Anthony B. Cook
Simpsonville, SC 29680
864-***-**** (Home)
864-***-**** (Cell)
Email: ********@*******.***
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS:
Detail oriented manufacturing professional with progressive experience in a
fast changing, growth-oriented manufacturing environment. Significant
management strengths include:
Communications - Strong, open communications up and down the organization.
This promotes buy in from teams, and peer work groups. This instills trust
and creativity/innovations in the workplace. Very strong in communicating
to the plant teams for planning and execution of manufacturing objectives.
Also very strong at communicating with the business/sales groups.
Budget /Cost Control - Full awareness of manufacturing accounting
principles and budget formation and control. This also includes oversight
of the plants manpower requirements ( including overtime) and budget
control.
Manufacturing Continuity - Very attentive to operational, manufacturing and
mechanical problems and their resolution to prevent downtime.
Continual Improvement - Very driven in regards to continuous improvement.
This is done by use of root cause determination tools, lean manufacturing
principles and process improvement teams. Very strong in championing and
implementing change projects to further continuous improvement.
Safety/Environmental - Relentless in the pursuit of safety improvements by
use of regular audits and always having a goal of 0 accidents. Very strong
in knowledge of the plant safety policies and guidelines and training the
workforce to adhere to those safety principles. Very instrumental in ESSH
audits and resolution of ESSH findings. Extensive experience with OSHA
Process Safety Management guidelines.
Leadership - Proven track record of managing a lean organization which
resulted in an improved departmental efficiency and capability to
effectively respond to a rapidly changing market. This included developing
training/succession programs for direct/departmental reports.
Professional Experience:
ZSCHIMMER &SCHWARZ INC.:
Plant Manager, April 2011 - April 2012
Responsible for the management and operation of the production, maintenance
and part of the bulk shipping areas. The management of the areas included
the oversight and leadership of the 24/7 operation while also managing the
rapid growth of the site.
There were significant cycle time savings generated by performing process
reviews of high volume products. These reductions came from streamlining
the process and identifying any opportunity in the entire process that
could be done more efficiently. Another challenging task completed was
implementing a safety culture on the plant floor and adding appropriate
safety detail in the process manufacturing instructions.
. Completed process reviews of the top 80% volume products for the
site. This review process was invaluable because it was done with
a cross functional team that represented the entire process from
inception through manufacturing then shipping. An example of an
improvement resulting from a process review was that the cleanup
time after select products was reduced from 3-4 hours to 1 hour by
changing from a hot water boil out to steaming. The process
changes coming from the process reviews significantly contributed
to increasing the production volume 15%.
. There were great strides made in the area of process safety. The
following steps were taken to improve the safety in the process
area: a) prohibiting smoking and eating in the process area, b)
requiring safety glasses while in the process area, c) training for
proper labeling of containers, d) training in the proper use of
personal protective equipment, e) implementation of required
inspections of forklifts, eyewashes and fire extinguishers, f)
having operations personnel properly fitted for respirators g)
development and use of entry permits and hot work permits, h)
implementation of the use of proper fall protection devices, i)
significantly raised the standard for housekeeping in the process
area, j) conducted monthly safety meetings that were attended by
all warehouse and operations personnel.
. Implemented a work order system and a preventative maintenance
program for all the applicable process equipment and utilities.
Maintenance activities were also managed and prioritized as
required on a day to day basis.
. Implemented a training checklist for all operations personnel so
they could be "certified operators" once the checklist was
completed.
MOUNT VERNON CHEMICALS:
Plant Manager, November 2010 - March 2011 (consultant)
Responsible for the management and operation of the entire site. This
included all production, shipping, receiving, maintenance, safety and
regulatory activities. The management of the site included the oversight
and leadership of the day to day operations and also involved strategic
planning of activities to best serve existing customers while planning for
future business needs.
Strategic management activities focused on organization the of the plant
departments to become more effective. There were also significant cost
savings generated by performing process reviews of high volume products
which reduced cycle times, clarified the process to represent what was
actually being done and determined best practice for the process. The most
challenging tasks completed were enhancing and improving the plant safety
culture both on the plant floor and in the process manufacturing
instructions. Finally, there was detailed involvement in determining
strategic capital expenditures and equipment optimizations to acquire and
sustain new business.
. Completed process reviews of the top 80% volume products for the
site. This review process was effective because it was done with a
cross functional team that represented the entire process from
inception through manufacturing then shipping. This review process
was used to clarify the process and look for any opportunities for
improvement. One example of the effectiveness of the process is
that the 4th largest product was misrepresented in standard costing
and was actually only marginally profitable. Once this was brought
to light, the product was discontinued.
. Organized the production and maintenance activities by conducting
daily shift meetings. These shift meetings covered daily
activities and actions items were recorded and responsibilities
assigned. Also, implemented a work order system to further
organize the maintenance area.
. Reviewed approximately 100 product procedures for accuracy and
edited, as needed, to include all necessary safety/process
information for operations personnel.
. Implemented high housekeeping standards for the plant and warehouse
areas. These were regularly audited until this became the new
housekeeping standard.
Cognis Corporation :
Senior Production Manager 2006-July 2010
Primarily responsible for leadership of the Alkoxylation and Blending
departments while maintaining the direct management of the operations
personnel. Provided total intensive management of the process area (s) to
include control and direction of all facets of the operation. This
entailed an intimate knowledge of the chemistry/products, department
finances, and guidance of the supervisory and operations personnel of the
areas. This additionally included involvement with the appropriate
business units or direct customer contact. Management for the area also
encompassed all aspects of process improvement, customer complaint
resolution, global process improvement team involvement, process analysis,
new product introduction, and finally, to serve as resource, in regards to
capital expenditures and upgrades. Served in the role as Site Manager as
needed.
. Reduced Alkoxylation cycle times for the top 80% volume products by
20.6% in a single year with various process improvements resulting
in approximately 15MM additional pounds in capacity.
. Reduced Compounding cycle times for the top 80% volume products by
17% in a single year with various process improvements resulting in
approximately 6.5MM pounds in additional capacity.
. Implemented 5S methodology into work areas to streamline/organize
work processes
. Reduced off grade production from .86% of pounds produced in 2009
to .004% of pounds produced (January to June 2010).
. Reduced energy consumption in the process areas (both indexed to
production pounds and absolute consumption) by strategic use of
timers, development of cleaning matrices and institution of
sacrificial runs used for cleaning reactors.
. Development of an operator training program geared toward
"certifying" and standardizing the training effort.
. Designed an automated material feed/transfer system for
alkoxylation that fully automates the large volume products. This
allows the entire manufacturing process to be completed from the
control room.
. Green belt certified in Six Sigma.
Production Manager 1995-2006
Managed all aspects of the production department for the Cognis, Mauldin
site requiring a detailed knowledge of more than 400 products that included
alkoxylation, compounding, ester and phosphation processes. (Businesses
impacted by these 400 products included Textiles, Agriculture Adjuvants,
Personal Care and many other specialty markets). Over the 11 years, the
production volume increased from approximately 60 million pounds to over
100 million pounds while headcount increased by only one operator per
shift. This was accomplished with a fundamental mission to run a safe,
efficient operation that was proficient and skilled at multiple levels.
. Transferred/scaled up/produced more than 200 products from the
Charlotte facility.
. Developed a new feed system for phosphations that eliminated off
grade generation because of color formation (was as high as 10-
15% of all phosphation production).
. Instituted a formal cross training program for the operators
that increased operations flexibility.
. Installed a DCS control system in Esterification that allowed
the operation to be efficiently run with one operator per shift
while increasing efficiency and improving batch to batch
consistency. Throughput increased 25-40% after the
installation.
. Was instrumental in implementation of SAP, in the production
areas.
Production Superintendent 1993-1995
Provided the leadership of the blend and ester departments with
responsibilities including managing and guiding the Production Operators,
Production Supervisors and Production Engineers to optimize the processes
in the areas.
. Developed a "train concept" (multiple vessels running different parts
of the esterification process) for the ester area to increase
efficiency and throughput of the ester products.
. Reduced off grade generation on sorbitan esters by ~ 25% by forming
process teams and doing full analysis of the process. Best practices
were identified and implemented.
. Designed a feed system for blend area to introduce a molten solid into
liquid to form a microemulsion.
HENKEL CORPORATION (Cognis Corporation was a divestiture of Henkel
Corporation in 1989):
The company was acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2000.) Henkel Corporation was
a worldwide `chemical manufacturer of primarily detergents and surfactants.
Product Development Chemist 1988-1993
Primarily focused on synthesis of new compounds used in the production of
paper. Areas of development were focused in deinking, wet strength
additives, wax emulsions, and defoamer active formulations. This position
required an extensive working knowledge of the chemistry, plant
capabilities and the necessary skill in determining the customer's needs
for the product.
. Developed specific products for specific customer applications while
working closely with customers and technical field sales personnel.
. Successfully facilitated all processes of materials from lab scale to
formulator start-up ensuring plant implementation.
. During my tenure in product development, three US patents were granted
for new deinking chemicals/processes.
DIAMOND SHAMROCK (acquired by Henkel in 1988):
Quality Control Chemist 1983-1988
Responsibilities were focused on adjustment of batches into specification
and to provide guidance to the operators on proper process steps to take to
enhance production.
Education
BS in Chemistry; minor in Marketing from Appalachian State University