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About Collective

U.S. Manufacturing needs small shops to thrive.

The trend of private equity groups chewing up small shops and spitting them out is eroding the state of American Industry.

Two long-time friends are on a mission to change that. Mark Hillenburg and Matthew Ritchie started Collective Manufacturing in 2024 with a shared vision to give small shop owners an exit that promises to steward their legacy into the future instead of siphoning all the value and selling it off for parts.

Collective Manufacturing employee operating CNC machining equipment on the shop floor

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A succession plan
that works for everyone.

Meet the humans behind the model.

Mark and Matt spent their careers in manufacturing from small shops to large multi-site manufacturing facilities. They share a deep respect for the people on the shop floor and have witnessed firsthand how their success (or failure) extends far beyond the bay doors.

Collective Manufacturing Co-Founder Mark Hillenburg standing on a manufacturing shop floor with production equipment

Co-Founder + Owner

Mark brings decades of experience in aerospace and advanced manufacturing, with a background spanning commercial leadership, finance, strategy, and company growth.
He’s a relationship-builder and big-picture thinker who understands that growing a manufacturing company isn’t just about improving the numbers. It’s about earning trust with employees, customers, sellers, and partners—and making decisions that hold up over time.

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Columbia Manufacturing Co-Founder Matthew Ritchie on the shop floor surrounded by production equipment

Co-Founder + Owner

Matt has spent most of his career in aerospace and defense manufacturing, working across machine shops, heat treating, weld fabrication, operations, and continuous improvement. Before that, he served in the U.S. Air Force.
His approach starts with listening to the people closest to the work. He believes the numbers matter, but they’re often lagging indicators; the real work is understanding what’s getting in people’s way and fixing it.

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Company values

Integrity First

Build Better Together

Everybody Matters

Extreme Ownership

Enjoy the Ride

We’ve witnessed the worst.

Both Matt and Mark have personally felt the heartbreak of PE roll-ups.

The short-term thinking. The money grabs. The poor leadership decisions that leave the good people on the shop floor paying the price.

But at the same time, there are so many shop owners nearing retirement that don’t have a good succession plan.

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So we built a better option.

We call it manufacturing stewardship.

Our mission is to buy, hold, and grow legacy shops for the long haul, rather than roll them up for a short-term exit.

We take care of the people, customers, partners, and communities. And keep investing in what will make them valuable for generations to come.

That’s what we mean when we say:

Rooted in legacy.
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The money has the same mission.

Meet Elmore Companies, AKA “The Money.”

Collective Manufacturing is backed by Elmore Companies, a third-generation family business with decades of experience acquiring and growing companies for the long term.

That shared perspective plays out in tangible ways on our shop floors every day. Elmore understands that a great business is more than a financial asset. They believe sustainable growth comes from investing in the people, relationships, and capabilities that made the business valuable in the first place.

Learn more

This is what stewardship looks like in practice.

We’re building a permanent home for great manufacturing companies. Meet the shops already part of Collective, and the people carrying their legacies forward.