KEVIN A. TOWLE, PE

** *********** **** 360-***-****

Touchet, Washington 99360

abmqg1@r.postjobfree.com

Summary

Senior management professional with diverse experience encompassing

technology development, product development and manufacturing. Results

oriented leader with a solid technical foundation, a global business

perspective and proven organizational and management skills. Possesses the

ability to effectively balance today's tactical needs with tomorrow's

strategic needs.

Professional Experience

R&D Mechanical Engineering Manager Jul 2008

to Dec 2009

Key Technology, Inc., Symetix, Walla Walla, Washington

Manage the development of next generation automated optical inspection

systems targeted at the global pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.

Reporting to Senior Vice President.

. Transition production development strategy from point solution to a

portfolio of products based on a configurable platform strategy, enabling

multiple price points with wider market potential.

. Accelerated product development process, first alpha unit completed

within seven months of accepting position, followed by a portfolio of 11

products within 16 months. Historical single product development cycle

averages 18 months.

. Successfully managed remote design teams (mechanical and controls), new

mechanical design and controls structure along with design for

manufacturing, resulted in a material and labor cost reduction of

approximately 20% across the product portfolio.

Senior Manufacturing Engineering Manager 2005 to 2008

Biotronik, Micro Systems Engineering, Inc., Lake Oswego,

Oregon

Manage a technical staff responsible for developing and sustaining the

manufacturing infrastructure (information and physical processes) required

to produce Class III electromechanical implantable medical devices.

Reporting to Vice President of Operations.

. Improved operational effectiveness by 70%, driving manufacturing defects

below "Best in Class Standard" of 50 defects per million opportunities.

. Extended portfolio of manufacturing processes with the introduction of

double sided surface mount assembly on both rigid and flex circuits,

enabling the introduction of five new products with market leadership

performance and feature set.

. Implemented concurrent engineering with strong focus on design for

manufacturability (process simplification, centered six sigma processes,

margin testing and extended life testing), resulting in new products that

are approaching 99% automated assembly with up to 50% fewer process

steps.

. Extended design for manufacturability focus to include assembly

operations in Germany.

. Implemented fully automated component and process traceability on core

production line with real-time SPC for critical process parameters.

. Principal system architect for Manufacturing Execution System. Led the

development of all automated machine interfaces, providing closed-loop,

real-time process control and traceability.

Vice President, Technology 2003 to 2005

SilverOak Technologies, Inc., Irvine, California

Key stakeholder in a startup company focusing on the commercialization of

water management systems. Responsibilities included technology and customer

needs assessment, project proposal and system design.

KEVIN A. TOWLE, PE

Senior Microelectronics Program Manager 2000 to 2003

Tektronix, Central Engineering, Microelectronics, Beaverton,

Oregon

Managed a portfolio of microelectronic projects that provided the core

technology required to ensure market leadership in the global test and

measurement market.

. Successfully managed a portfolio of 21 core IC projects with an annual

budget in excess of $20 million. Moved IC development programs from

critical path to a position of enabled technology for product

development.

. Led the concurrent development of technologies, processes, design

infrastructures and component designs for next generation products,

resulting in six prototype components with performance levels that more

than tripled current banner specifications.

. Accelerated time to market by strengthening collaboration with product

development and manufacturing community and by being the driving force

for early involvement by all stakeholders, cross-functional teams and

concurrent engineering.

. Transitioned the organization from ad hoc program management to a more

structured approach, achieving a 70% improvement in scheduling accuracy,

a 45% improvement in budget forecasting and a 60% improvement in resource

utilization.

. Established stronger relationships with strategic partners, resulting in

open exchange of technology roadmaps and a 35% improvement in prototype

lead-time and delivery performance.

Senior Manufacturing Engineering Manager 1995 to 2000

Tektronix, Board Assembly Operation, Beaverton, Oregon

Managed a group of engineers and technicians chartered with introducing and

supporting all manufacturing processes and equipment involved in the

assembly of electronic circuit boards.

. Developed a high performance organization that grew from a team of 3

engineers into a group of 30 engineers and technicians responsible for

supporting a $1 billion revenue stream.

. Implemented five-year manufacturing strategy that supported a 35% annual

growth rate, while achieving a 74% reduction in throughput time and an

83% reduction in defects.

. Successfully managed a $3 million operational budget and a $5 million

capital budget.

. Developed an organization capable of supporting a 24-hour a day operation

with a sustainable uptime of 98%.

. Key advocate for development of CIM tools to optimize machine setup and

changeover, resulting in throughput improvement exceeding 40%.

Equipment and Automation, Program Manager 1990 to 1995

Tektronix, Board Assembly Operation, Beaverton, Oregon

Program manager for circuit board assembly processes.

. Proposed, justified and implemented three surface mount assembly lines,

resulting in a 68% improvement in throughput, a 32% reduction in labor

and a 76% reduction in process defects.

. Reconfigured existing assembly equipment to achieve a 67% improvement in

throughput.

. Implemented robust processes to support the rapid introduction of new

products, utilizing leading edge surface mount technology.

. Developed robotic placement system to place ultra fine pitch surface

mount components, resulting in a 98% reduction in defects and a 300%

improvement in throughput.

. Designed flexible solder paste tooling plate system, enabling the

development of a high quality (less than 100 ppm) ultra fine pitch

printing process.

KEVIN A. TOWLE, PE

Senior Mechanical-Electromechanical Engineer, Project 1987 to 1990

Manager

Tektronix, Personal Test Instrument Division, Vancouver,

Washington

Managed major capital projects focused on circuit board assembly and final

assembly.

. First successful implementation of robotic component insertion, resulting

in a 69% reduction in cost and a 72% reduction in defects, supporting

over 120 non-standard components on 34 circuit boards.

. Transitioned final assembly operation from discrete assembly operation to

one semi-automated line supporting 24 products, resulting in a 63%

reduction in throughput time, a 38% reduction in labor and the

elimination of all ergonomic issues. System featured in Tektronix'

Annual Report and showcased by power tool vendor for its ergonomic

design.

Education

Master of Science in Management of Science and Technology 2000

Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology, Beaverton, Oregon

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering 1985

University of Portland, Portland, Oregon

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering 1983

University of Portland, Portland, Oregon

Recognition

Recipient of Tektronix' 1998 Manufacturing Technology Leadership Award

Recipient of Tektronix' Key Contributor Award

2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1998, 1997, 1993 and 1989

Registered Professional Mechanical Engineer (PE) Oregon

Publications

Impact of Automated Optical Inspection

SMTA International 2000 (presented and published)

Trends in Electronic Products and Placement Equipment

SMTA International 1999 (presented and published)

Line Configuration for Today's Highly Complex Manufacturing

SMT Magazine, November 1998

Low-Volume, High-Mix Manufacturing

Circuit Assembly, January 1998

Placement Equipment Strategies for Low-Volume, High-Mix Manufacturing

SMI 1997 (presented and published)

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