Rajesh R. Wadhwa 260-***-**** ac9msx@r.postjobfree.com linkedin.com/in/rajeshrwadhwa

Director of Manufacturing

Production Operations Leadership Multi-Site Plant Management Six Sigma, Lean, and Quality Principles

An established operations executive with 20+ years of proven experience managing manufacturing operations at the team, line, and plant levels. Expert in turning around underperforming plants through continuous improvement and a focus on quality across production operations. Adds value to an organization through effective leadership, management, and relationship building, as well as through an ability to serve as a strategic partner to engineering and business leadership.

Core Areas of Expertise

Plant Operations Leadership Lean Six Sigma Methods (Black Belt) Cross-Functional Team Leadership

GM-level Decision-Making Continuous Process Improvement Manufacturing Footprint Optimization

Strategic Planning & Execution Complex Project Management Coaching, Training & Mentoring

P&L, CAPEX & Budget Management Change Management & Turnarounds Union & Non-Union Leadership

Professional Experience

Essentra Components Greater Chicago Area, IL

Vice President of Operations & General Operations Manager (2018 – 2019) Management Consultant (2017 – 2018)

Recruited as a Management Consultant focused on operations improvement, and within 9 months was transitioned into a Vice President of Operations and GM role. Oversaw operations across four sites in the US and Mexico, with complete ownership for safety, engagement, on-time delivery, backlog, budget, CAPEX management, and P&L management.

Delivered substantial improvements to core KPI’s in less than 12 months, including a 50% improvement to Safety, a 10% improvement in Engagement, and 10% improvement to On-Time Delivery.

Drove numerous strategic initiatives and more than $3M in annual CAPEX projects, resulting in efficiency, quality, and cost savings gains; delivered a 1-year savings of $1.3M at a single plant.

Guided the company’s quality recertification process for IATF TS16949, GM BIQS, Ford Q1, ISO 14001 and ISO 18001; led cross-functional teams throughout the end-to-end project lifecycle.

Led teams to improve on-time delivery and reduce the backlog, resulting in the highest possible ROI on each ongoing project; reduced backlog from $600K to $100K in just 6 months.

Maintained a hands-on approach to projects and programs; added deflectors to separate products made outside of the regular process window, reducing labor costs 5% and increasing production volume capacity.

Oversaw plant operations with 4 shifts running 24/7, consisting of 200+ employees, 80 injection molding machines and 20 automated machines.

Played a key role in improving on-time delivery from 50% to 92% in the first 6 weeks after joining the company for a different site; led the quality engineering team to analyze customer complaints and implement corrective actions.

Home Products International, NA Chicago, IL

Director of Operations (2015 – 2017)

Oversaw all plant operations, consisting of 225 total reports in a 4-shift union plant running 24/7 operations. Joined the company as the plant was undergoing significant issues, and played a major role in the turnaround effort.

Within the first year, improved overall profit by 3% and plant efficiency by 8%; in the second year, achieved a record 180+ days without an OSHA recordable vs. 14 recordables in the prior 12 months.

Developed and implemented annual budgets of $23M in expenses and $90M in revenue (8% YOY increase); focused on collaboration and involvement at peak, leading to the highest bonus payout in the past decade.

Achieved a successful turnaround in the first year by placing a top-down focus on training, coaching, mentoring, and accountability to hit individual, team, and plant benchmarks.

Sourced 40+ molds from China in 2 years, representing an investment of more than $3M; guided complex state-of-the-art projects for In Mould Labeling and compression injection molding.

Ennis Flint, Inc Greater Chicago Area, IL

Plant Manager (2014 – 2015)

Oversaw 24/5 plant operations with a focus on process and quality improvement for Injection Molding, Sonic Welding, Automated Assembly, and Coating and Glass Application.

In just 3 months improved plant profitability by more than 5%, and within 10 months, reduced lead time by 2 weeks and produced a 10% CAPEX savings.

Group Dekko Fort Wayne, Indiana Area

Plant Manager (2010 – 2014)

Oversaw all operations for the 3-shift non-union plant running 24/5. Led a team of 6 direct reports and 200+ indirect reports, providing leadership that created laser-like focus on quality, stability, on-time delivery, and customer satisfaction, resulting in significant growth, profitability, and a successful turnaround.

Reduced Quality PPMs from 12,000+ to less than 1,000 in 6 months for Whirlpool products; within 18 months, was selected as a Top 5 preferred supplier for Whirlpool.

Achieved a successful plant turnaround, leading the plant from a loss to profitability in just 6 months; within 4 years, the plant experienced revenue growth from $30M to $70M in revenue.

Emphasized LEAN methodologies to replace labor intensive processes, enhancing workflow while reducing staff by 15 full-time employees across 5 assembly lines.

Captured significant cost savings by optimizing the manufacturing footprint, as well as by introducing Lean Continuous Improvement programs of $1M; delivered $700K annualized savings in the first 3 months.

Led by example with cost savings, quality, and efficiency as cornerstones of strong plant operations; coached and mentored two Six Sigma candidates.

Increased EBITDA by 50% alongside a 20% increase in sales revenue; fostered strong relationship with key customers, including Whirlpool, Phillips/Zimmer, Herman Miller, and Harley Davidson.

Awarded the Operational Excellence Award (2012) for Manufacturing Variance Reduction; reduced scrap by $450K, equating to more than 1.5% of net sales.

Led the plant through the end-to-end process of complete renewal certification of ISO 9001 and ISO 13485.

AEES, Aloca Electrical & Electronic Solutions Kalamazoo, Michigan Area

Plant Manager & Engineering Manager (2008 – 2010)

Led a 9-member team comprised of Manufacturing Engineers, Program Managers, Quality Engineers, Costing Engineers, Change Notification and Administrative Assistant. Processes included 111 Process Injection Molding machines, 70 Automated Assembly machines, as well as Sonic Welding and Vibration Welding, 128 cavity molds with Hot Runner system and poke-yokes with vision systems, Metal Stamping, and Terminal Stamping processes.

Eliminated quality concerns by introducing systematic and scientific molding techniques, improving profit 6% YOY.

Delivered a $1M annual recurring cost savings by initiating and leading plant-wide operational excellence initiatives, exceeding all management directives.

Saved more than $500K in the first 6 months of forming, training, and deploying operational excellence teams tasked with improving quality and efficiency.

Successfully implemented state-of-the-art mold vision, UV potting, and process control using mold sensors, a first in the history of the company.

Owned the end-to-end lifecycle of implementation for a move from Michigan to Mexico, consisting of 90+ machines; led recruiting, interviewing, hiring, and training of a new plant team in Mexico.

Stabilized processes to improve quality of product being sorted by 100 sorters at CS2 level sort, playing a key part in the turnaround of a large automotive injection molding and automated assembly manufacturing site.

Waterloo Industries / MasterLock (Fortune Brands) Greater Milwaukee Area, WI

Manager, Plastics Engineering (2007 2008)

Oversaw manufacturing design for plastics and outsourcing materials for production, including casting, plastics, and sheet metal. Directed, planned, and reviews static and dynamic FEA analysis, with global-level project implementation.

Earlier Career Success

Additional experience in various engineering and leadership positions, including Application & Material Engineer with Injectronics, Sr. Application & Design Engineer with Hoechst Celanese Corp., and Director with Nantech Plastics Industries.

Education & Professional Development

MS, Mechanical Engineering with Plastics Engineering University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Bachelor of Engineering (BE), First Class with Honors Bombay University, India

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt DMAIC Plastics Part Design Industrial Blow Molding Modflow Release 7 Training

Mold Design Hoechst Celanese Finite Element Analysis Ultrasonic Assembly Experimental Design SPC Techniques

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