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Howard G. Nelson
+1-847-477-9316 | howard@hnelson.com
Objective
Leadership of a manufacturing organization; with the opportunity to add value through team development, project management, and continuous process improvement.
Experience
Value Stream Manager
The Carlstar Group (Clinton, Tennessee), 3/15–11/16
Managed mixing, extrusion, and stock prep departments of a tire manufacturing plant with over 100 employees on 3 shifts
• managed inventory and logistics relationship with key customer
• led lean activities resulting in 12% productivity improvement
• maintained production through major equipment replacement and significant unplanned downtime
Operations Manager
RavenBrick LLC (Denver, Colorado), 12/13–10/14
• led operations team including engineering, planning, production, and quality
• managed installation of automated production line
• developed operations database for production planning, product tracking, and quality control
Project / Quality Manager
Diamond Wire Material Technologies (Colorado Springs, Colorado), 3/12–10/13
• led design and business case analysis of prospective Asian manufacturing plant project
• managed transfer and start-up of SmartWire (PV interconnect wire) production from acquisition
• managed quality department (receiving, WIP and final inspection, document control)
Operations Manager
Micro-Poise Measurement Systems, LLC, 7/07–5/11
Managed the start-up and operations of a measurement equipment manufacturing facility in Beijing, China
• developed project justification and financial analysis, new plant design and process layout
• hired, trained, and managed staff (30 people) for engineering, sourcing, finance, and production
• developed processes and created supporting ERP system for all operations activities
• created supply chain for commercial and manufactured parts supporting US assembly resulting in 2010 net savings of 64%
• transferred production of complete AkroDYNE tire production balancing system from US
• established spare parts operations for Asia customer support
Led product improvement and project management activities
• developed project management system database for new product development and sold job support
• led value-engineering and DFM/A programs to improve product design and assembly processes
Value Stream Manager
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (Union City, Tennessee), 5/06–7/07
Managed the full-stage tire assembly department with a team of 7 supervisors and 130 production, quality, and maintenance personnel on 3 shifts
• maintained production through 3-month USW strike utilizing salaried and temporary labor
• developed operations plan to reduce labor cost by 12% and increase capacity by 7%
Production Supervisor
Elgin Sweeper Company (Elgin, Illinois), 1/97–8/04
Materials – managed 36-person, 2-shift department including material handling, internal and external kanban management, service parts picking and shipping, and finished product shipping
• led kaizen and 5S events, kanban system development, lean process redesign
• improved service parts on-time delivery performance by 54%
Welding – managed 15-person department including scheduling and capacity planning
• implemented kanban system and product-focused cells
• reduced total controllable operating costs by 15%; perfect safety record
Manufacturing Engineering – managed powder coating systems project: justification, design, construction supervision, and training
• improved product durability and marketability, operations efficiency and capability
• implemented on-schedule (3 years) and 13% under-budget
Manufacturing Engineer
Navistar International Transportation Corp. (Springfield, Ohio), 2/95–1/97
• member of team that created a truck assembly plant in Monterrey, Mexico – responsible for plant design, assembly process and instructions, tooling design and installation
• conducted site evaluations, process simulations, and layouts for prospective plants
Education
Master of Business Administration
Purdue University – Krannert School of Management, 8/04–5/06
• areas of focus included Logistics, Strategy, and Organizational Behavior; Six Sigma green belt
• coordinated Leadership and Ethics Series of speakers and events
• internship at American Axle & Manufacturing (Three Rivers, Michigan) – developed process simulation and plan to increase assembly capacity (+34%) and reduce labor cost (-27%)
• Krannert Scholar (top 5% of class), graduate assistantship and DCMME scholarships
Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
Duke University, 8/90–5/94
• summer studies in law and politics at King's College London and the University of Cambridge
• worked part-time in video production studio and as a strolling violinist
• National Merit Scholarship program, finalist
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