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Cliff's Notes

Cliff's Notes

Written by: Cliff Nance
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Born and raised in Madisonville, Kentucky, Cliff Nance grew up in the tungsten trade — learning the business from the plant floor up to the CEO’s chair. As a second-generation “scrapie” with a global perspective, Cliff brings curiosity, candor, and decades of experience in tungsten reclamation and recycling to every conversation.

On Cliff’s Notes, Cliff sits down with innovators, industry leaders, and thinkers from around the world to talk about the forces shaping manufacturing, metals, and modern business. From technology and sustainability to leadership and legacy, every episode explores what it means to build something that lasts.

Whether it’s a deep dive into the recycling industry or a story about grit, family, and the future — Cliff’s Notes is where real conversations happen with the people moving the world forward.

Theme song written and performed by Adam Howell.Tungco, Inc Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Episode 205: Bryan Mills of CP Carbide

    Episode 205: Bryan Mills of CP Carbide
    May 27 2026
    Cliff sits down with Bryan Mills of CP Carbide — a California-based, three-generation family business that has been privately sourcing and supplying tungsten carbide wear parts since 1995.

    Bryan breaks down how his dad's 1988 trip to China started it all, why CP Carbide's private-label model means their name almost never appears on the product, and what it's like to watch tungsten prices hit levels that haven't been seen since World War Two.

    Plus: the honest conversation about polycrystalline diamond as a rising alternative, Trump's critical minerals vault, and what happens when quotes go stale in less than 24 hours.



    Hosted by Cliff Nance of Tungco — where hard work meets honest talk about leadership, innovation, and what it takes to build something that lasts.
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    22 mins
  • Episode 204: Matthew Keske of Vermeer Corporation

    Episode 204: Matthew Keske of Vermeer Corporation
    May 20 2026
    Cliff sits down with Matt Keske, commodity manager for Wear Tools at Vermeer Corporation — one of the most diversified heavy equipment manufacturers in the world — to talk tungsten, supply chain strategy, and what 30 years inside a company that's a mile long actually looks like.

    Matt breaks down how AI infrastructure and data center build-outs are quietly driving underground drilling demand, why strategic partnerships matter more than spot pricing when metals markets get chaotic, and what it means to be a wear tools buyer navigating today's commodity headwinds.

    Plus: the tornado that leveled a steel building and left only concrete — and how that rebuilt Plant 7 is now one of the best in Pella.

    Hosted by Cliff Nance of Tungco — where hard work meets honest talk about leadership, innovation, and what it takes to build something that lasts.
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    16 mins
  • Episode 203: Ashley Hunsaker of HTS Coatings

    Episode 203: Ashley Hunsaker of HTS Coatings
    May 13 2026
    Cliff sits down with Ashley Hunsaker, co-founder and CEO of HTS Coatings, for one of the most candid conversations about building a business from scratch — eight months pregnant, living in an 800-square-foot house, and saying yes when everyone else was saying no.

    Ashley breaks down what thermal spray coatings actually do (hint: they're inside the landing gear on the plane you flew here on), how HTS developed a proprietary chrome alternative with near-zero porosity, and why the tungsten price environment is forcing the whole industry to ask hard questions.

    A family business story that's equal parts grit, strategy, and a husband who briefly said 'I quit' at exactly the wrong moment.

    Hosted by Cliff Nance of Tungco — where hard work meets honest talk about leadership, innovation, and what it takes to build something that lasts.
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    25 mins
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