GRANT DARLINGTON
*** **** ****** **. ****: 937-***-****
Dayton, OH 45414 *-*******@***.***
MANAGEMENT PROFILE
Entrepreneurial Operations, Manufacturing and Materials Executive with a track record of leading innovative
improvements in products and production systems. Self-starter with MBA plus BS in Industrial Engineering in addition
to excellent administrative, organizational and interpersonal communications skills. Consistently effective in leading
diverse teams in a manufacturing environment to achieve significant results in product quality and design, waste reduction
and productivity improvements. Relentlessly focused on customer satisfaction and improved profitability. Process
proficiencies include metal stamping and forming/fabrication, CNC and conventional machining, finishing and assembly.
Industry experience includes Aerospace, Automotive, Commercial Food Equipment, Food Canning and Distribution, Post-
Press Printing Equipment, Electronics. Other areas of expertise include:
• • •
Lean Manufacturing QS/ISO 9000 Haz Mat Transportation
• Ιntra/Ιnternational Outsourcing • •
Quality Control Export Compliance
• • •
Materials Management Financial Administration Machining/Assembly
• • • Μicrosoft Excel/Access Expert
Data Mining using MS Access Procurement and Sourcing
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Allegiant International 2013-Present
Operations and Supply Chain Consultant
Performance improvement consulting to the supply chain of automobile OEMs. Creating radical change in operations
utilizing Lean, Six Sigma and Theory of Constraints disciplines to improve output and protect the Auto OEMs from
assembly line downtime due to parts supply shortages. Projects range from Fortune 100 companies to family owned
businesses, worldwide.
• Provide mentoring to middle and upper management to improve team effectiveness.
• Recently put systems in place to allow supplier to increase capacity by 40% to avoid potential shut-down of 11
GM final assembly plants.
Never TuTu Much Dance Apparel, Dayton, OH 2012-Present
Owner
Leveraged my business knowledge along with my wife’s lifelong experience with competitive dance to open our own retail
dance apparel shop.
• Created business plan and proforma financials in order to secure financing.
• Negotiated lease and renovated store to fit our needs.
• Managed all start up activities including navigating state requirements along with equipment and merchandising
display acquisition.
• Developed supply chain that allowed us to offer products at very competitive prices and still maintain excellent
gross margin.
• Established internet and direct mail marketing programs as well as targeted advertising at minimal cost.
• Surpassed sales and profitability projections in first year!
Robert Rothschild Farms, LLC, Urbana, OH 2007-2012
Director of Operations
Charged with total re-vamping of Operations in this rapidly growing manufacturer and distributor of specialty gourmet foods.
• Reduced on-hand inventory by 50% (from $4MM to $2MM) - taking inventory turns to 12+ per year.
• Restructured Supply Chain Function to reduce material costs by 10% (over $500,000 annually).
• Implemented integrated forecasting and material scheduling using Forecast Pro and Macola Master Scheduling
and MRP software.
• Led re-organization of Warehouse and Shipping department to efficiently increase shipments by over 25% within
existing floor space. Then:
Grant Darlington Page A
• Directed relocation to new Distribution Center including implementation of new bar-coding WMS system.
Resulted in 50% reduction in Distribution Expense.
• Directed and managed the outsourcing of over $1.5 MM in gift pack assembly.
• Developed numerous “data-mining” reports using Microsoft Access to support Sales, Production, Distribution and
Accounting Departments.
WESCO Inc. 2004-2006
International distributor of electrical parts and assemblies based in Pittsburgh, PA.
Began at Ladd Industries as Materials Manager, promoted to Director of Operations at sister company, CBC Connect -
then to General Manager.
General Manager – CBC Connect Division of Wesco, Miamisburg, OH (2005-2006)
Directed operations of a rapidly growing manufacturer of a wide variety of electrical wire harnesses for heavy equipment
industries.
Implemented Automation and Lean Manufacturing to keep direct costs at less than 50% growth in relation to total
output and overhead increases at less than 10%. Specific initiatives included set-up reduction in our automated wire
processing area to increase output by 35% and tact time improvements to increase throughput of an assembly line by
50% while reducing manpower 29%.
Provided Direction and Leadership to take new plant in Saltillo, Mexico from fledgling start-up to a state of the art
major production facility employing over 150.
Grew Mexico Operation to $500,000 in monthly output while simultaneously shutting down Miamisburg operation.
Organized team of Engineering and Quality professionals to enable introduction 5 to 7 new harnesses per week.
Through my leadership, this division turned from a being a financial drain to becoming a major player in helping
WESCO realize its strategic vision of being a one-stop shop for value added services to its customers.
Director of Operations – CBC Connect, Miamisburg, OH (2005)
Improved supply chain by developing direct and key distributor sources to reduce material costs by over 25%.
Streamlined NAFTA and import/export process enabling incoming and outgoing materials to flow smoothly across the
border so that extra lead-time did not have to be built into scheduling process.
Developed Microsoft Access and Excel programs so that real time, user-friendly sales, production scheduling, financial
and Key Performance Indicator reports could be generated to streamline daily operations.
Materials Manager - LADD Industries (Prior to Wesco Buyout), Kettering, OH (2004-2005)
Managed Inventory, Purchasing and Material Forecasting for $75MM distributor of electrical connectors and related
components.
Analyzed customer trends and forecasts to ensure part availability for same or next day shipment to support 15-20%
sales growth.
Developed MRP model utilizing Microsoft Access and Excel programming to provide time based material
requirements. This replaced straight reorder point models previously used.
Identified and implemented opportunity to reduce incoming freight costs by 35% ($125,000 annually) by switching
from UPS to LTL. This also made the receiving process significantly more efficient and reduced occurrences of lost
and damaged freight.
Proposed initiative to increase warehouse output capacity by 20% by going to 50 hour work week without adding
overtime premiums or additional workstations.
Promoted to Director of Operations at sister company CBC Connect after only 7 months.
TNT Logistics Inc., Miamisburg, OH 2001-2004
Warehouse/Production Manager
Managed operations in a fast paced Union Operation in support of GM Moraine Truck and Bus Group.
Provide sequenced parts and sub-assemblies to GM on a JIT basis, usually with less than two hour lead time, utilizing
Kanban and Lean Manufacturing techniques.
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The Gem City Engineering Co., Dayton, OH 1991-2000
Product/Division Manager
Directed general operations of the Mechanical Assembly and Food Equipment Divisions with P & L accountability for
business totaling over $7 million annually.
Participated in and led Kaizen Events to implement Lean Manufacturing in several divisions at GCE. Drastically
reduced cost and inventory while increasing throughput.
Successfully managed the acquisition and relocation of the Food Equipment Division from Stamford, CT to Dayton,
OH in 1991. Completed 50% ahead of schedule with minimal impact to customer delivery.
Successfully “partnered” with major suppliers to reduce and localize supplier base resulting in continuous
improvement in material cost and quality.
Started Mechanical Assembly Division to provide Contract Manufacturing to Post Press Printing Equipment Company
Continuous improvement in product design and quality coupled with efforts by the marketing staff led to doubling of
sales from $3.6 million to $7+ million in a relatively stagnant market.
McDonnell Douglas – Commercial Aircraft Division, Long Beach, CA 1984-1991
Quickly rose through the ranks from entry level Industrial Engineer to Industrial Engineering Section Manager to Group
Leader of Supplier Management
• Managed major subcontract negotiation and procurement of over $150 million in parts and assemblies per year for
commercial jet aircraft. Supervised a team of 13 tool specialists, production planners, industrial engineers and sub-
contract negotiators.
Selected to build supply chain department from scratch; provided reorganization assistance to suppliers leading to 99%
on time shipment, up from 50%.
Directed a team effort, which out-placed a major component (MD-80 Horizontal Stabilizer). Project was completed
two months ahead of schedule, under budget and ultimately resulted in a 25% cost savings.
Led Industrial Engineering efforts to increase total output by 50% in a large assembly area by introducing new tooling,
better labor scheduling, individual production goals and a participative management approach.
Managed the re-introduction of DC-10 passenger jet interiors manufacturing and assembly. All DC-10 aircraft built
from 1982 until 1986 were either cargo or military versions. Each customer configured interior package was
completed on time for installation.
Community Volunteer, Dayton, OH
I have been a Leader in several Community Service Organizations.
• District Chairman for Boy Scouts of America annual Popcorn Sale fundraising campaign, 2001-2003.
• Served as Weblos Leader, Cubmaster, Camping Coordinator and Pinewood Derby Chairman for my son’s Cub
Scout Pack.
Food Operations Chairman for St. Christopher Parish Festival eight years then served as site coordinator for two years.
EDUCATION
M.B.A. Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA
B.S. Industrial and Systems Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Eagle Scout