Jay Abbott Email & Phone Number

Retired from Red Sun Farms, providing coaching and consulting for individuals and companies in areas of professional development and solutions to management and process challenges.

Kingsville, ON, CA

• Directs operations of Red Sun Farms’ Dublin, Virginia facility, with responsibility for Human Resources, Accounting, Supply Chain Management, Maintenance, Quality, Packaging, and Purchasing. Led the construction and.
• General management, from construction through start-up to the present, of a High Tech Greenhouse producing over 9 million pounds of tomatoes annually.
• Effective leadership in a multinational organization with owners in Mexico and Canada and direct supervisor, the COO, in Canada.
• The face of Red Sun Farms in the local business community and economic development arena.
• Active representative of Red Sun Farms on the board of the Virginia Agribusiness Council, an industry association, and an Advisory Board for New River Community College.

Holland, MI, US

• Directed Operations of Uniform Color Company, a producer of color concentrates supplying the automotive, furniture, appliance, medical, and packaging industries, with responsibility for Global Supply Chain Management.
• Energetically directed and participated in the Global Manufacturing Strategies of this $100 million revenue company, spending 55+ days out of the U.S. annually to personally guide the implementation.
• Oversaw Global Supply Chain operations, including vendor partnerships, with focus on Working Capital improvements and Inventory Control.
• Represented our company on the Audia Group Ethics Committee, having been recognized for ethical behavior and integrity.
• Actively engaged with raw material suppliers to establish partnerships.
• Directed and participated in the implementation of Capital Projects for Operations across the UCC plants.

Holland, MI, US

• Directed Manufacturing operations of Uniform Color Company with responsibility for 3 sites with a 4th under construction in Europe. As a member of UCC’s Leadership Team, set strategic direction and policy focused on.
• Led and facilitated the team that established the Capital Expense Budget of over $5 Million annually, providing decision making and guidance in priority, spending, vendor selection, and engineering.
• On the ground direction of Global Manufacturing Strategies of this $80+ million revenue company with operational oversight of plants in Holland, Michigan; Monterrey, Mexico; Milford, Massachusetts (Closed for economic.
• Led over $3 Million in cost reductions, in part by empowering Manufacturing Group team members to implement team ideas.
• Actively developed high performing employees with a focus on improving the talent pool and succession planning.

Cedar Springs, MI, US

• Established and directed this new role focused upon understanding new and emerging markets and developing strategies and tactics to service them. As a member of the executive management team, actively participated in.
• Researched best practices in the areas of sustainability to develop packaging solutions that met Wal-Mart specifications. Recognized as 1 of 150 companies invited to the Wal-Mart Sustainability Expo to share concepts.
• Provided mentorship to Display Pack University facilitators to prioritize initiatives in the areas of culture change, lean manufacturing, employee communication and collaborative execution.
• Researched potential entry into disposable medical device packaging market, producing business case for in-depth market analysis to focus on cost of entry, regional and national market size, and materials to meet the.

Cedar Springs, MI, US

• Directed the packaging operations unit encompassing over $34 million in annual revenue and over 300 associates with emphasis on strategic workflow improvements, cross functional communication and understanding, and.
• Reorganized the production management structure to meet the new workflow needs and reduce the number of department managers from 10 to 7. Improved use of expertise in support functions and reduced overall labor costs.
• Facilitated the development of business action plans in all packaging production departments that improved associates’ communication and understanding by linking tactical actions to strategic goals.
• Directed major operational work flow improvements in a multistory facility including the movement of two entire departments consisting of eighteen production cells and over 150 employees. Resulted in an initial savings.

Cedar Springs, MI, US

• Led packaging manufacturing and affiliated support departments with an emphasis on manager and team development and process improvements. Responsible for all functional areas.
• Led the design team that interacted with Hewlett-Packard to design and manufacture club store packaging. The award winning results of this project added $3 million in annual revenue for the life of the product line.
• Reestablished and directed plant safety management, hired a Safety Director and personally participated in MIOSHA inspections and audits. Markedly reduced recordable injuries and findings which resulted in fewer and.
• Facilitated management team development with a goal of providing consistent policy implementation eliminating the silos across all areas of packaging manufacturing organization.
• Shared best practices as representative in the Plant Manager’s Continual Improvement Users Group, a local industry network group with the goal of improving manufacturing in West Michigan.

Belmont, MI, US

• Established and led new sales team of three sales representatives with an emphasis on business development, team development, and broadening markets served.
• Established California sales office, relocating sales representatives to serve the entertainment, software, and consumer products industries in the southwest United States. Sales from this office grew from zero to $2.
• Facilitated improved customer management through increased attention and responsiveness with major customers in the entertainment and supporting industries and secured specialty projects valued at over $350,000 annually.

• Led the Technical Service effort, supporting Sales with technical expertise and customer relationships in the packaging printing and corrugated industries. Required a high amount of travel, mostly individual.
• Took over Technical Service responsibility from Technical Director to improve customer management and relationships by establishing a main point of contact for customer concerns and technical consultation.
• Set priorities for independent technical visits and accompanied Sales Manager and Salesmen on sales visits, expanding the customer relationships within the company.

Worked in two locations and held the following responsibilities:Technical Service Rep - Bleached Board DivProduct Development Engineer - Bleached Board DivAsst. Quality Manager - Milk Carton DivisionFolding Carton Supervisor - Milk Carton DivisionPaper Machine Engineer - Covington Mill

Bsme, Mechanical Engineering

Education record