JAMES T. THOMAS

***** ***** **** ***** **** Smith, Arkansas 72916

Home 479-***-**** Cell 479-***-**** abnu3v@r.postjobfree.com

Plant Manager

VP of Operations / Multi-Site / Startups & Turnarounds / P&L / Lean Manufacturing

Union & Non-Union / TPM / Safety & Environmental / Quality / Engineer / GMP

Achieved significant bottom line results for Fortune 500 and mid-sized companies by streamlining manufacturing

operations. I am committed to increasing profits and market share by developing innovative solutions that improve

processes and reduce operational costs, while maintaining focus on environmental, health and safety.

Results oriented leader with technical, business and managerial expertise, who provides strategies to facilitate

success. A proven track record of accomplishments in the following areas: Lean Manufacturing, Production,

Engineering, Quality, Inventory Control, Purchasing, Accounting, Logistics, Coaching and Mentoring. Management

selected me to develop, implement and lead new programs company wide.

Improving manufacturing throughput and production results.

Implementing manufacturing innovations and training staff in new processes.

Creating efficient plant layouts that increase revenue generation.

Developing programs that ensure quality.

BS, Industrial Engineer, Mississippi State University. Participated in numerous Alcoa Leadership, Quality and

Toyota Production System training seminars, as well as instructed others on methodology.

CAREER HISTORY & ACCOMPLISHMENTS

J. B. Poindexter & Co. – Specialty Vehicle Group 2007 – Present Fort Smith, AR

Director of Lean & VP of Operations

Internal Lean director for both Federal and Eagle Coach facilities. Implemented TPS at Federal Coach and Eagle

Coach and managed manufacturing at the Ft. Smith location for coaches, limousines and bus lines. Oversaw 257

employees and managed $50M operating budget.

Increasing Production and Quality. Eagle Coach, maker of funeral cars was acquired by J.B.Poindexter &

Co., Inc. in 2006. The market was declining. Collaborated with GM on increasing production. Led team

through development of detailed plan for entire year. Increased productivity 16%, quality 73%, delivery

performance 25%, and exceeded financial goal while reducing cycle time 33%, recordable rate 64%.

Improving Productivity and Delivery. Federal Coach makes buses as well as cars. Hours required to

produce buses was deteriorating. Developed standards for each work station, which highlighted problems.

Trained team leaders and supervision in root cause problem solving. Daily problem solving improved

productivity 20%, reduced WIP 33%, while delivery performance rose from 28% to 100%.

Alcoa – Custom Extruded Solutions 2005 – 2007 Delhi, LA

Plant Manager

Bottom line accountability for extrusion plant. Led 250 employees and oversaw $100M budget. Directed HR,

accounting, inside sales, environmental, health, safety, quality, transportation, engineering, maintenance, and

manufacturing.

Developing Custom Extruded Solutions. Selected to turnaround Alcoa extrusion plant that had not made

more than 3% ROC in 10 years. Pulled leadership team together and analyzed plant, people, customers, and

market. Instructed sales workforce to accept only anodized orders and focused operations on increasing

anodizing capacity. Ran extrusion presses fewer hours while increasing ROC from 2.7% to 9.1%.

Improving Throughput While Cutting Material Costs. Exceeded senior management expectations of raising

ROC to 12%. Increased throughput and used cheaper scrap metal units for feedstock versus purchasing new

metal units. Introduced lean tools, used kaizen events, visual management, problem solving and daily

management boards. Increased capacity 30% while increasing scrap utilization 38%, saving $1M+ annually.

James T. Thomas abnu3v@r.postjobfree.com Page 2

Alcoa – Mill Products 2003 – 2005 Texarkana, TX

Alcoa Business System Manager

Collaborated on plant turn around. Directed and implemented Alcoa Business System (Toyota Production System)

in the Texarkana, TX plant.

Turning Around Plant by Implementing TPS Methodologies. Selected as one of four managers to improve

underperforming plant. Coached managers and teams on Toyota method of visual, one page plans. Trained on

problem solving, visual management, and daily management. Increased plant capacity 17%, reduced customer

complaints 42% and grew ROC from 1.1% to 32%.

Improving Logistics and Distribution. Delivery performance was not keeping up with throughput and

preventing increase in market share. Plant’s financial performance was improving; however, delivery

performance was only 52%. Reviewed deliveries missed from previous week. Identified root causes and

corrective actions. Delivery performance increased from 52% in 2004 to 98% for 2005.

Alcoa – Kentucky Casting Center 2001 – 2003 Hawesville, KY

Alcoa Business System Manager

Directed and implemented Alcoa Business System (Toyota Production System) in the Hawesville, KY plant.

Moving Equipment from Batch Process to One-piece Flow. Standardized plant operations for BMW

production line by introducing one-piece flow. Identified need to rearrange equipment from batch process to

one-piece flow. Developed department layout and planned equipment move. Increased throughput on BMW

line 40%, while reducing workforce 25%.

IMCO Recycling Inc. 1999 – 2001 Morgantown, KY

Plant Manager

Bottom line accountability for all aspects of the IMCO Recycling Inc. flagship facility, including landfill operations.

Directed 200 employees and $25M budget.

Increasing Capacity. Plant operating costs were increasing and efficient reverb furnace was out of capacity.

Pulled operation team together and reviewed the furnace’s performance using the principles of TPS & TOC.

Realized the bottleneck was not the furnace but the up-stream shredder. Installed buffer stock to protect

against inventory shortages caused by the shredder. Reverb furnace capacity was increased by 20.5%.

Alcoa – Closures System International 1994 – 1999 Olive Branch, MS

Operations Manager

Managed manufacturing, quality, purchasing, warehousing, logistics, training, planning and inventory control at the

largest closure plant in the world. Managed 150 team members.

Creating Efficient Plant Layout. Challenged to improve plant layout and decrease inventory in 30 days. Used

Toyota Production System (TPS) to manage changes. Formed a layout team and trained the group on TPS

concepts. First two cells were completed on schedule with 60% reduction in scrap and a 15% increase in

capacity in first 30 days.

Reducing Injury Rate and Improving OSHA Compliance. Olive Branch Closure Plant had terrible safety

record. Assigned each manager responsibility for safety on one of four rotating crews. Partnered with

maintenance manager to investigate every incident. Plant worked 1M+ man hours without additional lost time

accident and posted best safety performance in division.

Alcoa – Structural Laminates 1989 – 1994 New Kensington, PA

Manufacturing Manager

Started up Structural Laminates facility. Directed maintenance, transportation, and environmental, health, and

safety. Managed all manufacturing activities, including production, production control, engineering, transportation,

and human resources.

Other Alcoa positions 1981 – 1989 Davenport, IA & Bauxite, AR

Sr. Production/Quality Engineer, Sr. Industrial Engineer, and Industrial Engineer

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