Protodie finally got a job :-)

[ProtoDie]

sooooooo..... I'm not a private person but an open book

outside of designing and building buggies and manufacturing parts, I am a 3D cad designer / engineer in the tool and die industry and some other industries.
been doing it since high school and this is what I started my business on almost 14 years ago.
Buggies and parts were a passion and a hobby of mine that evolved into a part of my business because of slow times in the industry.
The tools & skills of my design / engineering / CNC machinist/ die maker / fabricator / welder / racer / toilet cleaner / truck driver / machine designer / website developer / accountant / lawn mower / carpenter / party rock star / figure shit out / Dad / Husband / trade came in handy

over the years Protodie has built up to a customer base of over 1,300 awesome customers in over 25 countries around the world

ups and downs in the economy and business has been quite exciting and at times scary / disappointing ride for me and my wife over the years , but has built up our character and givin us many stories
character as in ,,,,,, shit that ain't nothing, back in 08/09 lol

so on the industrial tool and die design side of the business, I sub-contract my design work to a couple of large shops
One of the shops is a stellar company with a lot of talented people working there.

a couple weeks ago the owners approached me to join their company full time and made me an offer I could not refuse.
not just money, but in the future I will be getting into and managing different areas of the company and they view me as a "key" person in their companies future growth

I am very excited for this life change , and a new challenge

also a few months back, one of my customers approached me about buying the buggy side of my business.
which thru discussions would be taking over my buggy cad designs, jigs , fixtures , buggy parts inventory, customer base, website, etc, etc,,, to take it to the west coast which I believe would do better on the west coast or AZ as that is where a large portion of my customers are from
Because I was so busy with industrial design and thought that buggy parts and sales would be higher with a location other than Michigan,,, we talked
we came to terms and an agreement but turned out the timing was not right for him at this time,,, no problem
still could be on the table in the future but no worries either way


so short story long,,, I am starting the new job position in a week
I will keep Protodie going and continue to build buggy parts etc for my customer base.
and ,,, I have so many years of engineering / building buggies / parts that I can not let it end
My son and I will keep producing the same quality parts , plans etc, but it will be on nights and weekends after the day jobs are done .
so to my existing and future customers please order well in advance, and understand it could be 2-3 weeks depending on the order , parts, order size ,etc

life is a roller coaster , ride it with your hands up high and a few cocktails in your belly

[K-fab]

Congrats Jody! That’s fantastic news.

[LIDUNO]

Congrats and good luck.

[jimmyg]

Lol at the roller coaster bit. Enjoy big fella.

[Deranged]

Awesome!! Very glad to hear this!

I call dibbs on any 1000cc engines you may have! HAHAA

Justin

[ProtoDie]

Lol at the roller coaster bit. Enjoy big fella.

Thanks Guys,

Jimmy,
I literally just got home from Cedar point an amusement park for a short family trip this weekend.
and yes, my brother and I were having cocktail breaks in between some of the roller coaster rides

great weather,,, great times

[Bullnerd]

Very cool!

I hope you like your new position.

[rowycoracing]

Congrats Proto!

[monkeyinfantry]

That's some stellar news Jody, Congrats!

[NinjaRaptor]

Jody,

I wish you the best in your new endeavor and hope its more than you ever imagined! You have been a great supplier for me, and I still get many comments on the XK1000. As a matter of fact, I had two sheriffs asking about the rail last time I was out.......no ticket either! HA!