Continuous Improvement Plant Manager

STEPHEN T. KUHN Gulfport, MS ***** 503-***-**** **********@*****.***

VP - PLANT MANAGER – OPERATIONS MANAGER

Orchestrating Company Financial and Cultural Turnarounds in Metals & Plastics Manufacturing Plants

Hands-on, Change Agent with Financial Plant Turnaround Expertise, and CASH Generation

Lean Six Sigma Champion & Coach Certification

Multi-Plant Management.

Continuous Improvement in productivity, quality, and safety, resulting in high profitability.

Directed Plants in Small Co. & Billion $ Corps

Expertise in directing Foundry,CNC, Packaging, Injection & Blow Molding, Robotics, Fabrication,

Shear, Weld, Press, Saw, Plating, Powder Coat, HT treat, and Assembly in automotive, military, construction, plastics, and timber industries.

Development & Execution of Standard Works

OSHA-VPP-Star-Site-Certification-Safety Chair

Quality Awards: Nissan Quality Master Award, Volkswagen Formal Q Award, GM, Ford, Daimler.

Products Built:Log Stackers, Navy Cranes, Balers, Winches, Auto Valves, Engine Components, Windows, Tooling, Auto Structural Parts.

Plant & Machine Build/Startup at Yamakawa

Expertise in utilization of LEAN,DMAIC, Kaizen, Five S, Value Stream, Kanban, Root Cause Anal.

Workforces ranged from 25 to 500 employees

Several Product Launches in Auto, Oil, Construction, & Military Industries.

Successful Workforce Training & Development

Successful workforce communication with European, Asian, African, & American cultures.

Engineering positions held: Ind/Mfg Engineer & Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering Managers

Implementation of Maintenance & Operator Preventative Maintenance Systems.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

CERBIDE INC. – 9/2022- Current- (Gulfport, MS).(New tooling development failed) (Plant will close) Tungsten Caride Tools

Plant Manager Developments include:

Created material lot control-Eliminated production backlog generating needed cash. Created Standard Works & Five S

MILGARD WINDOWS – 1/2016 – 8/2022 (Tualatin, Oregon) (Company Sold to M&I Windows. Dept. Heads Replaced by Buyer.)

Production/Quality Assurance/Maintenance Manager

Directed redevelopment of Quality Assurance Department.

Trained Maintenance and Production Department Supervisors to install maintenance and operator PM systems.

oReduced machine downtime by 37%.

Led plant-wide team to redesign standard works to serve as effective training and quality assurance guides.

Led kaizen employee training that was achieved in all departments. Eliminated life-threatening safety issue.

oResults Increased thruput on assembly lines by 29% through the use of kaizens, VSM, and Six Sigma.

Thrust an OTD improvement to 98.8% thru improved coordination with customer, manufacturing, and shipping.

ALLIED SYSTEMS/LARGE WINCH DIVISION/CNC MACHINING/FABRICATION –12/2007 – 1/2016 (Sherwood, Oregon)

(Accepted position at Milgard due to Allied’s Winch Sales declining by 85%, as a result of the oil industry’s downturn).

A large equipment OEM Metals & Plastics Manufacturer in the Logging, Agriculture, Construction, Oil industries,Military.

Plant Manager & Company Safety Chairman

Achieved the largest monthly, (Jan 2008), winch shipment (160 winches) in Allied history, one month after hire, thus achieving 100% elimination of winch backlog, before the 2008 recession occurred, generating immense cash flow, guaranteeing financial stability.

Established team to perform quick change setups.

Coordinated team, consisting of Production, Purchasing, and Engineering departments to restructure tool room.

oEliminating attendants, installing tooling control and tracking programs, cutting tool usage, tooling types, and improving tool life. Results generated a $167,000 initial annual savings.

Completed capex’s and installations for CNC mills and lathes, with each upwards in the $1,000,000 price range.

Awarded a $47,000 rebate from insurance company, based on injury eliminations, thru safety indoctrinations.

ADDITIONAL PLANT MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE WITH:

YAMAKAWA (7 YEARS) (1995 - 2000)

Portland, Tennessee. Manufacturer of automotive metal structural components for Nissan. Third largest supplier to Nissan. Served as the Manufacturing Manager.

Part of original team that built the first structure of 100,000 square feet and the installation of stamping presses up to 2000 tons and Fanuc robotic welding assembly lines.

Completed 3 additional additions equating to a total of 500,000 square feet in the facility, over 100 Fanuc robots, stamping presses up to 2,000 tons, and a workforce of 500.

Developed and conducted training programs in orientation, safety, machine operation, quality assurance, operator preventative maintenance, maintenance preventative maintenance, kaizen, kanban, muda elimination, value stream, Gemba walks, root cause analysis, 5 whys, and cause & effect.

Profitability was achieved within six months of original construction and machine installation, ahead of Plan.

Expertise in Japanese methodologies gained and tested.

Received Nissan Quality Master Award.

Resigned due to company being sold.

BORG WARNER (6 YEARS) (2000 - 2007)

Dixon, Illinois. Manufacturer of automotive valves, for Daimler and Ford.

Processes included injection molding, CNC machining, and assembly.

Promoted to Manufacturing Manager from the Focus Factory Manager position due to changing Dixon’s financial performance from that of a decades-long loss scenario to one of continued substantial profitability.

Awarded entrance into Borg Warner’s financial achievement program.

Awarded OSHA’s VPP Star Site Award.

Achieved MBA in Finance from Northern Illinois University.

Received certification as a Six Sigma Champion though BMG University enlisted by Borg Warner.

EDUCATION.

Graduate Undergraduate

Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL University of Memphis, BBA in Logistics, Purchasing

MBA – Concentration: Finance University of Kentucky, Associate in Management

CERTIFICATIONS / TRAINING / NOTABLE WORK

Certified Coach Six Sigma Champion Japanese Methodology

OSHA VPP Star Site Certification TPM (Kaizen, Five S, Value Stream)

WORK WHILE ATTENDING COLLEGE:

DIRECTING & PREFORMING AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS ON 400 ACRE FAMILY FARM, WHILE OBTAINING ASSOCIATE DEGREE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY.

WORKING FULL-TIME IN FOUNDRY AND ASSEMBLY FACTORY, WHILE OBTAINING BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN LOGISTICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS.

OBTAINING MBA in FINANCE AT NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, WHILE SERVING AS MANUFACTURING MANAGER AT BORG WARNER.

Teaching Doctorate level classes, per NIU Professor requests, on Quality Assurance Implementation and

Direction.

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