Plant Manager Operations

Walter Dale Waldron

Plant Operations Director

***********@*******.*** • 951-***-****

LinkedIn Profile • Newark, IL

Summary

A top-performing Plant Operations Director with extensive experience in Food and Beverage Manufacturing. Highly skilled in maintaining full P&L responsibility, overseeing all facets of daily operations through directing cross-functional teams, ensuring adherence to overarching strategies, policies, budget, and production objectives. Proven ability in evaluating existing operations, identifying inefficiencies, redundancies, and risks, leveraging Lean Manufacturing to innovate process improvements and enhancements to optimize workflow, maintain internal controls, and drive profitability. Recognized for full OPEX and CAPEX lifecycle management, ensuring budget and regulatory compliance to foster milestone achievement.

Areas of Expertise

Plant Operations Management

Food & Beverage Production

Manufacturing & Supply Chain

PET Plastics injection and blow molding

Strategic Planning & Analysis

Team Leadership & Development

Process Improvement

P&L Responsibility

Project Management

Regulatory Compliance

Professional Experience

Alkaline 88 Water Company, Remote 2021 – 2022

Midwest Regional Manager

Directed regional manufacturing operations, leading cross-functional teams to ensure cohesive workflow and effective supply chain management. Monitored facilities to drive continuous regulatory compliance, mitigating risks to optimize safety of plant operations. Administered operating budget, as well as specific OPEX and CAPEX projects.

●Overhauled existing operations to identify cost reduction opportunities.

●Forged partnerships with packaging teams to foster synergies and streamlined operations.

●Collaborated with executive leadership to outline overarching production objectives, implementing internal performance metrics to improve employee engagement and performance.

LogoPlaste LLC, Plainfield, IL 2018 – 2021

Illinois Plant Manager

Maintained full accountability for plant operations, meeting and exceeding all production goals and metrics in alignment with company requirements and goals.

●Championed the launch and standardization of Lean program for the facility.

●Cultivated highly effective teams through training, onboarding, and professional development, delivering a robust internal talent pipeline for succession planning.

Crystal Geyser, Bakersfield, CA 2013 – 2018

Director of Manufacturing

Led multi-plant manufacturing operations for Hot fill teas, cold fill juice products, and flavored sparking water, across four plant locations.

●Documented all incidents, metrics, and financial reporting to provide data-driven actionable recommendations for improvement, cost mitigation, and risk management.

●Collaborated with maintenance and facilities teams to ensure minimized downtime, implementing preventative and routine maintenance initiatives on all machinery and production line operations.

Additional Experience

Plant Director, Niagara Bottling LLC, Ontario, CA

Operations Manager, Constar International, Kansas City, MO

Plant Manager, Graham Packaging, Rancho Cucamonga, Ca

Education

Courses Taken in High Vacuum Technology & Physics

San Jose State University, San Jose, CA

Courses Taken in Business Administration

Chabot Junior College, Hayward, CA

Professional Training

Lean Manufacturing Principles

Lean Six Sigma Training

10-Hour OSHA Training

Time/Cost Management Course, Oceanside Community College, Oceanside, CA

Graham Packaging Management Development Training, Penn State University, State College, PA

12-Week Dale Carnegie Self Development Program

7-Week Dale Carnegie Training for Managers

TPM Certification

SQF/NSF/AIB Training

OEE Training, Krones, Germany

Sidel Maintenance Training

Krones Maintenance Training

Husky Maintenance Training

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