Anthony B. Cook

** ****** *****

Simpsonville, SC 29680

864-***-**** (Home)

864-***-**** (Cell)

Email: ab1qas@r.postjobfree.com

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

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