WILLIAM KIRT

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

Cass City, MI 48726

(h) 989-***-**** ( (c) 630-***-**** ( ab837e@r.postjobfree.com

SUMMARY

. A skilled Project/Tooling Engineer with over 20 years in the

automotive and forging industry offering experience in supervising and

management, slashing production time, cutting costs, innovation and

bottom line optimizations. Seeking a position that can fully utilize

my skills and turn them into an asset for the company.

SKILLS

. New Tool Introduction

. Downtime Elimination

. Developed Fixture for Quick Change Tooling

. Forge Tool Life Increase

. Designed Forge and Impact Extrusion Tooling

. Steel and Inconel Closed Die Forgings

. 3" - 12" Upsetters, Herlan Knuckle Joint Presses

. Stamping and Tooling Design

. Production Design Improvements

. Designed, Developed, and Modified Tools and Fixtures to Improve the

Manufacturability of Parts and Processes

. Used 2D & 3D CAD Towards the Production of State of the Art Forged

Tooling and Forged Parts

. Cost & Scrap Reduction

. Manufacturing Upgrades

. CNC/Haas Experience

. Experience with ISO/TS Systems, PPAP, and APQP

. Designed and Developed Forging Dies Using DeForm Computer Simulation

. Manager for Union/Non-Union Employees

. Manufacturing Shop Floor Experience

. AutoCAD

. Solid Edge/Solid Works

. Equipment Design

. Cold Forming/Cold Heading

. Deep Draw

. CAD File Conversion

. Unigraphics II

. Prepare Customer Presentations

. Budgeting

. MS Project

. MS Office

. Windows XP&7

. Results Oriented and Dead-Line Driven, Proactive & Flexible

. Able to Work in a Fast Paced Environment

. Team Player; Work Well in a Group and Take Direction

. Desire to be Part of a Growth Business and Operate in an Ever-Changing

Environment

EDUCATION

. Bachelor of Arts - Business/Organizational Management

Ashford University, IA

. Associates Degree - Specialized Business Management

Center for Degreed Studies, PA

. Completed one semester - Manufacturing Technologies

Penn Foster, PA

CERTIFICATES

. Forging Industry Association - FIA

Cleveland, OH

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

. Received a personal patent from the U.S. Patent Office 5,794,278 and

designed several other company patents.

. Served in the U.S. Army in Germany and excelled in various positions

including supervision, operations, logistics and instructing. Retired

from the U.S. Army Reserves after receiving numerous awards and

citations.

William L. Kirt

Page Two

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

CONTRACTOR, 07/2012 - 01/2013

MECHANICAL / CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ENGINEER

Revstone - Metavation, Vassar, MI

Foundry Gray Iron Castings for commercial and automotive products

. Review manufacturing processes and update as necessary

. Learn the foundry business & personnel responsibilities

. Work on ISO 14001 compliance and continuous improvement

. Drive Kaizen events to complete audit

TOOLING SPECIALIST

Nexteer, Saginaw, MI

Automotive products supplier

. Worked on tooling used in cold headers regarding matters and premature

failures with tooling steels & carbides

. Cost savings regarding tool consumption

. Monitored tooling wear patterns

ENGINEERING/TOOLING MANAGER, 06/2011 - 04/2012

Gemini Group, Ubly, MI

Automotive and commercial products supplier

. Developed, implemented, and managed all fabrication tooling and

equipment; lead department personnel to support

several facilities.

. Directed activities of Toolroom Supervisors, Fabrication Personnel,

Prototype Leaders, and CAD Designers.

. Assigned goals and objectives to support the organization's business

goals.

. Quoted tooling costs, determined timing of fabrication tooling, approved

CAD design and oversaw the building of fabrication

tools and machines for the various plastic extrusion processes.

. Provided support on customer concerns and inquiries (VAVE); assisted in

developing timely corrective action to maintain

customer quality standards and production requirements.

SENIOR FORGING/TOOLING ENGINEER, 03/2006 - 06/2010

Sypris Technologies, Marion, OH

Manufacturing company specializing in heavy truck steel forgings - Axles,

Ring Gears, Pinions and more

. Designed and developed forging dies using DeForm to predict material flow

during forging via CAD simulations.

Ensured ZERO downtime or production disruption. Advanced tool life via

"outside-the box" thinking.

. Designed the forging for the wind turbine hub and processing using

inconel material.

. Administered a $250K tooling budget. Reduced product weight by several

pounds through creating a hollow spindle for

trailer axles enabling penetration of new markets for weight optimized

hollow products.

. Decreased manufacturing costs, production time, and waste via more

effective and efficient tooling procedures.

Continually worked to improve processing, operator training, and

operational safety.

. Used software and engineering resources to run simulations that verified

cost savings, scrap reduction and process improvement.

Developed a fixture for quick-change tooling.

. Saved $378K in annual costs and 1680 hours of production time. Championed

best practices in upgrading production

equipment design, tooling, fixtures and general manufacturing processes

and procedures.

. Directed troubleshooting efforts to quickly solve challenges and

update existing tooling and dies that led to future projects.

William L. Kirt

Page Three

. Designed, developed, and modified tools and fixtures to improve the

manufacturability of parts and processes.

Used 2D & 3D CAD towards the production of state of the art forged

tooling and forged parts.

. Managed 15 union direct reports, consisting of 3 shifts of toolmakers,

die set-up technicians and various specialists.

. Cut $50K in costs per year decreasing tooling reworks after in-depth

analysis of dies for performance part life.

. Lowered significant downtime and potential costs 90% by devising a fuse

cartridge that prevented a major machine

overload and part failure.

. Re-structured the forging die set-up area to reduce headcount 33%.

Collaborated with a diverse range of clients to garner

feedback and re-structure tooling per specs.

ENGINEERING MANAGER, 08/1999 - 03/2006

Best Metal Extrusions, Bensenville, IL

Manufacturing company specializing in copper and aluminum impact extrusions

serving electrical, automotive, medical,

computer and other hi-tech industries

. Worked "hands-on" taking on additional duties such as client interaction,

company-wide troubleshooting, designed

and developed parts.

. Identified customer requirements using continuous process improvement and

best practices to complete projects under

budget and time frame while earning 100% client satisfaction.

. Designed and used Cold Forming while administering all tooling

requirements throughout the plant; responsible for

machine setup and processing of the forging presses using computer

simulations.

. Stamping of electrical connectors and non-ferrous parts

. Supervised a highly successful preventative maintenance program slashing

any major equipment failure.

. Managed the daily workforce of 12 -15 people assigning jobs, reviewing

and taking care of daily challenges.

. Worked within intensive deadlines bringing projects to on-schedule

completion despite antiquated equipment, personnel

issues, and various emergencies that had to be resolved quickly and

effectively.

. Attained a 25% per year tooling budget reduction through bringing 95% of

tooling functions in-house.

. Converted 1K+ drawings from hard line pencil drawings to CAD files,

archiving data to a remote site for safety.

. Used useful communication/people management skills to maximize

productivity, reduce costs, and increase viability.

ENGINEER, 03/1997 - 08/1999

JLO Metal Products, Inc, Chicago, IL

Manufacturing company making impact extruded aluminum for the lighting and

automotive companies

. Scheduled and managed the manufacture of tooling and troubleshot issues

with new products and existing production.

. Scheduled plant maintenance activities to ensure all equipment operated

at peak performance.

. As team Leader of the Steering Committee, spearheaded the implementation

of QS9000 standards. Actively involved

with TS16949 and Safety Council.

. Designed and developed an innovative new process for swedging aluminum

tubing using a press capable of swedging

both ends of aluminum tubing simultaneously.

. Reduced the manufacturing process costs by 40% and increased production

levels.

. Independently setup and programmed a new vertical 3 Axis CNC Machining

Center that allowed in-house machining,

capturing new markets, and resulting in a 10% sales increase.

. Provided hands-on management of new product design and development for

over 15 production presses and supporting equipment.

William L. Kirt

Page four

STAFF ENGINEER, 04/1992 - 03/1997

Kaiser Aluminum, Erie, PA

Manufacturer of Aluminum Forgings for tier 2 automotive, aerospace, safety,

transportation, and commercial products

. Designed tooling and fixtures to improve the throughput of hydraulic and

mechanical forge presses being aware of requirements

for the machining of the finished forging.

. Supported facilities in PA, SC, and CA on-site, led and developed new

products, troubleshoot existing products,

and improved processes and efficiencies to increase profitability.

. Designed aluminum forged components for the Jaws of Life emergency rescue

equipment increasing annual sales by $2 million

and gained significant market penetration.

. Increased forge tool life 25% by analyzing and pinpointing wear patterns,

implementing design improvements, and upgrading

the quality of the die steel.

. Launched several new innovative products.

NEW PRODUCT/PROJECT ENGINEER, 08/1988 - 04/1992

Hydro Aluminum (Bohn Aluminum), Adrian, MI

Manufacturer of aluminum and brass forgings for tier 1 and tier 2

automotive

. Developed aluminum impact extrusion capability that included $4 million

in capital expenditures to produce passenger side airbags.

. This included identifying, locating, purchasing and installation of

equipment. Arranged and managed the relocation of three

presses from Europe and one from Canada.

. Developed an automotive air conditioning part that was patented.

Production was over 70,000 parts per day.

. Provided engineering, production and sales support throughout the

division.

. Responsible for managing three product lines; aluminum and brass forgings

and brass linear extrusions.

Annual sales exceeded $13M.

. Prepared forecasts, established pricing and negotiated customer price

increases. Successfully penetrated the passenger side

airbag market adding an additional $6 to $10 million in annual sales.

. Managed existing and new closed die forging projects for tier 1 and tier

2 automotive, military, aerospace and commodity markets.

. New projects included designing and sequencing in to production

scheduling for on-time customer delivery of forgings.

PROJECT ENGINEER, 06/1981 - 08/1988

Mueller Brass Company, Port Huron, MI

Manufacturer of brass forgings for the commercial market

. Designed forge tooling and impact extrusion tooling.

. Successfully improved tool life on average of 25% by improving production

methods and tool handling. Reduced tooling

set-up times by 1/3 by having the tooling delivered to the manufacturing

cell.

. Worked as shift foreman supervising from 5 to 20 hourly union employees

during vacancies.

. Developed an aluminum slug casting process utilizing molten aluminum cast

in to an open face pressure valve bodies

in fire extinguishers and other components.

. It reduced costs from the conventional rod to forging method in excess

of 35%. As a result, several manufacturing cells were

constructed and placed in to production.

. Provided engineering for conventional brass and aluminum closed die

forging. The sizes ranged from tenths of a

pound to approximately 10 pounds.

. Lead several departmental quality groups dealing with production

quality, cost and safety improvements.

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