Manufacturing Executive

KARL RAVEN WEISS

*** ****** ******, #* * Sewickley, PA 15143 * 412-***-**** * ****.*******@*****.***

Vice President/General Manager/Managing Director

Experienced in business development and operational excellence. Using 80:20 Thinking to simplify and focus the businesses, applying the Theory of Constraints to maximize throughput and balance the flow, using Lean principles and tools to eliminate waste, and taking a Six Sigma approach to minimize process variability.

Competencies

Continuous Improvement Lean Manufacturing Theory of Constraints

Supply Chain Management Leadership Development Activity Based Costing

Professional Experience

RTI International Metals, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA 2007 - 2009

RTI operates in three segments. The Titanium Group produces mill products. The Fabrication and Distribution Groups take the Titanium Group's products and further fabricate and distribute to customers in various markets. Aerospace and defense industries represent almost 85 percent of sales. In 2008, the company reported sales of $610M with approximately 1,600 employees.

Vice President, Fabrication Group

• Full Operational and P&L responsibility for the Fabrication Group, one of RTI's three Segments, which had sales revenues of $226M in 2008 - 10% increase over 2007 revenues of $204M.

• Completed the move of RTI Claro into a $20M world-class facility in Laval, Quebec from its older leased facilities, and installed $10M in state-of-the-art CNC machining equipment for precision machining of Titanium. Project was completed under budget and with minimal delays.

• Signed a ten-year contract with Boeing, worth almost $1B to supply Titanium seat tracks for the new Boeing 787 aircraft. Built business case to justify additional expenditures of $11M.

• Installed $10M in custom designed processing and heat treating equipment in RTI Fabrication in Houston, to support the Boeing 787 program.

• Through RTI Energy Systems, signed major contracts and agreements with Shell Oil, BP and other oil and gas operators to supply custom designed components for deep water rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, Norway, and Malaysia.

Plymouth Tube Co., Warrenville, IL 2000 – 2007

Plymouth Tube, a $350M manufacturer of alloy, carbon, and stainless steel tubing owns a network of metalworking mills. The company's Plymouth Engineered Shapes unit makes near-net extruded shapes in alloy, carbon, and stainless steel, as well as in nickel-based alloys and titanium. It also uses the drawing process to produce net shapes.

General Manager, Plymouth Engineered Shapes, Hopkinsville, KY

• Full P&L responsibility for two of Plymouth Tube’s nine Mills - one physical mill and one virtual.

KARL RAVEN WEISS Page Two

• Developed a new, functional management team - replaced two managers, moved two into new roles, and developed one from within the organization.

• Led Plymouth Engineered Shapes business unit to more than double its sales - from under $20M in 2000 to over $50M in 2007.

• Developed marketing and business plans to introduce new cold drawn products in 2006 - growing to $5M of sales in 2007.

• Led the introduction and implementation of several manufacturing excellence tools and techniques – namely Lean Manufacturing, 80:20 Thinking, and TopGrading the organization. Reduced manufacturing cycle times from three weeks to 90 hours increasing throughput to support sales growth.

YKK AP America Inc., Dublin, GA 1999 – 2000

YKK AP is a world leader in the manufacture of aluminum building products, with sales revenues at the time over $150M. Using only the best materials and technologies, YKK AP makes entrance, storefront, curtain-wall, and window wall systems for the commercial building industry. To ensure control of quality, delivery, and cost, they have vertically integrated all manufacturing at the technologically advanced manufacturing facilities in Dublin, Georgia.

Fabrication Group Manager

• Managed a Group consisting of 95 commercial door and window fabricators, supervised by 7 line supervisors, directed by 3 process managers, and supported by a production control team of 8 people, plus a 4 person manufacturing engineering team.

• Established a new window line, utilizing cellular manufacturing and balanced flow techniques; and at the same time achieved record production levels for custom and standard doors.

Tredegar Industries, The William L. Bonnell Company, Richmond, VA 1998 - 1999

Fabrication Business Manager, Bon L Campo, L.P., El Campo, TX

• Managed the $10 million fabrication part of the business for this $35M aluminum extruder.

• Analyzed the future growth and profitability of the business, and recommended getting out of the fabrication business. This was done in late 1999, and plant closed in 2000.

Caradon Group (now operating as Indalex Solutions) 1981 – 1998

Formerly RTZ/Pillar/Indal Group. $1B group of industrial companies operating across North America.

Caradon Indalex, Gainesville, GA (1997 – 1998)

$40M aluminum extruder, fabricator and finisher - servicing building & construction and other industries.

Sales & Marketing Manager

• Championed order fulfillment process, managed outside sales force of five sales people, plus directed customer service, production scheduling, quality assurance and distribution functions.

• Achieved record sales of $40M in 1997, and at same introduced an innovative block scheduling system that enabled the plant to satisfy both existing and new customers, in terms of short lead times and on-time delivery performance.

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Caradon Mideast Aluminum, Mountaintop, PA (1990-1996)

$50M specialty aluminum extruder, fabricator and finisher -servicing the automotive, computer and other industries in the U.S.A. and world-wide.

General Manager – Fabrication Division (1995 – 1996)

• P&L responsibility for division with $8M revenue and 120 employees.

• Utilizing many of the TQM concepts just introduced, turned the former cost center, into a successful profit center – generating $2M (25%) in contribution margin.

Divisional Quality Manager (1994 – 1995)

• Led implementation process and training effort to introduce and imbed total quality concepts and techniques in Mideast Aluminum and other Caradon Group companies.

• Identified and then oversaw the implementation of over $1M in process improvement cost savings, in the first full year of TQM tool application.

General Manager – Fabrication Division (1992 – 1994)

• Managed manufacturing division of 100 employees generating $4M to $7M of added-value revenue.

• Successfully defeated a unionization attempt; and then changed managers and management structure, establishing a much flatter organization with self-managed work teams.

Senior Vice President - Mountaintop Operations (1990 – 1991)

• Managed one press extrusion plant, plus a fabrication plant with 160 employees and $28M in revenue. Both plants were located in Mountaintop, PA.

North American Die Casting, Fredericksburg, VA (1984 – 1990)

$10M zinc alloy die caster - servicing building & construction and other industries.

Vice President Sales & Administration

Managed all non-manufacturing functions, including sales and quoting, accounting, customer service, scheduling, payroll/personnel and M.I.S.

Education

Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

EMBA from Owen Graduate School of Management, May 2003

Concentration in Finance and Strategy

Beta Gamma Sigma honor society for collegiate schools of business, 2003

Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Bachelor of Commerce

Concentration in Management and Business Systems

First Class Honors

Memberships and Affiliations

• Plymouth Tube Company Leadership Development Steering Committee

• Member Aerospace Industry Association of America (AIA)

• Member International Titanium Association (ITA)

• Manufacturing Association of Northeast Pennsylvania – Past President

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