Charles E. Hixson

**** ***** ***** ******* *****, FL 33073

Mobile 954-***-****

ac0hit@r.postjobfree.com

PROFILE AND EXPERTISE

Well rounded, hands-on individual with technical knowledge and experience across multiple areas of the injection molding industry. Team player with over 36 years of experience with a leading injection molding/mold making company; committed to achieving the highest quality and safety standards with strengths in the following areas:

Journeyman Toolmaker

Hot Runner Diagnosis and Repair

Root Cause Analysis on Injection Mold Failures and Implementation of Corrective Action

Knowledgeable in Tool Steel Selection to Minimize Wear and Maximize Heat Transfer

Injection Molding Machines: HPM, Cincinnati, Nissei, Toshiba, Sumitomo, Netstal

Secondary Automation: Hekuma, Zaugg, CBW, Star, AEC (Harmo)

Development and Performing Design of Experiments

Resins: ABS, Acrylics, Polycarbonate, Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Nylon, Styrene

Robust Process Development for High Cavitation, Close Tolerance, and Stack Tooling and Reel to Reel Inserts Molding

Industries Served: Medical, Consumer Products, Caps and Closures and Automotive

ISO 9002 Standards

VSM, 5S, & Lean Practices

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

INTERPLEX SUNBELT, Tamarac Florida

March 2014 – Present

Molding Manager

Responsible for 20 machine operators and 3 tool makers.

Schedule weekly work stations.

Document and Analyze daily production, tooling issues. scrap and down time for KPI’s

Locate various tool builders that will manufacture quality molds and spare part components at a responsible price.

Monitor and adjust machine processes to ensure that product that is being produced meets and or exceeds the customers demand.

Recommend tool design changes that will produce a robust tool

Established DFM from customer models and part prints.

Travel to tool manufacture that build injection molding tools for Interplex to ensure that the tool(s) are constructed correctly and assist in the processing of such tools.

Established training requirements for new employees.

NATIONAL MOLDING LLC. Miami Lakes Florida.

December 2011 – March 2014

Project Manager/Engineer

Quoted the construction of Custom and Hetro tooling for the automotive industry.

Established DFM from customer models and part prints.

Reviewed and recommended changes to tooling to enhance productivity.

Issued customer timeline of tooling development till the ppap approval.

Set up project launches of each project.

Scheduled the tooling review prior to the construction of the tools with tool room supervisor, manufacturing manager and designers.

Designed various gages affiliated with a project.

REXAM – PERSONAL CARE Newark, Delaware/ Anderson South Carolina

Jun 2010 – July 1, 2011

Continuous Improvement Engineer

- Extended a 13 month contract to assist the Delaware and Anderson facility with continuous improvement projects:

Delaware

Reconditioned a 64 cold runner mold that operated at low efficiency yields and poor part quality. Scope included weld and rework of all critical shut offs to re-establish print requirements, re-establish all stack heights, and coordination of external suppliers. Once complete, mold was re-qualified at full cavitation, on cycle, and with optimal part quality.

Improved throughout of a multi machine molding cell consisting of (4) In-mold labeling systems with in line assembly equipment and automated pack-out. Utilized Value Stream Mapping (VSM) tools to identify areas of opportunity then carried out improvements to the assembly equipment improved throughput from 45K units per day to nameplate capacity of 80K units per day. Further improvements to IML label transfer systems decreased label scrap by 6%.

Anderson

Evaluated various tools that was not running full cavitation and instructed on the actions to be taken to repairs.

REXAM – PERSONAL CARE Thomaston, Connecticut

Jan 2010 – Jun 2010

Project Engineer

Extended a 6-month contract to assist the Thomaston facility with installation, qualification and training of transferred equipment from the Pompano Beach plant. Equipment transfer included (13) Toshiba machines equipped with robotic take out, (20) molds, (8) offline assembly cells for a proprietary dispensing product. Strict adherence to timeline was crucial to avoid interruption to the customer supply.

REXAM – AIRSPRAY Pompano Beach, Florida

Sep 2006 – Jan 2010

Technical / Tooling Manager

Transferred to Rexam Airspray to assist in the startup of this new injection molding & assembly facility for proprietary dispensing products with the full time position of Technical / Tooling Manager once the facility was production ready. Collaborated directly with the Molding Manager to help oversee planning, purchasing, installation and startup of a new injection molding department with a $2MM budget and strict timeline.

(New Rexam start up plant in 2006 subsequently closed in 2009 as part of restructuring initiative)

Facility start up consisted of installation of (16) molding machines, programming of AEC (Harmo) robots for part removal, and modification of tools from European to US standards.

Managed Maintenance Technicians and trained Molding Technicians.

Assumed the responsibilities of the Molding Manager in his absence.

Installed electrical and hydraulic safety circuits to machines and tools to prevent against employee injury and equipment damage and performed routine checks to ensure full OSHA compliance.

Implemented continuous improvement actions to reduce molding cycle times and executed corrective actions for root causes of repetitive issues related to part quality and mold function.

Established and maintained preventive maintenance schedules for injection molding machines, tools, material handling, water system, robots and auxiliary equipment.

Located and utilized local tool shops for outside repairs.

5S Lean Champion for the tooling area.

Participated in Lean SMED event and various Lean Manufacturing projects.

PRECISE TECHNOLOGY Inc. North Versailles, Pa (Purchased by Rexam in 2006)

Mar 1991 – Sep 2006

Manufacturing / Process Engineer

Maintained production and overall efficiency standards for 27 molding machines and related secondary and auxiliary equipment. Responsibilities included the oversight of all molding supervisors, operator training, work flow processes, and compliance to all safety regulations.

(Purchased by Rexam in 2005 and closed as part of restructuring initiative)

Maintained tooling and processes for stack and high cavitation, close tolerance medical, consumer products, caps and closures and automotive products.

Routine physical checks of all mechanical and electrical safety devices to ensure OSHA compliance and personnel safety.

Initiated preventative maintenance programs for all tooling and secondary equipment which reduced annual repair costs by 20%.

Implemented cycle time and raw material reductions through process and tool modifications.

Reduced labor by designing and manufacturing end of arm tooling to facilitate robotic take out.

Responsible for startup of new programs including recommending equipment, directing changes to mold design to ensure robust tooling, designing and manufacturing quality assurance gauges, establishing baseline process and window limits, and training of all personnel.

Assisted in obtaining and maintaining ISO – 9002 registration.

PRECISE TECHNOLOGY Inc. North Versailles, Pa

Mar 1980 - Mar 1991

Tool and Die Maker

Reviewed all mold prints to ensure accuracy.

Manufactured high cavitation, close tolerance tools from rough stock to finished product.

Close tolerance machining on grinders, lathes and milling machines.

Quality inspection of all components, plates and any purchased items prior to assembly.

Supported mold development initiatives including mold set up and debug.

UNITED STATES NAVY USS Sand Lance SSN 660 - Nuclear Submarine

Nov 1975 – Nov 1979

Machinist Mate 2nd Class

Maintained all hydraulics, pneumatic, diesel and life support systems.

Supervised 8 duty personnel.

Honorably discharged.

EDUCATION

SAP/MOC training

No Sweat Statistics Training (SPC)

Analytical Decision Making

5S & Lean Manufacturing

Husky and Incoe hot runner systems training seminars

Toshiba, Nissei and Cincinnati injection molding machines training seminars

Westmoreland Community College – various business courses

1983 Certified Mold Maker, State of Pennsylvania

1983 Westmoreland County Vocational Technical School – Mold Maker Apprenticeship

1974 South Moreland High School – Diploma

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