Experience

Val-Matic Valve & Mfg. Corp.

• United States
• Industrial Machinery Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Senior Manufacturing Manager - Machining and Welding

  • May 2018 - Present

   Assumed managerial control over the manufacturing engineering, maintenance, tool room, machining, and welding departments with 7 direct and 45 indirect reports, in order to reduce manufacturing lead-times and eliminate the backlog of late customer orders. Within 6 months, late manufacturing orders were reduced by 50% and more than 75% of the cnc machines were staffed, and within 2 years late manufacturing orders were reduced by 75% and 100% of the cnc machines were staffed. Developed the annual manufacturing department budget of $.75 million and maintained P&L responsibility for results within the area. Additional management duties included updating ISO documents to parallel new production and business requirements, and verifying that new machining and manufacturing processes matched shop capabilities.  Participated on the Product Development Committee, the Project Management Committee, the Special Projects Committee, and led the Manufacturing Engineering and Lean Manufacturing Committees. Made detailed, major re-design suggestions for the three dominant company product lines, which were accepted as active projects to ensure continued product viability and to allow the company to bid on certain large, multi-million-dollar projects. Worked closely with design engineers as a member of the Product Development Committee and as the manager of the tool room to improve products per customer requests, to improve manufacturability, and to develop entirely new product lines or valve features. Changes made include items specific to customer needs, such as using ductile iron construction to achieve higher allowable pressures or adding features to differentiate the product, such as adding welded nickel sealing surfaces. Show less

• Manufacturing Engineering Manager

  • Nov 2016 - May 2018

   Reorganized the long-term goals for the mechanical and manufacturing engineering departments to focus on creating a solid model-based digital manufacturing system. The change reduced throughput time through manufacturing engineering by 50% while also nearly eliminating cnc programming errors. Generated cross-functional support for the project through interdepartmental meetings to solidify the structure that will maintain model integrity from design and manufacturing to the final assembly. Rebuilt the five-year capital plan from a series of stand-alone machine purchases to an organized plan to increase productivity through automated manufacturing cells in order to reduce labor content by 85% and lower lead times by 60% while simultaneously improving margins by 10%. The plan also included a strategic capital investment and equipment justification to purchase a very large vertical turning lathe and boring mill cell to facilitate the company’s increased presence in the large valve market. Orchestrated the conversion of the timecard system for temporary employees from the legacy paper punch cards to an RFID card system which integrates directly with the electronic timecard system for all full-time Val-Matic employees. The modernization decreased the time spent on temp employee payroll processing by 50%, decreased errors by 60%, and facilitated complete traceability for all temp employee hours for anyone with access to the electronic timecard system. Financially justified and physically implemented a $4.25M six-axis machining and welding cell using lean manufacturing concepts, which was the largest capex project in the company’s history. The cell reduced manufacturing lead time by 75%, WIP inventory by 25%, and the base product cost by 35%, all on products which had been completely purchased in the past. Personally negotiated a $350k price reduction on the machining center, which amounted to a 19.6% cost savings. Show less



DeZURIK

• United States
• Industrial Machinery Manufacturing
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Manufacturing Engineering Supervisor

  • Apr 2014 - Nov 2016

   Managed 7 manufacturing engineers and 4 tool room machinists in an OEM, union environment. Coordinated and approved vacations, schedules, and time cards, performed interviews and annual reviews, assigned projects, structured the $1.025M budget based on departmental P&L responsibilities, and participated in creating the $3M capital budget. Outlined a company manufacturing strategy with enough importance that a single project was approved which exceeded the annual capital budget by 30%. Responsible for maintaining the five-year capital expenditures plan and made multiple large project presentations to executive management with the goal of adding additional machinery with automation capabilities to increase productivity. The equipment chosen for presentation was based on their ability to effectively keep core manufacturing competencies in-house and use lean manufacturing to reduce part cost, increase quality, and shorten delivery lead-times to the customer. Served on the Dezurik engineering standards review board, participated in the safety committee, arranged the annual hiring process for summer interns, implemented an internship program with a local university, and charted the succession planning process as 50% of the manufacturing engineering department moved into retirement. Developed a manufacturing engineering training program which taught new engineers everything from fixture design to five axis machine programming, which allowed complete department coverage at all times. Show less

• Manufacturing Engineer

  • Oct 2011 - Apr 2014

   Organized the transfer of the complete Willamette ball valve product line of 14 distinct valves to a different facility as the product manager responsible for fixture and tool design, gages, cnc programming, assembly and manufacturing processes, print improvements, product redesign, and the directing of engineering, purchasing, and production personnel. The average cost of a valve in the product line was reduced by 25% and the number of manufactured versus purchased components rose by more than 100%. Managed the creation of the original production process routings and bills of material to produce prototype components and updated ISO documentation to match the new, more efficient processes. As supervisor for the tool room, had significant manufacturing freedom and the ability to make suggestions for improvements to the re-production components. Worked closely with mechanical engineers to upgrade the prints for the entire Willamette metal-seated ball valve product line to reflect actual machining and assembly practices and the appropriate tolerances. Recreated the entire product line to maintain consistent tolerances and component fits, and switched from a series of related, individual prints to tabulated prints to help enforce consistency in manufacturing. Acted as the project manager for capital equipment justifications using NPV, IRR, ROI, and other financial methods to acquire 1 vertical mill and 1 horizontal machining center; and orchestrated the complete projects including negotiations, site construction, and designation of assignments to team of manufacturing engineers on projects of up to $4M in size. The new equipment projects averaged 2 years to payback, 30% return on investment, and reduced labor by 50%. Show less



Graham Research

• Plymouth, MN

• 2nd Shift Supervisor

  • Sep 2010 - Jun 2011

   Supervised 12 machinists in a 2nd shift manufacturing environment, maintained production efficiencies and quality objectives, met safety and cleanliness requirements, verified time cards, participated in disciplinary actions, and advocated for 2nd shift employees in specific employment situations. Effectively dealt with multi-cultural personnel in a variety of different scenarios.  Performed multiple quality control audits every night including using optical comparators, a programmable cmm, tool scopes, microscopes, and a wide variety of manual gages to check very tight tolerances and also applied GD&T to both in process quality checks and formal quality inspections. Became fluent in quality specifications and requirements, and how they apply to machining and manufacturing processes.  Proposed machine setup and process changes, updated customer and ISO-required documentation, transferred process and machining knowledge between production areas and shifts, and ensured the daily transition between shifts happened effectively and efficiently. Acted as the machining liaison between shifts by coming in early to talk with all first shift employees to gather accurate information on the status of production.  Coordinated all facets of production and factory operation during 2nd shift manufacturing, functioning as the sole contact in management, engineering, and inspection. Improved and stabilized machining processes, trained operators in general machining practices, cnc programming, and safety, and diagnosed machine errors or technical difficulties. Learned to be highly independent and to make decisions confidently without any outside guidance or influence. Show less



Cybex International, Inc.

• United States
• Wellness and Fitness Services
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Manufacturing engineer

  • Apr 2005 - Jul 2010

   Represented the manufacturing department in new product introduction and design for manufacturing meetings. Worked directly with design engineers and was given near complete authority to change individual part design and tolerancing schemes to match manufacturing best practices as long as the integrity of the original assembly was maintained.  Ensured ISO-9001 compliance in both the machining and fabrication departments including writing formal documentation and training operators. Received certification as an internal auditor and was in charge of maintaining and updating existing ISO documents in the machining and fabrication departments. Instructed all production employees on ISO audit procedures and assisted in the strategic company goal of becoming ISO certified.  Generated capital projects of up to $240K and secured the purchase of 1 Haas cnc lathe, 4 HE&M saws, and 2 Haas mill indexers. Returns on the projects averaged 3 years to payback and increased overhead absorption by $220k as additional production work was insourced. Programmed the equipment for all capital projects, received factory training in both machine operation and cnc programming, while also managing the factory floor layout in CAD design software.  Designed the 50K square foot fabrication and machining department floor plan and created the cad layout for a new manufacturing facility based on lean manufacturing principles. Implemented the design by personally laying out machine positions and physically overseeing the rigging and final location of equipment and oversaw the startup process on 8 cnc machine tools. Assisted in the relocation of an entire 150k square foot facility in which manufactured components were produced in the new facility in less than 3 weeks after the move began. Show less



SPX Technologies

• United States
• Industrial Machinery Manufacturing
• 200 - 300 Employee

• CNC Programmer

  • Jan 2000 - Apr 2005

   Modernized the manual lathe department by implementing lean manufacturing using Swiss lathe technology, and developed the entire process required to make the new concept successful. Created a Swiss lathe cell with a modified manual lathe and mill to reduce cycle times and personally designed all fixtures required to maintain zero setup time on the manual machines. The cnc lathe purchase of $860k had a projected payback of 2 years, an actual payback of 1 year, and reduced labor by 70%. Justified capital equipment, including 2 additional Swiss lathes, 2 Eurotech lathes, 1 OKK machining center, 1 Hyd-Mech mitering saw, and an Almco part washer. Completed time studies and cost estimates, overall financial justification, dealer proposals, and tooling and accessory purchases on projects of up to $970K with a payback of less than 3 years. This allowed an additional 6k of machining hours to be insourced, which increased overhead absorption by $720k annually. Show less

• 2nd Shift Lathe Dept Lead

  • Jul 1996 - Jan 2000

   Scheduled, trained, and supervised 6 machinists across 9 machines on 2nd shift as the manual lathe department lead man, a promotion granted after only six months of employment. Adapted to successfully manage a wide variety of individuals and unique personalities while at the same time overcoming numerous personnel issues. Also justified new equipment purchases for the department when not operating machines, which later more than doubled production in the area after new machine installation.

• Machinist

  • Feb 1996 - Jul 1996

   Participated in the creation of a low volume, lean manufacturing machining cell consisting of six cnc lathes, three cnc mills, one manual lathe and one manual mill. Paired two cnc lathes with one operator to reduce costs on higher volume production parts. Also assembled two Swiss lathes, two manual lathes and one manual mill into a two-operator cell to reduce throughput time and material handling on forcing screw products. The average lead time reduction for cellular production was 3 weeks, or 60% of the entire manufacturing process. Show less



Enderes Tool Company

• Albert Lea, Mn

• Machinist

  • Sep 1994 - Feb 1996

   Produced parts on up to 5 cam operated machines simultaneously while also being responsible for the quality of parts being made at rates of up to 760 pieces per hour, per machine on Acme-Gridley 6 spindle and Brown and Sharpe single spindle lathes.  Supported as many as 10 machines as a floater during slow periods and operated equipment such as Pangborn shot blasters, George T. Schmidt roll stampers, broaching machines, punch presses, mills, induction heat treat systems, manual belt grinders and various assembly and finishing machines. Show less