Experience

Ruprecht, a Division of Kilcoy Global Foods

• United States
• Food and Beverage Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Director Of Continuous Improvement / Maintenance

  • Nov 2018 - Present



Kraft Heinz

• United States
• Food and Beverage Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• HSSE Advisor

  • Nov 2016 - Oct 2018



Gilbert Solutions

• GFSI and Operations Consultant Services

  • Sep 2015 - Nov 2016

  • Consult corporate management in achieving Global Food Safety Initiative Standards and writing HACCP / Food Safety plans for raw and cook processes.• Part of the consultation on capital expenditures projects ideas. • Outline processing facilities in to meet Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) or USDA regulations for their certification.• Assist in restructuring HACCP plans for processors to not only meet USDA / FSIS guidelines, but also FDA guidelines with 2011 FSMA.



Valley Meats LLC

• United States
• Food and Beverage Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Director of Operations

  • May 2013 - Aug 2015

  May 2013 – August 21, 2015 Valley Meats L.L.C Coal Valley, IL Director of Technical Services May 2013 –August 21, 2015• Responsible for all Quality and Foods Safety policies.• Authorizing facility expenditures.• Initiated and facilitated all the components for the 2015 BRC certification of the facility with “A” rating.• Served as HACCP coordinator. Included the training and the development on all the HACCP plans.• Work on food safety innovations with Dr. Jim Marsden and Kansas State University• Head of the Food Defense and HACCP teams.• High comprehension of USDA regulations and Directives. 2015 USDA Food Safety Audit returned no non-compliances or any additional recommendations from the Chicago District.• Recruitment, Selection, and Training of QA / FS management.• Served as company’s R&D specialist for Enhancement of Beef and Pork items to meet demands for new business opportunities. Worked with Seasoning Specialists on projects such as Batter and breading applications.• Worked to gain the customer’s confidence with Culvers, Iowa State University Food service, UNI Food Service, University Iowa Food Service suppliers. Also managed guidelines requirement with US FOODS, Reinhart distribution, and other private / company supplied products.• Led our National Accounts Sales Team with the development of Country Fried Steaks, Fresh / Frozen Beef, pork, and poultry to bring in potential 3.2 million lbs. of business.



Birchwood Foods

• United States
• Food and Beverage Manufacturing
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Director of Operations

  • Aug 2007 - May 2013

  • Managed a facility of 380 team members. Had 8 direct reports from Department Managers to 13 frontline Supervisors.• Oversaw maintenance and purchasing budgets. Authorized facility expenditures.• Had direct responsibility with profit and loss for the facility.• Developed and presented annually for approval the Capital Expenditure Projects.• Directed the facility into a behavioral based safety culture. In 2012 the Kenosha facility had the lowest recordable injuries of all the facilities. AMI safety award winner.• Worked as the practitioner for the facility’s certification in BRC for the last 4 years. In 2012 the facility scored an “A” rating.• HACCP Certified and served as the facilitator for the HACCP team.• High comprehension of USDA regulations and directives. Worked as facilities technical support for areas of the HACCP plans and during two FSA audits.• Worked in partnerships with Provisour, Oystar Cartridge Packaging, ADCO, Ordenberg and Cryovac. Troubleshot and created improvements in grinding, blending, forming, and the packaging of the products.• Coordinated with R&D to deliver production on ground beef patties, pork brat patties, and seasoned chub products. Developed the process for producing Johnsonville’s brat burger for nationwide distribution for the past 3 years.• Worked in partnership with Wendy’s to manage the share of 53% of the systems volume.• Developed strong customer relationships with Dairy Queen, Steak and Shake, Hardees, Checker’s Rallys, Johnsonville, Wal-Mart / Sam’s Club, Aldi, Kroger and TopCo .• Facility showed great returns on investment and increased profits over the past four years.• Had a good relationship with the UFCW local.



JMFG - Smithfield Foods

• Food and Beverage Manufacturing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Plant Operations Manager-Iowa Quality Meats

  • Feb 2004 - Aug 2007

  • Responsible for plant operations of 133 employees, five salaried managers and their assistant managers. Primarily production of enhanced pork, beef and chicken products in raw and cooked processes.• Involved in costing and production specifications of all product offerings in the business.• Coordinated the scheduling and oversaw the staffing of the raw and cooked divisions.• Worked with sales and marketing and increased turnover of finished inventories.• Assist in the development of new award winning products and product lines.• Prioritized and scheduled maintenance for the plant’s operations and sanitation projects.• Worked as the facility’s primary lead on new concept product flavorings and cuts of pork, beef, chicken cooked proteins. R&D and formulation development on products for prospective customers such as CostCo, Nestle, Aldi, Heinz, and Yum Corp.• Restructured the auditing process with the in-house Sysco auditor to improve productivity.• Implemented Behavioral Based Safety processes to change the safety culture of the team members that reduced workmens compensation claims.• Budgeted and created capital projects for new equipment purchases and production methods



American Foods Group

• United States
• Food and Beverage Manufacturing
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Purchasing Manager

  • Oct 2003 - Feb 2004

  • Established reorder points and inventory tracking of packaging for a 1200 head daily processing facility.• Oversaw the parts warehouse and receiving docks. Coordinated the effectiveness parts, packaging, and personal supplies for 610 people.• Worked with vendors on setting inventory values and purchasing orders • Streamlined the purchase and receiving process through accounts payable.• Developed spreadsheets for the basis of tracking the processes of inventory control.• Did troubleshooting for repair and maintenance to find the most cost-effective solutions



John Deere

• United States
• Machinery Manufacturing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Welding and MoCo Manufactering manager

  • Jun 2002 - Sep 2003



Cargill

• United States
• Food and Beverage Manufacturing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Training and Safety Coordinator

  • Sep 2000 - Jun 2002

• Production Supervisor

  • Jan 1995 - Sep 2000