LAWRENCE VELEZ

***** **** ****** ***** *-mail: ac6vb5@r.postjobfree.com

Cypress, Texas 77429 Home: 281-***-**** / Cell: 832-***-****

SENIOR OPERATING & MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE

Accomplished in driving revenues, growth, profitability and operational excellence.

MME / MBA / BSME

Revenue Growth / Gross Margin Improvement / P&L and Operations Management

General Management / Manufacturing / Plant Management / New Product Development and Introduction

Productivity & Efficiency Improvement / Kaizen / Cross-Functional Team Management / Engineered to Order

Distinguished career is showcased by continual promotions, expanding responsibilities, and a proven track record in delivering strong financial and operational results. In-depth knowledge of both engineering and manufacturing. Maintains a strong presence in the factory and/or out in the field to assess situations, resolve problems, and move initiatives forward. Able to communicate and relate easily with people of all organizational levels. Thrive in high-pressure environments.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Grew revenues 113% over a three year period.

Improved gross margin to 45% by redesigning the main product line, which eliminated all warranty expense for Sumner Manufacturing.

Designed and introduced a new product (on time and within budget) that generated $750,000+ per year in additional sales for Long Reach Manufacturing: received patent for the design (patent number 5,536,133).

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

SUMNER MANUFACTURING CO., INC. – Houston, TX

Plant Manager / Engineering Manager (2000 – 2017)

Brought on board to redesign the manual material lifts due to high frequency of warranty problems and low margin on the products (30% range); subsequently promoted to direct all aspects of engineering, manufacturing, purchasing, shipping/receiving, maintenance, and inventory control functions. Hold authority for hiring and firing, determining staffing levels, approving capital expenditures, writing changes to company policy, and initiating and approving bank drafts and transfers. P&L responsibility.

Plant expansions – Directed a $2.5mil expansion of our Houston facility while simultaneously coordinating the relocation of our Chinese operation to a larger facility.

Revenue Growth & Shipment Increase – Grew revenue by over 5 times from onboarding to the present.

Gross Margin Improvement – Improved gross margin to 45% by redesigning the main product line, which eliminated all warranty expense; prior to the redesign, warranty calls were received nearly every day and were non-existent after the redesign.

Overseas Manufacturing – Generated savings in excess of $1,000,000 per year through setting up a manufacturing operation in China. Executed all decisions with regard to capital expenditures, material, personnel, and plant layout for the China facility.

Traveled to China, sourced material and equipment for the plant, and redesigned several products so they could be manufactured in China and economically transported to Houston.

Established manufacturing standards for all products in the plant. Continually monitor costs and burden rates, and determine standard costs for all products produced.

Continually monitor the currency exchange rate and current economic conditions to determine the effects on costs of operation.

New Product Development & Introduction – Led the development of new product lines that generated $2+ million per year in sales during 2001-02; over the next two years, generated sales in excess of $4.5 million through introducing on average one new product every three months.

Manufacturing Efficiency & Overtime Reduction – Improved manufacturing efficiency from 62% to 85% by implementing work cells, improving manufacturing flow via rearranging the plant, and providing greater process documentation and planning; also reduced overtime through proper scheduling and forward planning on manufacturing/materials purchasing.

MRP/ERP – Implemented new MRP system to improve productivity.

Kaizen Techniques – Reduced a product assembly area by 40% while increasing output by 38% through using Kaizen techniques.

Customer Response Time – Reduced response time to customers on returned products in half by restructuring the Returned Goods Authorization procedure.

Safety Program – Installed safety program upon arrival as one did not exist at that time. Achieved zero recordable incidents over the last three year period.

LONG REACH MANUFACTURING CO., INC. – Houston, TX

Manufacturing Manager (1995 – 1999)

Fast-track promotion through increasingly responsible R&D, engineering, and manufacturing management positions at this $40 million heavy steel fabricator. Company manufactured forklift attachments and forklift masts that were sold domestically and internationally. Appointed by the President as Manufacturing Manager to guide the consolidation of two plants after the company purchased a competitor. Given final authority over the plant layout and organization, determined staffing levels, and recommended capital expenditures. Oversaw 230 hourly workers, seven supervisors, five maintenance personnel, two manufacturing engineers, two programmers, and two master routers.

Plant Expansion & Relocation – Expanded plant size by 20% and moved a 168,000 sq. ft. plant from Portland, Oregon, to Houston, Texas and Little Rock, Arkansas.

Increased efficiency and improved product flow by rearrangement of the manufacturing plant.

Determined equipment to be moved from the Portland facility to the Houston facility, and the order in which each product line was moved.

Maintained production of all products throughout the move.

Overtime and Variance Reductions – Reduced overtime by $100,000 in the first year, and reduced closed work order variances by over 90% via proper scheduling; also reduced manufacturing variances to negligible levels thorough proper budgeting and monitoring.

Engineering Manager (1999 – 2000) / Research & Development Manager (1993 – 1995)

Promoted to manage a department that was responsible for all new product design and product modifications. Recommended and approved software and hardware requirements, held authority for hiring and determining staffing levels, and oversaw seven engineers, four drafters/designers, two technical writers, and two clerks. Previously as R&D Manager, directed new product development initiatives and supported manufacturing in increasing manufacturing efficiency and reducing waste thorough troubleshooting problem areas.

Product Design and Patent – Designed and introduced a new product that generated over $750,000 per year in additional sales for the company; received patent for the design (patent number 5,536,133).

Annual savings – Saved the company over $350,000 a year by recommending numerous design changes and improvements.

EDUCATION

MME / MBA – UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON – Houston, TX

BSME – OHIO UNIVERSITY – Athens, OH

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