Kevin Hodsdon Email and Phone Number

Plant Manager West and Central PlantsWas asked to come in and turn the struggling West Plant around by directing all operations for the plant. After the first 3 months of employment, I was asked to take over an additional plant (Central). In the 9 months that followed, the Central plant grew from 3 machines to 7 producing close to 100K lbs of parts per day. While this was happening, dramatic improvements were also being made in the West plant.Selected Contributions: Cut unplanned downtime in half due to more effective PMs and identifying critical spares. Increased OEE from 62% to 88% in under 6 months from Operator training, setup improvements, reduced downtime, process centerline sheets, and standard work. Decreased direct labor variance (labor absorption) by 180% in the same 6 months through standard work, decreasing labor where possible, packing station improvements, and process streamlining. Reduced material waste 181% from standardizing material blends and running parts to target weights through standard checks.

Sabert Corporation, Shepherdsville, KY Plant Manager (previously Operations Manager)Directed operations for a plastic manufacturing facility. Joined plant during start-up. Facility grew to 8 extrusion and thermoforming lines with a staff of 150+; generated over 39M pounds of food trays annually in a 24/7 production enviornment. Selected Contributions: Safety – Reduced TCIR rate from 9.1 to less than 1.0 in 4 years through Lockout/Tagout initiatives, risk assessments, and employee involvement; achieved OHSAS 18001 certification. Quality – Increased outgoing sigma through SPC, product manuals, and quality training; achieved food safety certifications in AIB, NSF, and finally BRC. Productivity/Cost – Lowered cost per pound by 50% through machinery upgrades and engineering solutions, productivity increases, and strict focus on OEE. People – Developed a scorecard to track employee performance giving associates the power of knowing exactly what was expected of them; used scorecard to directly correlate pay increases to performance while increasing employee morale.

Operations Manager (Special Assignment) Riverside, CA (7/2011 – 12/2011)Took on a 6-month short-term assignment to turn around an underperforming plant. Led effort to substantially improve all key metrics to better prepare plant for future growth.Selected Contributions: Improved financial performance from losing over $1M/month to making almost $1M/month. Increased production by over 600,000 lbs per month. Reduced labor cost per pound from $0.34/lb to $0.25/lb. Improved both Safety and Quality performance. Instituted operational and management process improvements, including increased levels of accountability, across all areas on the plant floor including: Maintenance, Tooling, Safety (LOTO), Training, Process Control, etc.

Gage Industries Inc., Lake Oswego, OR, Operations/Production ManagerManaged the Packaging Thermoforming Division with 50 employees and 8 plastics thermoforming machines producing over 125 million trays per year. Directed all operations including production, scheduling, materials, maintenance, inventory, costing, and quality. Selected Contributions: Instrumental in achieving ISO 9001-2000 certification. Introduced performance metrics to highlight improvement opportunities leading to increases in productivity, reduction in downtime, and lower costs. Developed Preventive Maintenance program with the Maintenance department to greatly reduce machine downtime. Developed scheduling procedures to decrease machine scrap by 50% and downtime by 75% through economic order quantities.Started with Gage on the production floor as an entry level employee. Took on roles of increasing responsibility in various functional areas, including: Machine Operator, Maintenance Technician, Setup Mechanic, Shift Supervisor, Assistant Production Manager and finally Production Manager, reporting to the company owner. Was part of a small team of associates recruited to work at Sabert Corporation after Sabert acquired the assets of Gage Industries.