Patrick Dietz

Exit planning for owner-led manufacturers

Patrick Dietz

Helping American manufacturers get the most value from the business they built, and hand it off well.

Most exit planning comes from finance, banking, and law. I bring the operational side that moves valuation.

Start a conversation See LineShift Partners

About

Operations first. Exit planning with it.

I am an engineer by training, with a background in aerospace and defense. I approach a business the way an engineer approaches a system: understand how it works, then improve it.

I am committed to the successful hand-off of American manufacturing workplaces. When an owner is ready to step back, the business, its people, and the owner's life's work should all be in strong shape for what comes next.

Exit planning is overwhelmingly led by finance, banking, and law. Those disciplines matter. What I add is the operational side, because a business that runs well without its owner is worth more to the next one.

What I do

Focus areas

I work with owner-led manufacturers who want a clear view of what their company is worth, and a plan to increase it.

Operational improvement

Practical improvements to how the business runs, so performance does not depend on one person and the company becomes more attractive to a buyer or successor.

Value enhancement

Proven value-enhancement methods from the Exit Planning Institute (EPI), applied to a manufacturer's real operations rather than only its financial statements.

Valuation readiness

A Valuation Readiness Diagnostic to show where the business stands today and what to work on first, with retainer support to follow through.

Business

LineShift Partners

Founder and owner

LineShift Partners helps owner-led manufacturers get the most value from their business by combining operational improvements with EPI's proven value-enhancement methods.

  • Valuation Readiness Diagnostics
  • Ongoing retainers to carry the plan through
Visit lineshiftpartners.com

Credentials

Background and training

  • CEPA Certified Exit Planning Advisor, Exit Planning Institute
  • Engineering degrees Technical training in engineering
  • Aerospace and defense Professional background in the aerospace and defense industry

~98%

Why it matters

Most U.S. manufacturers are small companies.

About 98% of the roughly 239,000 U.S. manufacturing firms have fewer than 500 employees. Sooner or later, each of these businesses changes hands or closes, and how well that hand-off goes matters to the people who work there and to the owner who built the business.

Source: National Association of Manufacturers, Facts About Manufacturing, citing U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB), 2022.

Contact

Let's talk about your hand-off.

If you own a manufacturing business and want to understand what it is worth and how to increase that value, I am glad to have a conversation.

Email Patrick