Robert L. Somers

*** ********* *****

Birmingham, AL 35242

Cell Phone: 470-***-****

advld7@r.postjobfree.com

SUMMARY

High-energy Manufacturing Professional with a strong track record of success and extensive experience in Leadership, Quality Systems, and Continuous Improvement. Possess an intense passion for quality of work and an underlying strength of perseverance. Career goal is to be a leader and contributor for a company that has integrity, believes in excellence, and is driven to be the best.

EXPERIENCE

WKW Automotive USA; Pell City, AL (August 2022 – February 2023)

General Manager

-Responsible for a 350 person Plant that manufactured OEM window trim and roof rails for BMW, Tesla, Rivian, and Honda – an extremely diverse workforce including H2B Visa employees (Honduras, Mexico, and Jamaica), Germans, and other European Countries.

-Direct responsibility for Production, EHS, Quality, Maintenance, and MFG Engineering Departments with dotted line responsibility for Finance and Human Resources

-Full P & L Responsibility

-Initiated and Taught Leadership training for all levels from Production Leads to the General Manager Level

-Successfully launched the Honda T-90 Pilot Roof Rail for the Lincoln, AL Plant – hands on leadership due to multiple departures from the company

Colson Group USA; Oakbrook, IL (June 2018 – July 2022)

VP of Operations

-Responsible for four US Manufacturing locations and three Warehouse/Distribution Centers which manufacture and distribute a wide range of casters covering applications in aerospace, automotive, information technology, and medical

-Direct reports include 4 Site Leaders and a Director of Quality – 220 hourly and 35 salaried employees under direct leadership

-Partnered with HR and created/implemented a supervisor “Boot Camp” training for all levels of Leadership within Company from hourly Lead workers to VP’s

-Implemented start of day “360” metrics review meeting covering customer facing metrics, key Manufacturing/Finance and HR metrics

-NPI launches for Amazon Robotics casters and medical casters

-Executed a total renovation of a 30,000 square foot warehouse to eliminate safety issues and improve material flow

-Oversite responsibility of a ground-breaking 145k square foot manufacturing facility including the design layout, selection of construction company, and price negotiations – including new plant equipment, this was a $25 million plus investment

SPX Corporation; Charlotte, NC (August 2005 – April 2018)

Weil-McLain and Marley Engineered Products

Site Operations Leader for Bennettsville, SC Facility, VP Quality and CI (June 2015 – April 2018)

-Responsible for the Plant Operations of a 300+ person facility that manufactures residential and commercial electrical resistance heating products and air ventilation products with annual gross sales of over $100 million

-Led implementation of Kanban system between finned heating elements and baseboard heater assembly

-Led project to utilize innovative lease agreement with a regional economic entity to finance $3.4 million in plant improvements including a $2.7 million HVAC purchase and installation

-Led all-time record sales and profit for Q1 in 2018

Site Operations Leader for Eden, NC Facility, VP Quality and CI (August 2011 – May 2015)

-Responsible for the plant operations of a 200+ person facility that manufactures residential and commercial boilers with annual sales of more than $190 million

-Created from ground zero a new warranty claims call center with warranty claims entry/tracking/archive software

-Led a plant transformation from a traditional organizational structure to focused factories based on cross-functional teams with common metrics and goals

-Facilitated productivity improvements of over 40% and quality improvements resulting in over 50% reduction in customer complaints for packaging errors

VP Quality and CI (January 2009 – August 2011)

-Responsible for the global quality and CI processes for four sites in NA (3) and China (1) including a cast iron foundry and three metal fabrication/assembly plants

-Developed and implemented a VOC process to track warranty and drive improvement actions

-Led the supplier quality efforts to re-source indirect tanks from a high-risk supplier to a top- quality supplier

-Facilitated multiple Kaizen events which resulted in reduced labor costs and improved quality

-Selected for the 2009/2010 SPX Business Development Process which is a multi-session executive training experience over an eight-month period

Filtran Division; Lugoff, SC

Plant Manager (August 2005 – December 2008)

-Responsible for all Manufacturing Operations and P & L for a 60 plus person Plant with over $8 million sales

-Plant manufactured lube, transmission, and air filters for automotive OEM and aftermarket as well as for the non-automotive industries of lawn equipment, marine, and aerospace

-Facilitated Lean Manufacturing Kaizen projects that created significant savings from 2007 to 2008 in productivity (27% improvement) and scrap (35% improvement)

-Successfully launched new filter products for JATCO (Nissan), Toyota, and Ford

GKN Driveline; Columbia, SC

Operations Director (August 2003 – July 2005)

-Responsible for all Manufacturing Operations and P & L for a 200 plus person Plant with annual sales over $95 million – Major Customers were General Motors and Daimler-Chrysler

-Plant manufactured over 1.2 million automotive drive-shafts per year with machining, welding, assembly, and balancing processes

-Quality improvements during 1st year led to a 28% drop in OEM PPM

ANHEUSER-BUSCH, Metal Container Corporation; Rome, GA

Operations Manager (October 2002 – August 2003)

-Responsible for the Manufacturing Engineering and Operations for the largest aluminum can Plant in the U.S. – over 12,000,000 cans manufactured per day – 160 employees

-Implemented Safety Improvement System that empowers team members to both identify and correct unsafe conditions

-Implemented 5S system that is focused on continually improving workplace organization and is measured with a shift “pass-off” audit that ensures maintenance of improvement

COLLINS & AIKMAN (formerly Textron Automotive Company – Trim Division); Rantoul, IL

Plant Manager, Rantoul Products Plant 1 (March 1999 – October 2002)

-Responsible for the operations of one of the largest automotive interior/exterior trim plants in North America - injection molding, painting, and assembly of instrument panels and other interior/exterior plastic trim parts

oTier 1 supplier to six Daimler-Chrysler Assembly Plants

oOver 110 million dollars annual sales with 550,000 parts shipped per month

o500 employees

-Plant was selected as one of Industry Week’s “10 Best Manufacturing Plants in North America” in 2002 - http://www.industryweek.com/companies-amp-executives/iw-best-plants-profile-2002-9

-Increased inventory turns by 10% from 2000 to 2002

-Decreased scrap by 29% and customer defects by 89% from 1999 to 2002

TRW AUTOMOTIVE, Vehicle Safety Systems; Mesa, Arizona (June 1994 – March 1999)

Operations Manager, Propellant Manufacturing (June 1997 – March 1999)

-Responsible for highly automated chemical pyrotechnic Plant that produced over 20,000 pounds of airbag propellant per day – 350 employees

-Led safety improvement that eliminated 100% of all fires/explosions and decreased OSHA recordable injury rate by 25%

Operations Manager (Passenger Inflator Manufacturing (June 1994 – June 1997)

-Responsible for airbag inflator manufacturing operation that produced over 25,000 airbags per day – 700 employees

-Accomplished production ramp from 70,000 inflators per week to over 120,000 inflators per week while simultaneously decreasing the production work week from 7 days to 5 days

-Implemented pull production systems with Kanban cards and visual control boards

ARVIN INDUSTRIES, Gabriel Ride Control Division; Pulaski, Tennessee (August 1992 – June 1994)

Business Unit Manager, OEM Twin Tube Shocks (March 1994 –June 1994)

-Leadership responsibility over 160 employees that produced over 25,000 shock absorbers per day for Ford, Chrysler, Nissan, Honda, and Isuzu

Process Engineer (August 1992 – March 1994)

-Designed and supervised the launch of a flexible manufacturing work cell to produce a wide variety of shocks including Ford Motorhome shocks and Honda ATV shocks

GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, Delco Remy Division; Meridian, MS (Jan 1986 – Aug 1992)

Manufacturing Supervisor (September 1987 – August 1992)

-Plant manufactured over 25,000 starting motors per day for General Motors

-Supervised 40 hourly workers in three manufacturing areas: powdered metal, drive clutch assembly, and nose housing machining

-Member of cross-functional team that implemented pull production systems throughout Plant

Quality Engineer (January 1986 – September 1987)

-Supervised audit and measurement analysis employees on 2nd shift

-Developed and implemented a quality monitoring system to track the performance of outside tooling vendors

EDUCATION: BS in Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama

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