If you want to know what’s really going on in manufacturing, just ask the people running the shops. At Paperless Parts’ user conference earlier this month, POWER 2025, that’s exactly what we did; whether it was through industry benchmarking polls, feedback boards, or Jay Jacobs interviewing attendees for a special episode of The Job Shop Show podcast.

Jay pulled aside shop owners, estimators, and operators from across the country to ask three pointed questions:

1. What is your outlook for 2025?
2. If you had $500k to put towards any area of your business in the next month, where would you invest it?
3. What has been your biggest takeaway from POWER?

In this blog post, we’re digging into question #3. The answers offer a glimpse into what shops are most excited about, what they’re focused on improving, and how events like POWER help drive real industry transformation.

“What has been your biggest takeaway from POWER 2025?”

The Power of Software & AI

Eric Henderson, Senior Estimator/Project Manager, Engage Industrial Solutions
“I’m really interested in learning about all the new software aspects…the BOM Builder is one of the biggest reasons why I came. We’re excited to start implementing that.”

Emily Anderson, Operations, Method Mfg
“We are really looking forward to seeing more AI tools roll out. We use AI in our shop all the time, so to have our software programs be aligned with that is really a positive thing to look forward to.”

Hernan Ricaurte, President, Ricaurte Precision Inc.
“AI has been very important for us so it’s been great to learn at POWER how we can integrate all the technologies that we work with and to be as smart as possible, while also being cognizant of CUI and CMMC requirements.”

Paul Becotte, VP Engineering, Alinabal
“We’ve been a Paperless Parts user since December of last year, and honestly it has totally transformed our business. The way we were quoting and estimating before; it’s night and day now. At this conference, seeing some of the recently launched features like the BOM Builder has been huge. And all the things they’re doing in the next 6 months to a year are tremendous.”

Matt Fritz, Estimating Engineer, GTR Manufacturing
“My biggest takeaway is that I’m really excited about AI coming into the industry. We’re really excited about a lot of the capabilities Paperless Parts is expanding into, and it’s going to make our jobs a lot easier. They’re enabling AI to take some of the mundane, time-consuming, soul-sucking parts of our jobs out. And we’re not afraid of AI because their approach is good; AI is not making decisions for us, it’s giving us options.”

Joe VanBecelaere, Director of Sales & Estimating, RCO Engineering
“I go to a lot of conferences and trade shows and it’s hard to take back what you learn and see how you apply it to your life. For example, I was just in the analytics breakout session and we had our laptops open, and I was building different statistical analytics and new queries in there, live, that are very applicable to me—like ‘draft to send time.’ No surprise that the draft to send shows that the faster you send it, the more often you win.”

Jonathon Friedl, Co-Owner, Black Mountain Manufacturing
“My biggest takeaway is that I have a lot to learn. As much as we think we’re on the leading edge of implementing the best tech for our shop, I still have a lot to learn about some of the newer tools that are out there. And I think the software industry in general has a lot to learn about the effects that AI is going to have on the whole market. Products are going to need to start to evolve really, really fast. Some of these legacy products need to keep up. What new product offerings will start to pop up in the next two, three, five years? What landscape of software is going to change dramatically over the next three to five years? And all of us are going to have to adapt really fast to stay on the forefront of it.”

Alex Enriquez, Estimator, Athena Manufacturing
“I’m floored…I started using Paperless in July, and POWER has really opened my eyes. It’s made it really easy to understand the product. It’s been amazing.”

The Value of Community

Ryan Hochstetler, Digital Director, General Stamping & Metalworks
“POWER definitely helps you feel the community of manufacturers around you…while we’re all different businesses, we all have a lot of the same problems we’re trying to solve. POWER looks at the whole industry, not just the quoting and estimating side of things.”

Brandon Brooks, President, Wal-Tek Industries
“We’ve been developing relationships with people that we’re constantly in meetings with virtually, but to be with them in person is really valuable and broadens and deepens our relationships. This is probably the best conference that we’ve attended.“

Jeff Kalinowski, Estimator, Electro-Metrics
“I’m blown away by how many other technology companies are integrating with Paperless Parts to improve what we do, how we do it, and the speed that we do it.”

Nathan High, Sales Manager, PBZ Manufacturing
“There are just a ton of smart people here and a lot of great ideas being thrown around. It’s very, very future-driven and innovative. It’s pretty awesome.”

Confidence in their Partnership

Justin Quinn, President and Owner, Focused on Machining
“Seeing Paperless Parts’ level of investment gives me confidence that we’ve partnered with the right team.”

Ted Matherne, Manufacturing Specialist, Laitram Machine
“Our company is implementing Paperless right now, and in talking to different users here it’s been nothing but good feedback. It sounds like what was being done in weeks is now being done in days, and what used to take days is now being done in hours.”

Peter Doyle, CEO, Hirsh Precision
“One of the things that I’ve always appreciated about Paperless Parts is they develop products with profitable impact. Paperless Parts clearly demonstrates how technology can truly be a wingman for your business.”

Joseph Long, Production & Operations Manager, Evans Manufacturing
“I feel confident that the Paperless Parts team is dedicated to improving their product and that it’s a good bet to be co-travelers with them. You’re kind of marrying yourself to the product when it becomes part of your business, so it’s great to have confidence that they’re investing in the future, new ideas, and are serious about helping you along that path.”

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POWER 2025 brought forward-thinking manufacturers together to share ideas, learn from one another, and gain greater control over where their businesses are headed this year—which, for many, means growth and expansion. Our biggest takeaway from these takeaways? The industry isn’t waiting for the future; it’s building it.