Andy Bethea Email & Phone Number

Memphis, Tennessee, United States

I am excited to join our Global Cellulose Business to serve IP''s Customers across the world. We have a great CTS team that I will have the opportunity to lead where we will continue unlock value for customers and IP.

Greater Memphis Area

Atlanta, Georgia

Manage major specialty dissolving wood and cotton linter cellulose customer accounts in acetate, ethers, filtration markets, and other substances / compounds serving major global customers, such as Eastman Chemical, Celanese, Hollingsworth & Vose, Ahlstrom, and Ashland Specialty Ingredients than range from $15-40MM accounts.Key Achievements• Led account and coordinated talented team, that included 20 team members, to grow customer specialty account from zero volume to 30,000 tons per year within 2 years; the team resolved difficult product technical problems for the customer that resulted in a 3 year, $110 MM contract.• Demonstrated skill in using customer feedback to drive problem recognition among internal stakeholders, including R&D & management; developed investment initiatives that identified and resolved root cause using Lean Techniques, leading to 100% customer satisfaction.• Played critical role in successful merger of Buckeye Technologies with GP Cellulose by preserving 100% volume of key accounts for both companies.• Orchestrated new product innovation by leveraging new GP Cellulose technology with former BKI resources, in coordination with key specialty customers. Eight new specialty cellulose products initiated with customers in 4 years, 75% of these products commercialized already in markets where product life cycles can be 25 years or greater.• Identified & hired a key market intelligence resource that had worked in the downstream markets over 35 years that contributed superior market intelligence and insight into new products. Detailed ongoing intelligence guided very strategic decisions that impacted bottom line results.

Greater Memphis Area

Led pricing and account portfolio of 240,000 tons of fluff pulp, and other specialty pulp products; created / led a team and delivered impressive customer relationship management that yielded long term contracts with key customers. Provided direct global account management for large specialty and fluff customers, such as Ahlstrom, H&V, and Hercules USA each greater than $25MKey Achievements• Spearheaded successful transition of specialty customers and mercerized products from HPZIII line and Foley #1 mill onto new line #3 which resulted in 100% of the targeted customers transferring. Also led / managed customers and sales changes for three major Foley site projects; line #3, oxygen delignification, and fluff product improvement with no negative impacts to volume during the transition• Managed and led development of commercial efforts for product sales, as part of a major $90 MM manufacturing expansion / conversion. Developed three major customers within the market place with efforts generating two long-term contracts valued at $135 MM that established benchmark for remainder of market customers.• Delivered sales and technical expertise to filtration market team, resulting in achievement of 75% market share over a 4 year period.• Recruited and developed new foreign sales representatives to replace less productive resources, resulting in 5% improved financial performance of the portfolio of a low margin business.

Memphis, Tn

• Leveraged Sales & Operational Planning detailed planning techniques and teams to deliver positive results. Spearheaded successful transition of specialty customers and mercerized products from HPZIII 10K ton line and Foley #1 mill onto new line #3 50K ton line which resulted in 100% of the targeted customers transferring & minimizing customer Management of Change (MOC) cost & resource consumption in manufacturing for customers and internal. • Managed and led development of commercial efforts for product sales working very closely with manufacturing & R&D, as part of major $90 million manufacturing expansion / conversion. Developed three major customers within targeted market space with efforts generating two long-term contracts valued at $135 million that established benchmark for remainder of market customers.• Delivered strategic sales and technical leadership to the filtration market team, resulting in achievement of growth from 60% to 75% market share over a 4-year period.• Recruited and developed new foreign sales representatives in Asian markets to replace less productive resources, resulting in 5% improved financial performance of the portfolio of a low margin business.• Served as a subject matter expert team member in manufacturing for a Buckeye Merger & Acquisition Team of 10 people to evaluate new business ventures. Two such targets were evaluated in Turkey where I served as a manufacturing and subject matter expert.

Lumberton, Nc

Charged with total P&L ownership, managing all sales, customer accounts, manufacturing, and raw material procurement with focus on generating profits through increased volume, price increases, expansion of account base, and reinventing use of site assets. Designed and built organizational teams utilizing site resources and remote corporate capability resources to deliver targeted results through leadership and support.Key Achievements • Restored and developed positive, productive relationships with key customer accounts that had lost trust in company, which increased sales volume by 25% and profitability by 100%. • Championed positive manufacturing plant work environment as demonstrated by technical workforce voting out union previously voted into site 3 years earlier under prior leadership.• Leveraged idle site assets from previously closed manufacturing operation by bringing partners onto site which generated greater than $250K in revenue.• Developed & deployed a complete financial model of the Lumberton Fiber line business that guided raw material and product pricing decisions to turn around from multiple years of loss to seven figure profitability in 2 years.

Lumberton, Nc

• Developed & implemented an organizational design that incorporated local technicians & management resources along with remote accounting, procurement & R&D resources to optimize Fiber line profitability. • Developed Operational and Maintenance teams into High Performance self-directed work teams to execute business with minimal supervision leading to lower labor cost, and full ownership if key KPI’s by technicians.• Leveraged plant automation to drive productivity & quality improvements through all operation and maintenance teams. Process recipe automation, material tracking management, robotic movement of materials, and an MES system that tracked all variables in historical databases that can rapidly identify root causes and allow immediate corrective actions to be put into place.• Implemented multiple major root cause analysis on major failures to drive reliability and quality improvements. Increasing through-put by 25% and quality by 30% in one year.• Managed final closure of the CLP operations with other team members which included dismissal of personnel, dismantling and sale of equipment, closing on site waste water & conversion to municipality and closing of farming operations.• Leveraged SAP enterprise functionality to execute accounting and procurement with part time remote resources that balanced resource cost with business needs contributing to improved profitability.

Lumberton, Nc

• Redesigned Maintenance & Engineering Organization to have aligned incentives with operations and to deliver improved reliability of plant operations.• Executed with team of 25, the engineering, procurement, and construction of a new asset and business to the Lumberton site of $12MM called Fiberline that produces specialty cotton hygiene fibers.• Integrated into maintenance & engineering Modern Reliability Principles & installed a modern computerized Maintenance System (MP2) that improved reliability by 20% over a two-year period• Led installation of SAP software modules procurement & materials management during Buckeye SAP enterprise installation.• Led the engineering & maintenance functions as a part of the onsite acquisition team to integrate the Alpha Cellulose business into the Buckeye family of businesses.• As a part of the acquisition of Alpha Cellulose onsite merger team, provided leadership in developing a high-performance work culture that yielded productivity improvements from the former job based system.

Perry, Fl

• Developed two 15-person operational high performance work teams to be independent and deliver improved mill throughput and quality performance on both pulp drying machines• Developed in depth operational understanding of stock prep, refining, sheeting, and drying of specialty high alpha dissolving pulps and fluff pulps.

Perry, Fl

• Managed Design, Procure and Construction of new Electrostatic Precipitator Technology (ESP) into operating mill with seamless integration. Negotiated a $7MM purchase of the ESP equipment.• Managed Major Recovery Boiler rebuilds of headers, wind boxes, major tube replacements and all new burner equipment.

Perry, Fl

• Responsible for maintenance in re-causticizing, kiln, tank farms, Chlorine Dioxide Generation, crude tall oil production, water treatment, and waste water treatment.• The Chemicals team contributed to Buckeye Foley Mill winning the North American Maintenance Excellence Award during this time period.• Managed a 20-person high performance maintenance team utilizing Proctor & Gamble Reliability Essentials guiding principles. • Team member for selecting and implementing a new Computerized Maintenance System in the Foley Mill.

B.S., Mechanical Engineering

Business Administration And Management, General

Activities and Societies: General Studies & Football Team (Outside Linebacker 1983-1984)Studies general studies freshman and sophomore.