Process director

ERIC GASCA, MBA

BOURBONNAIS, IL, ***** 773-***-**** *********@*****.*** LINKEDIN PROFILE

Drives Increased Productivity, Efficiency & Profitability Through Lean Management

Visionary operations leader with a progressive track record of profitable growth, productivity, and safety performance. Advanced team-leadership skills with a history of success in managing teams to exceed goals and working with corporate leaders to bridge the gap between business objectives and production capabilities. Strategic thinker and planner, skilled in the design and execution of successful manufacturing processes, programs, and solutions. Excels at forming cross-functional and external relationships, working with stakeholders and vendors to define requirements, devise actionable plans, build consensus, and drive delivery.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Continuous Improvement Mentoring, Hiring, & Training Employees Succession Planning

OSHA, FDA, USDA Leadership & Team Development

Budgeting & Cost Control Resolving Labor Issues Root Cause Analysis and Corrective Actions

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio ERP systems . Safe Quality Foods Practitioner (SQF)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

OSI Group Aurora, IL

Process Director 3/2022-Present

Team lead in delivering product commercialization while championing process improvement across the manufacturing network specializing in cooked meat products within the three major proteins. Provide the business as an integral member of serving the customer base and improving operational performance. Multi plant responsibility across three states.

Delivered commercialized products in a timely and efficient manner that interfaced across facilities and departments that ranged from operations, sales, customers, and senior leadership to increase manufacturing capacity while improving customer quality and service by engaging all aspects of the business to exceed customer expectations

Reduced labor savings by $500,000 by implementing automation for packaging solutions

Developed and delivered cost reduction options, best practices, and implemented projects across multiple manufacturing facilities generating $7million in savings in year 1 by utilizing visual aids that increase output for new employees

Evaluate processing technologies and capabilities that gives the senior leadership team strategies for improvement, capital expenditures, and developing facility capacity and strategy plans across the manufacturing base that has guided the company to remain competitive on prices and profitability

Designed and implemented production lines working cross functionally with plants, vendors, and corporate resources

Size and Scope: 6 manufacturing plants, 3 states, 25 production lines

RISE BAKING COMPANY Manteno, IL

Plant Manager 11/2020-2/2022

Executed plant integration into Rise Baking and shifted culture to exceed customer expectations solidifying alignment with Rise Baking values. Provide the professional business environment and unified direction required to continually improve the operation to decrease overhead and spend to align with budgetary standards. Full responsibility for P & L and directly charged with creating costing for products.

Directed $25M in capital in first a new line start, moving an existing production line, and increasing throughput of existing line by holding planning meetings that focused on minimizing changeover impacts

Developed a business strategy for the plant for the next 3 years that included a change management restructure and implementation that focused on the direction the plant was heading

Improve communication to all levels of members by instituting a tiered communication process that led to a 15% decrease in quality holds and creating a continuous improvement culture based on root cause analysis

Focused effort on hiring, promoting, motivating, and retaining talent that created a 20% reduction in turnover by focusing on membership onboarding and integration

Leading plant through business integration with ERP implementation and cultural adjustments from previous ownership

Increase direct labor by over 120 employees due to volume sales and adjusted scheduling that led to a 17% decrease in overtime costs

Midsize manufacturer of the year for the county

Size and scope: 200,000 sq. ft, 325 non-union facility, 8 direct reports, 3 indirect reports

LAND O FROST Lansing, IL

Plant Manager 1/2020 – 11/2020

Brought on board to optimize quality, customer service, reliability, safety, and waste management while attaining operating costs and financial goals. Champions continuous improvement and Lean principles. Cultivates relationships, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders at all levels on the creation of innovative solutions. Determines appropriate actions concerning acting with agility to changing business needs and strategically formulates appropriate action plans—set priorities for plant team of 451, including 10 direct reports.

Planned, implemented, and directed $25M budget excluding meat costs and $5M in capital expenditures that propelled the plant to status as the flagship provider of ham lunchmeat by doubling production with a reduced headcount.

Joined forces with Human Resource Acquisition Specialist to build a robust pipeline of qualified candidates, filling open positions with highly skilled talent, and creating a peak performing, Lean operating team that utilized plant management systems

Developed and collaborated with plant team to add additional processing, increasing the product lines outputs and optimizing outputs during crisis with a reduced staff

Size and scope: 325,000 sq. ft, 425 union facility, 6 direct reports, 4 indirect reports

JOHNSONVILLE FOODS Momence IL

Plant Manager 10/2017-1/2020

Oversaw daily plant operations, building trust, team collaboration, and commitment to excellence towards results in operating efficiency, on-time delivery, and quality. Directed raw material deliveries through conversion and shipment to customers, focusing on critical financial, quality, safety, and service metrics. Directed hiring, training, and mentoring for 285 employees ranging from management to floor production staff.

Created a $1.5M capital plan to achieve plant improvement priorities and introduce Lean methodologies, resulting in record-breaking $2.75M cost savings across 3 harvest facilities by focusing on business intelligence metrics and data

Translated vision into competitive and breakthrough business strategies that reversed budget trends from -$1M to +$50K in less than 1.5 years.

Earned reputation as a leader across all plants after cultivating a bond between corporate leadership and plant personnel that reduced silos that impeded productivity and elevated employee morale.

Established open communications and a clear direction for goal attainment, enabling team to hit all plant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) consistently.

Coached, mentored, and promoted multiple individuals to larger roles both within the plant and corporate teams

Size and scope: 225,000 sq. ft, 375 union facility, 10direct reports

BAY VALLEY FOODS, a Division of TreeHouse Foods Inc., Plymouth IN and Chicago IL

Operations Manager/Interim Plant Manager 05/2015- 10/2017

Promoted to coordinate and execute the daily activities of the production and operation teams, delegated production assignments to appropriate personnel to meet defined customer expectations for quality and delivery. Directed production flow per GMPs, quality and safety practices, employee safety, and sanitation policies and regulations. Monitored direct and indirect controllable costs to meet targets.

Led team through plant closure while maintaining first-pass quality and maintaining cohesiveness with constant communication and emotional intelligence

Achieved 10% increase in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) in one year working with Maintenance and Operation Supervisors to verify data, involving all members in corrective actions, and creating processes to ensure production availability for planned maintenance and predictive maintenace

Reduced incident rates from an average of 1 recordable injury per month to 1 every 2.5 months by involving floor members in Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and generating training for all plant personnel following a behavior-based model.

Drove quality of products to meet and exceed customers’ expectations by collaborating with multiple departments in coordinating customer requirements and building relationships with potential customers.

Size and scope: 215,000 sq. ft, 250 union facility, 100 seasonal, 10 direct reports

Quality Control Manager 05/2014 - 05/2015

Directed quality programs and functions, including training employees on proper procedures and policies, supporting operational goals and objectives. Developed and maintained systems for performance measurements, failure costs, control systems, quality standards, product, and process capability for all raw materials and finished products.

Selected as 1 of 20 managers for Lean manufacturing training and later became a train the trainer in the corporation.

Removed raw material variance by focusing on raw material formulations and data validations that drove a consistency in multiple products and led to a decrease in overtime hours and increase in efficiency.

Led Lean Green Belt projects to build culture of continuous improvement around safety, quality, and efficiency within the plant and other plant locations

Size and scope: 150,000 sq. ft,125 union facility, 75 seasonal, 2 direct reports

Sanitation Supervisor 06/2013 – 05/2014

Guided 6 union employees in the completion of daily, weekly, and monthly tasks with ownership of the output and authority to delegate. Participated in hiring, coaching, delivering feedback, and conducting performance reviews. Worked closely with other functions within the facility production, including quality assurance, maintenance, and plant management to execute plant-wide initiatives.

Reduced positive swab results by 10% involving Sanitation Department in pre-op check, establishing status meetings to uncover issues, and acquiring better equipment while leading managing quality improvement initiatives.

Facilitated employee and food safety training to achieve 100% on-time completion.

Established cross-functional meetings with production, quality assurance, maintenance, and Plant Manager that successfully eliminated obstacles, resulting in improved cleaning methods.

Other Experiences:

Quality technician, documentation specialist

Other sectors worked in:

Confections, Flavors (Dry blend, liquid blend, spray dry), Deli products

EDUCATION

Master of Business Administration (MBA), University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2015

Bachelor of Science (BS), Micro and Cellular Biology, St. Xavier University, Chicago, IL, 2006

CERTIFICATIONS

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) Certification.

Lean Manufacturing Certification from Lean Sensei International Green Belt

Aseptic Manufacturing

Iowa State University Sausage and Process Meats

Contact this candidate