SMB fabricators represent over 90% of the manufacturing industry, yet they’re often treated as the minority, and nowhere more so than in technology. That needs to change.
Walk into almost any industrial area, in Australia or anywhere in the world, and you’ll find the same thing: small, hardworking manufacturing businesses quietly powering the economy. Running CNC machines, cutting steel, welding frames, solving problems.
They represent over 90% of the manufacturing industry, yet they’re often treated as the minority. And nowhere is that disconnect more obvious than in technology.
01A misunderstood market
For decades, tech has built software for the top end of town: enterprise manufacturers with big budgets and full-time IT teams. Small manufacturers have been left to fend for themselves. Too many in tech still hold outdated beliefs:
- →That they’re not ‘digital enough’ to adopt software
- →That they prefer the ‘old-fashioned way’
- →That they’re too small to matter
These assumptions aren’t just wrong, they’re harmful. They ignore the core strengths that make these businesses exceptional.
02The truth about SMB manufacturers
My family has run fabrication businesses for over 30 years, and I’ve spent my career building tech that solves real problems. That dual view shows how entrepreneurial and adaptable small manufacturers really are:
- →Expert problem-solvers who handle unique requests, shifting deadlines, and material constraints, and still deliver
- →Fast and inventive, moving quickly and thinking on their feet
- →Builders, not just of products but of businesses, families, and generational legacies
What they’re not is resistant to technology. They just haven’t been given the right kind.
03The real challenges
Talk to hundreds of small manufacturers and the same themes come up. They’re not dreaming of predictive analytics, they’re looking for practical ways to work better and waste less:
- →Quote accuracy and margin control. One small miscalculation can wipe out a job’s profit.
- →Disjointed systems and double-handling. Info scattered across whiteboards, spreadsheets, and inboxes.
- →Poor visibility. When no one can see what’s urgent or waiting, things fall through the cracks.
- →Customer communication gaps. Staying on top of updates and changes is tough without the right systems.
- →Work-life imbalance. Quoting at 6am, delivering at noon, invoicing at night is not sustainable.
04What needs to change
The narrative needs to shift, from treating small manufacturers as behind the curve to recognising them as the capable, forward-thinking operators they are. That means:
- →Meeting manufacturers where they are, and growing with them
- →Providing tools that adapt to them, not the other way around
- →Solving today’s problems while enabling tomorrow’s growth
05The opportunity
The future of manufacturing doesn’t lie only in massive factories and full automation. It lies in the thousands of small shops making, fixing, welding, and building behind unassuming roller doors.
They’re not the exception. They are the industry.
Equip these shops with tools that support accuracy, visibility, communication, and work-life balance, and we don’t just improve productivity. We strengthen the foundation of modern manufacturing.
It’s time to stop ignoring the 90%. It’s time to build for them.
Paul writes Steel & Sense for owners who would rather run a sharper shop than a bigger one. Factory is the software he always wished he had on the floor.