About Rodney Hill, Founder of MFG Empire

About Rodney Hill, Founder of MFG Empire

Rodney Hill is the founder and president of MFG Empire, a manufacturing-only marketing firm built for machine shops, OEMs, and industrial manufacturers. He spent more than 25 years on the shop floor before he moved into marketing. Today he builds websites, search programs, and RFQ pipelines for manufacturers across North America.

Most agencies learn manufacturing from a brochure. Rodney Hill learned it from the floor. For over 25 years, he worked alongside CNC machining teams, tool and die shops, welders, fabricators, and industrial machine dealers. Then he spent another decade applying that knowledge to industrial marketing. Because of that background, no shop owner has to explain a five-axis setup or a first article inspection to him. He already knows. As a result, that difference shows up in every page MFG Empire writes.

What Rodney Hill Brings to Every Manufacturing Client

• More than 25 years of hands-on shop floor work in CNC machining, tool and die, fabrication, and welding
• Direct experience with industrial machine dealerships and plant operations teams
• Over a decade focused only on industrial and manufacturing marketing
• CNC control troubleshooting from his years at BobCAD-CAM
• A customer base of 2,500-plus users built at Dolphin CAD-CAM
• Clients across North America and overseas, many inside supply chains serving Boeing, NASA, Harley-Davidson, and Tesla
• Working partnerships with ten of the largest MEP networks in the United States
• A top 2% ranking in the marketing industry on LinkedIn’s Social Selling Index

From CNC Controls to Manufacturing Marketing

Rodney started where the parts get made. He troubleshot CNC controls at BobCAD-CAM, trained shop teams on CAD/CAM software, and later built a customer base of more than 2,500 users at Dolphin CAD-CAM. That work put him inside hundreds of shops, listening to the same complaint over and over. Owners could hold tenths all day, yet buyers still could not find them online.

So he combined his two working lives into one firm. MFG Empire launched as a marketing company that serves manufacturers only. No restaurants, no retail, no dentists. Every client runs a floor.

The Shop Floor Advantage Behind MFG Empire

A generic agency spends its first three months learning your process. Rodney Hill already knows how a buyer screens a supplier, what belongs on a capability statement, and why tolerance callouts matter. That head start turns into faster launches, sharper technical copy, and pages that speak the language purchasing managers and engineers already use.

How Rodney Hill Builds Marketing for Manufacturers

Most shop owners have already paid an agency that promised traffic and delivered nothing. So MFG Empire runs a defined five-step process instead.

Step 1 — Capability Review. First, Rodney meets with your team to learn what you make, what equipment runs your floor, and which certifications you hold. That conversation drives every decision after it.
Step 2 — Buyer Research. Next, we map the exact terms purchasing managers and engineers type when they need your process. CNC machining, wire EDM, and precision fabrication each pull different search behavior.
Step 3 — Site Architecture. Then we build the site around your capabilities instead of stock photos. Equipment lists, tolerances, materials, and finished work each get real estate.
Step 4 — Search and AI Visibility. After launch, we tune the site for Google and for AI answer engines. Buyers now ask ChatGPT and Perplexity to name shops, so your content has to answer them directly.
Step 5 — Measurement. Finally, we track RFQs rather than impressions. New manufacturers usually see their first qualified leads inside 60 days, while established shops often double qualified RFQs within 90 days.

Marketing Services for Manufacturers

A website is only the starting point. MFG Empire builds the rest around it so your shop stays visible everywhere buyers look.

Manufacturing SEO. We target the process terms buyers search, then build pages that rank for them. Qualified traffic grows month after month.
Answer Engine Optimization. Buyers now ask AI tools which shops can hold their tolerances. We structure your content so those tools name you.
Manufacturing PPC. Google Ads aimed at active RFQ searches put your shop in front of buyers who already have a print in hand.
Graphic Design. Line cards, capability sheets, and trade show material that match the quality of your parts.
Website Maintenance. Updates, security patches, and speed checks keep your site fast without a developer on payroll.

The Manufacturers MFG Empire Serves

MFG Empire works with machine shops, tool and die shops, welding and fabrication companies, job shops, precision machining operations, and R&D facilities. The firm also serves aerospace, automotive, oil and gas, plastics, and electronics manufacturers. Clients range from single-location shops to suppliers inside global supply chains.

Rodney Hill’s Industry Recognition and Media Coverage

Third-party recognition carries weight that self-promotion never will. Fox Business interviewed Rodney Hill about the credit squeeze hitting small manufacturers, where he warned that resource-starved shops need working capital to keep producing. Read the Fox Business interview.

He has also contributed content to South Carolina Manufacturing, the state’s manufacturing trade publication, on website development, SEO, and digital strategy for industrial companies. In South Carolina, MFG Empire serves as the Website Solutions partner for Minds Behind the Machines, an advanced manufacturing event series, awards program, and innovation exchange.

Beyond the press, Rodney holds partnerships with ten of the largest Manufacturing Extension Partnership networks in the country, including MANTEC in Central Pennsylvania. That mix of trade coverage, MEP relationships, and regional partnerships puts MFG Empire inside the industry rather than outside it.

Working With MFG Empire

Rodney built the firm to run month to month. No long-term contracts and no lock-in. Shops stay because the RFQs keep coming, not because an agreement holds them there.

Results follow a fairly consistent pattern. New manufacturing companies typically see their first qualified leads within 60 days. Established shops usually double their qualified RFQs within 90 days. Timelines shift with market size, competition, and site condition.

MFG Empire operates from York, Pennsylvania, and works with manufacturers nationwide. You can reach Rodney directly at 717-650-0453 or rodney@mfgempire.com.

Ready to Grow Your Manufacturing Business

Marketing from someone who has run a machine, quoted a job, and walked a floor reads differently to buyers. Rodney Hill and the MFG Empire team put that experience behind your website, your search visibility, and your RFQ pipeline. Tell us what you make, and we will show you where the demand sits.