Buying a machine shop in Florida

Machine shops cut, drill, turn and mill metal and plastic into precise parts, mostly on CNC machines (computer-controlled lathes and mills). Fabrication shops cut, bend and weld steel and aluminum into larger pieces: brackets, frames, railings, tanks and structural parts. Many shops do both. Florida shops often serve aerospace and defense suppliers (especially around the Space Coast), medical device makers, marine and boat builders, industrial equipment makers and contractors.

Most shops work job by job: a customer sends drawings, the shop quotes a price, and the customer sends a purchase order. Some customers place blanket orders, standing orders for the same parts every month, which keep the shop steadily busy. Repairs and one-off jobs fill the gaps. Prices depend on machine time, setup, material and finishing.

You'd be buying the machines, tooling, inspection equipment and software, plus the programs and setups for repeat parts. The team is usually machinists and programmers, welders, a shop foreman, a quality manager and an estimator. The owner often programs the hardest jobs and quotes everything, and that's the biggest risk to plan around.

• Repeat orders for the same parts from many customers, with no single customer a large share of sales.
• Skilled machinists and programmers who have been there for years and are paid fairly, since they're hard to replace.
• Well-maintained machines, including some newer, more capable equipment such as multi-axis mills.
• The quality certifications customers require, such as ISO 9001, or AS9100 for aerospace work, backed by a quality system people actually follow.
• Quotes based on what past jobs really cost, so the owner knows which jobs make money.
• A foreman or lead who can schedule the shop floor without the owner.
• Strong on-time delivery and little scrap or rework, tracked and shared with customers.

Florida doesn't license machine shops. Beyond a local business tax receipt and the right zoning, the rules that matter are federal:

• A shop that makes defense articles must register under ITAR (the International Traffic in Arms Regulations) with the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, even if it never exports (22 CFR 122.1). A registered shop must report a change in ownership or control within five days, and give 60 days' notice before any sale to a foreign person (22 CFR 122.4).
• Defense work that involves controlled unclassified information (sensitive government information that isn't classified) falls under the Defense Department's CMMC cybersecurity program. Since contracts began including it in November 2025, self-assessments have been the norm. From November 10, 2026, the department intends to require third-party assessments for many such contracts (32 CFR 170.3). Ask where the shop stands.
• Coolants, solvents and metal waste can be hazardous waste. A sale normally means sending the Department of Environmental Protection an updated EPA ID notification (form 8700-12FL). Ask whether the site's ID number carries over.
• A state air permit (for coating, say) transfers to a new owner through an application that buyer and seller both sign within 30 days after the sale (rule 62-4.120).
• If the shop holds federal contracts set aside for small businesses, it must recertify its size, and any status such as woman-owned or veteran-owned, within 30 days of an acquisition (13 CFR 125.12).

• How much of the business comes from the top customers, their history with the shop, and whether any are moving work elsewhere.
• A machine list with age, hours, condition and any leases. Have an expert inspect the key machines.
• Who can program and set up the machines, and their ages, pay and plans.
• Quality records: certifications, audit findings, rejected parts and on-time delivery.
• Job costing: whether quotes reflect real hours and material, and which jobs lose money.
• Tooling and material in the shop that belong to customers, and a clear record of who owns what.
• The building: power supply, cranes, floor space and lease terms. Moving heavy machines is costly, so a secure lease matters.
• Programs and setup sheets for repeat parts: are they saved and organized, or only in the owner's head?

• Who are your top five customers, and how long have they been ordering from you?
• Who could program and quote if you were away for a month?
• Which machines would you replace first?
• Does the shop make any defense parts, and is it registered under ITAR?
• What certifications do your customers require, and when's the next audit?
• How do you find new machinists?
• What work do you turn away, and why?
• Do any of your contracts depend on small business, woman-owned or veteran-owned status?