CHARLES CZAJKA

*** ****** **** *****, ****** Hill, Maryland 21050

• 410-***-**** • r13asy@r.postjobfree.com •

ENGINEERING PROFESSIONAL

A Product Design Engineer with extensive experience in new product design from concept through production. A Project Manager capable of directing Engineers, Designers, Technicians and manufacturing employees to a successful production release of new products and engineering support for existing products.

• New Product Development/Project Management

• 2D/3D Design with Solid Works

• Sheet Metal Design

• Machining Practices & Tolerances

• Lab Practices & Procedures

• Employee Development & Training

• Service & Installation Manuals

• Product Performance Testing

Three Patents Assigned, One Patent Pending

B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois

NOVATEC, Baltimore, Maryland 2011 to Present

A manufacturer of preprocessing equipment for the plastics industry. Products made for the storage, conveying and drying of plastic pellets and regrind.

Senior Engineer:

Reporting to the Vice-President of engineering. Responsible for the design and improvement of new and existing

products and manufacturing support for existing products using Solid Works 3D design.

• Currently redesigning the 1600 lb. through 5000lb. wheel dryers to minimize the total volumetric space by 20% which will reduce manufacturing costs and reduce the customers occupied floor space. This was accomplished by repositioning performance components and redesigning the structural steel and sheet metal cabinet assembly for more efficient performance.

• Prepared the MDN-5 15 lb. medical dryer for production by designing a sheet metal base and control enclosure.

Designed a removable hopper assembly with easy latching to the dryer base. Prepared all the production BOM’s, sheet metal and component drawing documentation and issued the final release for production.

• Currently designing PVU (portable vacuum unit) for the Asian market. This product is a sheet metal cart on casters with a vacuum motor, air flow breaker valve & electric controls.

• Redesigning sheet metal hoppers and blower motor housings for manufacturing efficiency improvements and

preparing drawing documentation for outside production.

ITW FOOD EQUIPMENT GROUP, Baltimore, Maryland 1998 to 2011

A $125 million manufacturing company specializing in the manufacture of commercial cooking equipment under the Vulcan, Hobart and Wolf brand names. A division of Illinois Tool Works.

Principle Engineer:

Reporting to the Heavy Duty Range Business Manager. Responsible for design and development of new products and technical support of existing products.

• Directed a design team of 6 Engineers for the new V-Series commercial heavy duty range line.

- The V-Series heavy duty range included innovative modular cook top technology and quick-connect main gas, permitting easy range cook top conversions with only one tool.

- Improved V-Series open top burner water boil times by 25% and sauté evenness with an improved grate design and repositioning the burner.

• Directed 2 engineers from the contract firm Design-Design to document the new Chop House Broiler with manual grid elevator and top surface searing plate. Completed the design, development and first prototype in three months, ahead of schedule. The design featured a split heat distribution system for internal broiling and top surface searing.

• Directed the design of 2 engineers for the Endurance medium duty range line with an emphasis on easy cook top cleaning, resulting in a 50% savings in cleaning time.

- Featured a one piece drip basin, quick connect open top burner pilots and main gas cook top shut off valve.

- Two patents issued and one pending for features used in the Endurance and V-series ranges.

• Used Solid Works to provide exploded view drawings for V-series range service parts manuals and details for owner and installation manual.

• Developed manufacturing assembly techniques program for the plant labor force to improve efficiency, quality and accuracy of the final product.

- Realized a 10% efficiency improvement over the assemble-by-memory approach.

• Worked with suppliers and manufacturing to outsource sub-assemblies as part of a Lean Manufacturing program to reduce direct labor hours by 20% and floor space by 15%.

• Established a contract to design and build the Zesto brand conveyor ovens in the Baltimore plant.

- Design improvements resulted in a shared patent with the Zesto Company in Canada.

• Developed the VCG6032 for Donato’s Pizza incorporating dual belt technology for pizzas and sandwiches.

• Reviewed warranty claims and corrected problems on the GH and Commander ranges saving over $100k in one year.

BLODGETT OVENS, Burlington, Vermont 1992 to 1997

The premier commercial US oven manufacturer, producing convection, deck and conveyor ovens.

Engineering Manager - Conveyor Ovens:

Reported to the Engineering Director. Responsible for design and development of new products and technical support of existing products.

• Led a design team of three Engineers, two Designers and two Technicians in new product development, customer and product support.

• Designed three new conveyor ovens to fill out the Master Therm line of conveyor ovens.

- Ovens designed were the gas fired MT2436 & MT3240 and the electric countertop MT1820.

• Set up in-house reliability testing protocol for new drive system components used in the MT1820 and new burner ignition system used in the MT2436, resulting in a reduction in field testing time within 3 months.

• Established the cooking computer operating logic used on the new MT3240 conveyor oven, enabling the customer to have an easy operational interface with the control.

• Provided dedicated support to the Pizza Hut Company by assisting with RSM pizza quality testing on the MT3870 ovens they purchased.

• Provided technical support to regional chain customers like Donato’s Pizza and Fazzoli’s.

• Incorporated air impingement technology in the all the Master Therm conveyor ovens.

• Obtained CE safety compliance on the MT2136 the first piece of commercial equipment from the US to get certified.

PMI FOOD EQUIPMENT GROUP, Darlington, South Carolina 1984 to 1992

A commercial food equipment manufacturer for the Vulcan and Hobart brands.

Operations Support Manager: 1988 to 1992

Responsible for providing technical support for all commercial cooking products produced.

• Transferred documentation (BOM’s and Drawings), office furnishings and lab equipment from the closing Chicago Heights, IL and Louisville, KY plants to the new Darlington plant.

• Established training seminars for the plant personal on the function, operation and safety of the transferred products.

• Led a design team of three for product improvement and customer specials like prison packages special stands and grooved griddle plates.

Senior Design Engineer: 1984 to 1988

Responsible for product improvements on all electric convection ovens, fryers and toasters.

• Handled all the electric equipment Canadian Standards certification requirements.

• Improved the design of the full size convection oven by adding state of the art electronic controls.

• Managed the electrical products lab and supervised the lab technicians.

• Improved half size oven performance for chain accounts by lowering internal velocities without effecting temperature distribution.

• Worked closely with key customers on special products, including McDonalds, 7-11, Perkins and Chick-fil-A.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Solid Works, Microsoft Office Suite

RECOGNITION & AWARDS

Top 50 Cost Reduction Program, PMI Food Equipment Group - 1985 & 1986

ITW Patent Recognition Award - 2011

PATENTS

Patent No. 7811082 - Gas circuit and pilot light system for cooking range

Patent No. 7363923 – Cooking range assembly and monolithic drip pan

Patent No. 6539934 – Multiconveyor convection oven

Patent pending – Burner head and venturi design

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