JOHN VICTOR (VIC) BOWERS

Phone: 478-***-**** email: ad0zbd@r.postjobfree.com

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

An ambitious, optimistic, and detailed Business Executive with proven abilities in strategic planning, managing projects, improving efficiencies of operations including safety, quality, team building and detailing project information to determine effective functions for railcar manufacturing and repair operations. Quickly grasps complex concepts, analyzes, and interprets ideas into a logical strategy. Able to identify areas of strength and weakness and implement company policies, standards, changes in operation and systems that optimize productivity. Demonstrates the ability to motivate staff to maximize productivity and control costs through the most effective uses of manpower and available resources.

Core Competencies include:

Process Engineer Management: managing teams to improve equipment, systems and methods used in manufacturing and repair to improve safety, quality and production resulting in cost reduction and improvement in profitability.

Financial Management: develop annual operating plans for shops with over $80 million in annual sales, develop business strategy, financial analysis and risk management.

Sales Management: proven ability to develop sales strategy, motivate teams to drive strategic customer growth based on current and future business models.

Quality Management: work with industry leaders to set standards and regulations for tank cars, both GP and pressure cars.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

STARS Hazmat 2022 – Current

A consulting company specializing in aiding customers in process engineering and writing regulatory policies involving transporting, manufacturing, storing, distributing, or disposing of hazardous materials to improve regulatory compliance and safety.

Vice President - Operations

Increased revenue by 17% through prior relationships and expanding our business network to include truck and barge.

Developed on-site training and virtual training programs for plants, shops, loading and unloading facilities to insure 100% compliance with their hazmat training.

Reduced customer fines by 1.5+M by working with the government regulatory agencies and companies to provide supporting and missing documentation.

VSP Technologies 2021 – 2022

A supplier of high-quality gaskets and fluid sealing products specializing in tank cars.

Increased sales by 12.3% through developing relationships with shops and mobile networks.

Cultivated strong business relationships with customers to drive business developments.

Planned and executed virtual meetings in collaboration with our engineering team for introduction to our company and products.

Eagle Railcar Services 2020 - 2021

An independent railcar repair network specializing in providing full service for tank cars, both GP and Pressure.

Plant Manager

Inherited the worst safety record in the network, with six OSHA recordable events in the five months prior. Implemented a housekeeping program and daily safety reviews resulting in zero OSHA recordables over the next four-month period.

Increased profitability from -$900,000 over the first five months, to +$750,000 over the next four months. This was accomplished by aligning people, process, and tools with a strong focus on building customer relationships.

Implemented a metric reporting system concentrating on daily/weekly/monthly goals for billing efficiency, direct and indirect labor. The results were in an increase in effective billing rate from an average of $92.50 to $130.22 resulting in increased labor margins and increase material sales.

ARI Repair Services 2018 – 2020

A railcar leasing and railcar service provider specializing in covered hopper and tank cars.

Vice President

Reported directly to the President and CEO; responsible for all aspects of the operations including safety, quality, production, estimating and participated in most sales visits. Accountable for seven plants and 10 field service locations.

Safety – reduced the team's overall safety record to a historic network low OSHA recordable rate of 1.86.

Quality – worked directly with the VP of Quality to reduce the NCR’s by 54.5%.

Production – increased revenue by 23% from $75.3M to $93.5M and increase profitability by 47% from $15.06M to $22.07.

Established a metric system in PowerBi ranking each location by week, month and calendar year. The measurements included billing efficiency, direct labor utilization, total hourly utilization, total plant labor utilization, from car arrival to estimate submittal and total turn-time.

TNT Railcar Services 2016 – 2018

A progressive team specializing in field services and expanding into plant operations.

Vice President

Report directly to the owners; responsible for managing all aspects of the operations including the start-up of a new tank car facility, opened 2 field service locations, implemented and integrated a new information system and accountable for 11 locations within the organization.

Initiated and led a cross functional team to increase revenue by 39% from 8.3 M to 11.5M

Led the design of a partial plant re-layout; to consolidate and enhance operations, to increase throughput and increase volumes.

Led the team to implement and integrate a new operating system, RailRx, to include purchasing, estimating, gage tracking, inventory management, billing, car status and customer reports.

Created company Core Values based on safety, quality and service with a strong focus on people, process and tools.

Watco/GBW Railcar Services 2010 – 2016

The largest network of railcar repair facilities with a primary focus on tank cars.

Vice President

Directly responsible for the repair of all types of railcars, specializing in tank cars for a $360 million company that serves the North American market. Indirectly supervised up to 1,000 employees while overseeing 11 Plant Managers (both union and non-union) and 14 locations. Set department objectives, authorized spending, created

annual operating plans and coordinated human resource efforts. Evaluated production performance scorecards to compare toward annual operating plan to develop future strategies. Oversaw daily production output, capital projects, quality, and process improvements. Directly accountable for all company activities, including safety and quality results, profit and loss, operations, sales, marketing and staffing of operations.

Increased revenue by 27%, 110.3 MM to 140.8 MM from 2010 to the integration of the JV by reorganizing and implementing strategic changes to established business models.

Improved safety performance with a reduction in the OSHA recordable rate from 7.4% to below 3% over a 3-year period.

Developed a business status model by car type; allowing the plants to track, organize and prioritize, resulting in a decrease in overall turn time from 107 days to under 60 days.

Implemented preferred customer time/labor standards and a comprehensive quote system across the entire network.

Increased total profit by 30+% by identifying target markets, realigning customers with sales team, increasing direct labor team members, improving productivity of indirect labor staff and reducing overall total labor efficiency.

Rescar, Inc. 2002 – 2010

A leading fleet management and railcar services company in North America.

Plant Manager

Responsible for ensuring that all management and employees were in conformance with the company quality system and high work standards. Ensure that all activities met or exceeded all business goals, customer requirements, Rescar process/procedures, safety standards, and service metrics.

Improved profitability – turned around two facilities identified in the bottom 20% and targeted for close or sell. Both facilities had the largest profit percentage of the major plant operations at time of departure.

Elk Mills – Increased sales from $40,000 to over $600,000 monthly by developing a strong customer base and leading employees to meet performance objectives.

Elk Mills was the leader in the Rescar plant operations in safety with the lowest OSHA recordable and lost time incident rates.

Increased revenue of the Gordon facility from an average of $500,000 per month to over $1,200,000 per month and increased direct labor staff by 46% over a period of one year.

Continuously led all plant operations at both Elk Mills and Gordon in safety and quality and verified through internal and external audits.

Restructured the on-boarding process for recruiting/new hires and decreased turnover by 25% at both facilities.

Assisted the COO/CFO to develop a business plan to align people, process and tools to improve safety (reduction of accidents – 75%); quality (audit scores improved by 30%), and service delivery (reduced

from 75 days to 45 days).

Thompson Industrial Services 2001 - 2002

Division Manager/Lead Estimator

Responsible for planning and estimating for the coatings division of a national industrial service company. Focused on industrial coatings for power plants, paper mills, chemical production facilities, and high-performance tank linings. Accountable for representing our firm at pre-bid meetings, developing scope of work based on site plans and specifications, maintaining current unit price list, presenting product recommendations and estimating. My customer relations were based on personal integrity and mutual trust.

Assigned to a long-range goal to design, develop and implement a coatings estimate program that most efficiently integrated safety, customer requirements, current unit cost, and profitability. The estimate program was fully functional within four months, well ahead of schedule.

During first year of service was individually recognized for working accident/injury-free.

Hand-picked by the CEO for executive training, to develop presentations, and to frequently accompany him on particularly demanding marketing calls.

ICI Devoe 2000 – 2001

A leader in high-performance industrial coatings and linings.

Strategic Account Manager

Established a nationwide presence in the railcar industry by working closely with all levels of management to recommend the appropriate high-performance coatings and effectively implemented a customized order entry, stocking, shipping and billing procedures.

Established customer relationships generating over $600,000 in additional sales revenue during the first full year of operations with 35% gross margins.

Designed and implemented the reporting documents and analytical reports customizing each to meet the individual need of our customers.

Other Roles: Kawneer Company, ARI and ACF

Business Leader - Kawneer Company 1998 – 2000

Safety/Environmental and Paint Supervisor - ARI Industries 1995 -1998

Plant Supervisor, Industrial Engineer, Union Laborer -ACF Industries 1986 – 1995

EDUCATION

Business Administration, Columbus State University, 1984-1986; Ohio State University, 1981-1984

ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACCREDITATIONS

ACF – CWI

DuPont – STOP Program

Rescar – Certified Tank Car Welder

ACF – Statistical Process Control

Bubble Leak Testing – BT Level II

Direct Visual – DV Level II

Dye Penetrant – PT Level II

Remote Visual – RV Level II

Ultrasonic Thickness Testing – UTT Level II

NACE – Level III

Midland - Car Safety Relief Valves

ACF – Management of Total Quality

JCIT – Demand Flow Technology

40 hour Haz Whopper

10 hour Industrial Safety and Health Program

Carboline – Corrosion and Prevention

Kawneer – Lean Manufacturing

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