WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING: Michelle Shatrau

President and CEO, N.E.T. & Die

She is moving her company to a new facility, the former Kmart building in Fulton — three times the size of the current one

by Mary Beth Roach

Michelle Shatrau, president and CEO of N.E.T. & Die, grew up in manufacturing, with her grandfather, Harry, starting the Fulton company in the 1960s and her father, Richard, running it for more than 40 years.

N.E.T. & Die, Inc. is a computer-numerically-controlled machine shop and also offers services in engineering support, supply chain management and quality control.

But about six years ago, Richard was in his late 70s and there was no succession plan in place for when he retired.

“I started to have discussions with him about what he was going to do with the company,” Shatrau said. “When I first started engaging with him, we started talking about selling the company. That was our first option. We didn’t make a lot of traction.”

Up to this point, Shatrau, who holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Clarkson University, had been working in various fields in manufacturing, including aerospace, appliance and injection molding. But she decided to move back to her hometown from Ohio and take over the business, saying it was probably the best decision she’s ever made.

As president and CEO, Shatrau is responsible for a workforce of about 27 people and the engineering team reports to her. In addition, she handles sales and recruiting; implements new business strategies and brings in new technologies for the company. One cousin oversees the operations end of the business, another is a lead machinist and yet another handles shipping. Her father still works there several hours each week.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to grow the company. That’s my personality. That’s the direction we’re heading in,” she said.

And the direction that she’s been taking the company is up.

Sales have increased by 40% from 2021 to 2024, she said.

And she is taking the business to a new address. The Foster Street site, where they have been for about 50 years, had physical limitations that did not allow for any expansion.

The company is in the process of moving from its current headquarters to the River Glen Plaza, increasing its space from 30,000 square feet to 92,000.

Additional investments are being made in equipment and technology.

Shatrau has purchased the plaza space that was once Kmart and she hopes to have the company fully transitioned into the new location by the Fourth of July.

“When I came on, it was one of the first things I started looking at — where could we possibly move to increase our footprint,” she said.

Upon her return to Fulton, Shatrau also saw an aging workforce in a city that was once a manufacturing hub, but instead of seeing it as a disadvantage, she saw possibility.

“There was no line of sight to the next generation to come in. I saw opportunities for building the skilled machine workforce, in general, not only with N.E.T. & Die, but in Oswego County and promoting skilled trades, especially machining,” she said.

She has seized on that opportunity on various fronts. Although N.E.T. & Die uses an outside firm to help with some recruiting, she does a good share of it herself. She said she spends a lot of time encouraging young people to consider careers in skilled trades and machining and working with Citi BOCES and the Pathways in Technology Program (P-Tech).

“I want all the smart kids that don’t want to go to college,” she said.

She believes that the new building, with all the innovative technology, will entice the next generation and N.E.T. & Die continues to educate their machinists and programmers and often sends them to conferences to learn of new advancements.

Moreover, the Foster Street location will soon become the Oswego County Manufacturing Incubation Center. Two entrepreneurs have already moved their fledging robotics company to the site. And Shatrau said that her company will provide some additional resources that new companies might need, including some of their smaller machines, a fork truck and some administrative assistance.

As she prepares for the company’s next chapter, she said, “I don’t think I’ve ever worked harder in my life and loved it more. I wouldn’t have come back and done this if I didn’t see the opportunities for this company.”