ForgeCast Episode 3: Zane Hengsperger, CEO of Nox Metals

Zane Hengsperger, CEO of Nox Metals, joined the ForgeCast this week to talk about Nox: an AI-powered metals supplier empowering modern American manufacturing at scale. Zane shared some insider knowledge on re-industrialization, misconceptions about building factories, and how Nox Metals stands out from the crowd:

On the realities of building factories

"A million things are going to go wrong and not in the way that you have a bug or security fix…it's more so you need to pay to get more oil and you don't know where you get oil from, you never bought this oil, you buy the oil and then it's the wrong oil and then you put it in—you're like, I just broke my machine! Now your machine's broken…just be prepared for those things."

On the origins of Nox Metals

"What I thought America would need is a tech-first metal supplier that can serve modern American manufacturers…you have these guys like ProtoLabs or Hadrian and these modern companies with a lot of automation—you actually need a metal supplier that's just as uniquely technologically advanced."

On loving what he does

"When we hire people, my first thought is: are we gonna be 80 and still friends and still working together? How does this person work with me for the next 50 years? It's just fun what we do. I just meet incredible people."