A new episode of The Winning Cultures Podcast is out. This one goes inside Motion Dynamics, a West Michigan manufacturer most people have driven past without knowing what happens inside.
Richard Witham is a sales engineer there and the grandson of its founder. The company started in 1992, making automotive parts. Today, most of what it makes goes into medical devices and aerospace, the kind of precision components that end up inside a person’s body or in a procedure that could save a life. Richard sits down with me to talk about how a company makes that kind of shift, and why none of it holds together without the right people.
Three Generations on the Floor
On Mondays and Fridays, three generations of the same family are in the building. Richard’s grandfather started Motion Dynamics with a team of three, and all three are still there, along with Richard’s father, who is now president, and Richard himself. That kind of continuity tells you something about why people stay.
Hiring for Character, Not Credentials
Motion Dynamics has probably never had anyone apply with laser welding experience. So they stopped looking for it. They hire for character and figure out which department fits, because the technical skills get absorbed from the team, while the ownership mentality has to be there on day one. Culture matters enough that Chris, the president, sits in on every second interview himself.
The Rhythm That Holds It Together
Strong culture at Motion Dynamics isn’t a poster on the wall. It’s a weekly routine. Every morning, the core team reviews every new order in the building, and every Tuesday, all three shifts gather to hear where the company stands on delivery, quality, and what their parts are going into. You see the result in people like Norm Morton, a senior spring maker who wants to perform every operation on his parts himself, start to finish.
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