have become so bottlenecked by paper work, emails, spreadsheets, and manual processes that a lot of work and jobs have migrated to more responsive shops overseas who can deliver quotes and parts in a fraction of the time.

US SMB manufacturers are running at a fraction of their production capacity and aren’t prepared for the wave of innovation that will come with the continued expectation to reshore manufacturing.

98% of U.S. Manufacturers are small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). A large segment of these, about 50,000 businesses, are machine and fabrication shops creating components for rockets and satellites, developing parts for medical devices, and producing precision tools for the automotive industry. But despite their critical role, these shops have been left behind in the wave of digital transformation that has reshaped most other industries over the last two decades.

Small, high-mix shops actually need sophisticated software more than their high-volume counterparts. When every job is different - materials, geometries, and specifications - the complexity compounds quickly. This is further amplified by the speed demanded from quick-turn, job shop manufacturers. Without the right systems, that complexity becomes chaos. Local manufacturers have become so bottlenecked by paper work, emails, spreadsheets, and manual processes that a lot of work and jobs have migrated to more responsive shops overseas who can deliver quotes and parts in a fraction of the time.

US SMB manufacturers are running at a fraction of their production capacity and aren’t prepared for the wave of innovation that will come with the continued expectation to reshore manufacturing.

Why small manufacturers are the real competitive advantage

When people talk about reshoring manufacturing, the conversation often focuses on building new factories or bringing back mass production. But that misses what American manufacturing actually does best. Small and medium-sized manufacturers are the flexible backbone of hardware innovation. They can take on a prototype run for a robotics startup one week and a small batch of aerospace components the next. They have expertise spanning multiple industries—aerospace, medical devices, automotive, robotics—often built around specialized capabilities that transcend any single sector. For instance, shops that specialize in extremely smooth, tight-tolerance, diamond-turned optical components serve both satellite manufacturers and semiconductor equipment makers, a capability that only a handful of machine shops nationwide can provide. This kind of cross-industry expertise, built on mastery of specific materials, geometries, and specifications, is uniquely valuable.

These shops are experts in their craft, relationship-driven, quality-focused, and agile in ways that large manufacturers cannot match.

This agility and expertise is exactly what American manufacturing needs in an era of rapid innovation and supply chain uncertainty. But without the right operational tools, these competitive advantages are being undermined by administrative bottlenecks. A shop can be competitive in price, world-class at machining, but still lose most opportunities because they can't turn around quotes fast enough. They can offer superior quality but get beaten on lead times by competitors who have better business systems—not better machinists.

Why small manufacturers are the real competitive advantage

When people talk about reshoring manufacturing, the conversation often focuses on building new factories or bringing back mass production. But that misses what American manufacturing actually does best. Small and medium-sized manufacturers are the flexible backbone of hardware innovation. They can take on a prototype run for a robotics startup one week and a small batch of aerospace components the next. They have expertise spanning multiple industries—aerospace, medical devices, automotive, robotics—often built around specialized capabilities that transcend any single sector. For instance, shops that specialize in extremely smooth, tight-tolerance, diamond-turned optical components serve both satellite manufacturers and semiconductor equipment makers, a capability that only a handful of machine shops nationwide can provide. This kind of cross-industry expertise, built on mastery of specific materials, geometries, and specifications, is uniquely valuable.

These shops are experts in their craft, relationship-driven, quality-focused, and agile in ways that large manufacturers cannot match.

This agility and expertise is exactly what American manufacturing needs in an era of rapid innovation and supply chain uncertainty. But without the right operational tools, these competitive advantages are being undermined by administrative bottlenecks. A shop can be competitive in price, world-class at machining, but still lose most opportunities because they can't turn around quotes fast enough. They can offer superior quality but get beaten on lead times by competitors who have better business systems—not better machinists.

Uptool is flipping the script

Uptool is built specifically for the small, high-mix manufacturer as the primary design constraint from day one.

This means understanding that a 10-person machine shop doesn't need the same systems as a 500-person factory. It means recognizing that high-mix manufacturers need software that can quickly handle variety and exceptions, not just repetitive processes. It means building tools that integrate with how shops actually work—email, CAD files, drawings, spreadsheets—rather than forcing them to adopt big, complex, systems which are hard to learn and manage.

Most importantly, our goal isn't to make small manufacturers "good enough." It's to make them the most competitive players in their markets. We believe that reliable speed is the biggest thing missing in US manufacturing today. We're working to make small manufacturers fast so that they can win.

Technology should amplify what small shops do best. It should free up machinists and estimators to focus on work that actually requires their expertise. When a shop gets an RFQ at 4 PM, the constraint shouldn't be how long it takes someone to manually review drawings and calculate pricing. The constraint should be the actual capacity and capability of the shop.

Uptool is flipping the script

Uptool is built specifically for the small, high-mix manufacturer as the primary design constraint from day one.

This means understanding that a 10-person machine shop doesn't need the same systems as a 500-person factory. It means recognizing that high-mix manufacturers need software that can quickly handle variety and exceptions, not just repetitive processes. It means building tools that integrate with how shops actually work—email, CAD files, drawings, spreadsheets—rather than forcing them to adopt big, complex, systems which are hard to learn and manage.

Most importantly, our goal isn't to make small manufacturers "good enough." It's to make them the most competitive players in their markets. We believe that reliable speed is the biggest thing missing in US manufacturing today. We're working to make small manufacturers fast so that they can win.

Technology should amplify what small shops do best. It should free up machinists and estimators to focus on work that actually requires their expertise. When a shop gets an RFQ at 4 PM, the constraint shouldn't be how long it takes someone to manually review drawings and calculate pricing. The constraint should be the actual capacity and capability of the shop.

What Re-industrialization really means

There's been a lot of talk about bringing manufacturing back to America—reshoring, supply chain resilience, "Made in USA." But it's not enough to simply want manufacturing to return. We have to make it economically viable and operationally competitive.

The reason so much manufacturing moved offshore wasn't just labor costs. It was operational efficiency. Overseas manufacturers built their advantage on speed to quote and speed to deliver. They created streamlined processes that allowed them to respond to inquiries in hours, not days.

American small and medium-sized manufacturers have always had the technical skills. What they've lacked are the operational tools to compete on speed without sacrificing quality or burning out their teams.

This is where the real work of reindustrialization happens—not just in policy or incentives, but in giving SMB manufacturers the systems they need to win. Re-industrialization means ensuring that American manufacturers can compete on every dimension: quality, speed, flexibility, and service. It means recognizing that the 98% of manufacturers with fewer than 500 employees aren't a secondary consideration—they're the core of American manufacturing capability.

What Re-industrialization really means

There's been a lot of talk about bringing manufacturing back to America—reshoring, supply chain resilience, "Made in USA." But it's not enough to simply want manufacturing to return. We have to make it economically viable and operationally competitive.

The reason so much manufacturing moved offshore wasn't just labor costs. It was operational efficiency. Overseas manufacturers built their advantage on speed to quote and speed to deliver. They created streamlined processes that allowed them to respond to inquiries in hours, not days.

American small and medium-sized manufacturers have always had the technical skills. What they've lacked are the operational tools to compete on speed without sacrificing quality or burning out their teams.

This is where the real work of reindustrialization happens—not just in policy or incentives, but in giving SMB manufacturers the systems they need to win. Re-industrialization means ensuring that American manufacturers can compete on every dimension: quality, speed, flexibility, and service. It means recognizing that the 98% of manufacturers with fewer than 500 employees aren't a secondary consideration—they're the core of American manufacturing capability.

The path forward

The opportunity in front of American manufacturing is significant. Supply chains are being reconfigured. Companies are looking for domestic suppliers. There's growing recognition of the risks that come with over-reliance on overseas manufacturing.

But opportunity alone isn't enough. Small and medium-sized manufacturers need to be equipped to capture it. That starts with addressing the operational bottlenecks that are holding these shops back—giving them tools that are purpose-built for their needs, not hand-me-downs from enterprise software vendors.

At Uptool, we're focused on making high-mix manufacturers as operationally efficient as they are technically capable. We believe the future of American manufacturing isn't in trying to recreate the high-volume production of the past—it's in unleashing the full potential of the flexible, skilled, relationship-driven shops that already exist.

The backbone of American manufacturing has always been strong. Now it's time to give it the operating system it deserves.