Jeff Wammer Email & Phone Number

Portland, Or, Us

León, Mexico

Spearheaded a factory move and rebuilt operations on the ground in Mexico over a six month period.Engineered new injection processes capable of manufacturing previously-impossible designs and constructions, resulting in significant advances in performance and the issue of multiple patents.Steelhead USA was sold to a Mexico-based footwear group, including production equipment, racking, forklifts, injection molds, tools, office supplies, and the separate purchase of raw materials.Migrated existing business accounts, who were willing to exchange longer lead times for lower FOBs.Directed the replacement of material/component sourcing, which required re-establishing critical vendor relationships as well as updating costing analysis and purchasing protocols.Consulted on the design of a new factory layout; oversaw the incorporation of manufacturing best practices, workplace safety, standard operating prociedures (SOPs), and quality control guidelines.Acted as the product development liaison and point of contact for customers for all product-related matters.

Portland, Oregon

Founded an independent manufacturing company in 2014 (Wammer Farm) to both accommodate and expand beyond the growing needs of Steelhead, who had several styles of boots in production with multiple customers including UGG, Columbia, HellyHansen, Under Armour, Sperry, Wolverine, CAT.Deployed $2 million in production molds across 14 brands over a five year period, plus several advanced concept prototype molds, and 5 projects still in development phase.Expanded the account portfolio to 8-10 customers over a three year timeline, ultimately integrating a pair of account managers to coordinate orders, shipping, and billing with each brand’s planning/logistics team.

Portland, Oregon Area

Hired to personally managed the onboarding and full integration of the Merrell account, an international industry-leader that quickly became Chinook’s largest customer by 2014, generating over $60 million in annual FOB sales, which doubled Chinook’s revenue.Assembled a high-performing, 30-person cross-functional team in Portland and Asia that facilitated international product sourcing.Selected by the President and CEO of Chinook to consult on a rubber injection factory (Steelhead) from 2011-13; split time post-launch between Chinook and Steelhead to troubleshoot and optimize the production of rubber boots, as well as developing tooling and products.

Portland, Oregon Area

Recruited to introduce footwear design expertise (biomechanics, fit, comfort, etc.) to a team of engineers well-versed in plastic injection and mechanical processes; collaborated to overhaul entire product line.Received multiple, prestigious design honors for the 2013-15 product lines, including awards from Backcountry Magazine, Backpacker Gear Review, Outside Magazine, and Gear Patrol.

Portland, Oregon Area

Employed emergency turnaround management and brand preservation measures to counteract a comprised market debut triggered by serious quality issues and manufacturing delays; successfully delivered quality products in the 11th hour, fulfilling outstanding REI catalog orders and salvaging key relationships.Transferred 7 in-production and 7 pre-launch styles in 60 days; negotiated legal withdrawal from contracted agent.Propagated the company DNA of environmentally-neutral design, introducing sustainability initiatives to mitigate environmental impact through the entire life cycle of the product.Sponsored the development of a proprietary foaming material/process capable of achieving midsole part with the specific gravity of EVA, but with the physical properties and performance characteristics of PU.

Seattle, Washington

Reduced companywide defect rate to less than 1% while attaining double digit annual growth from 2003-06.Recognized with various awards for design innovation in multiple footwear categories such as thermo-moldable sandals, rock climbing/approach shoes, ice-climbing boots with integrated crampon and gaiter, and trail shoes worn by 40-75% of the participants in any given ultramarathon.Helped transition the brand following its purchase by Columbia Sportswear in 2006 after exemplary results.

Taichung City, Taiwan

Served as the project manager for Salomon In-line Skates (ILS) in Asia, in addition to making key contributions to the infrastructure, systems, and organizational development of HQ France-Asia.Brought together a multi-cultural, multi-lingual staff of French, Taiwanese, Thai, and Chinese engineers, production managers, and inspectors based in Taiwan, Thailand and China.Deployed a full-cycle quality system that rated 2001 Range production at 97% during weekly W/H audits.

Taichung City, Taiwan

Expanded product line from 80 to 145 items; saw sales more than double to $5+ million over 2-3 years.Halved the non-quality rate in a short period, significantly reducing customer returns and in-store repairs.Cut out intermediaries and leveraged relationships directly with manufacturers to simultaneously lower retail prices, expand margins, tighten product quality controls, and create after-sale service channels.Consistently captured market exclusivity rights over competitors such as InterSport, Sport 2000, etc.

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba, Business/Managerial Economics

Minor in Asian Studies and International Economics

Education record

Miscellaneous Intensive Courses

Education record

Miscellaneous Intensive Courses

Education record

Miscellaneous Intensive Courses

Education record

Coursework in Mandarin, Chinese Language

Education record

Miscellaneous Intensive Courses