Michael Swanson Email & Phone Number

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Led and managed a team of 59 associates in manufacturing, production scheduling, shipping and receiving departments for a $40MM polyolefin foam manufacturer supplying automotive, industrial, and flooring Industries. • Achieved Toray’s “Turn Around Award” and “President’s Award” for leading $700K in profit recovery in 2011.• Reduced production costs by 17% by leading the selection and installation of direct feed, twin screw extrusion technology and inspection vision systems to ensure product uniformity and annual savings of $1.2 MM.• Led reduction in force program while maintaining production efficiencies and yield performance.• Utilized Lean manufacturing practices to set company production records of 80% yield for 9 consecutive months.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Led daily operations of rotating shift facility including budget development, hiring and training, equipment maintenance, production scheduling, safety, environmental, and continuous improvement program.• Established management program to increase equipment uptime via Preventative Maintenance scheduling.• Lowered OSHA rate from 4.6 to 0.8 by implementing behavior based safety programs.• Initiated cost reduction program which increased uptime from 85% to 95% and increased production output by 17% (Toray record) and annual savings of $1.32 MM.• Implemented “Zero Landfill” operations and internal recycling program resulting in $350K in annual savings.• Led Process Control & Measurement group by initiating use of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma fundamentals to improve production yield by 7.4% (another Toray record) while obtaining annual savings of $930K.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Developed distribution channel and OEM market strategy for the Flooring and Industrial markets.• Led the product marketing initiatives including branding, POP, advertising, tradeshows, pull through marketing.• Established a sales channel into the flooring market and grew it in excess of $8MM annually in under four years.• Designed and introduced product that increased asset productivity, lowered quality complaints, and increased performance at end user while lowering costs by $1.3 MM annually.• Designed and introduced a product line that achieved the highest gross margin in the company’s history.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

• Led development of underlayment market for PEF division by development of a unique Polyolefin foam that reduces the reflected noise from hard surface materials. • United States Patent 8,056,292 – Low reflected sound pressure level, low moisture vapor transmission rate flooring system.• Developed marketing strategies for Toray product launch into the underlayment market. Included SWAT analysis, market placement analysis, supply chain analysis, cost structure evaluation.• Technical Sales contact for companies largest Automotive customers, responsible for trouble shooting quality issues, managing senior level design and development meetings, and account logistics. • Lowered customer complaints by 13% and $65k annually. Improved response by three days by developing a statistical control loop with production facility on key quality criteria.• Developed water shield foam to replace film in the installation process at the OEM. This foam reduced manpower at the OEM by 4 operators. Annual savings of $175k.

Managed and developed process engineers and process technicians in the daily production, troubleshooting and process improvement project priority on a $40 MM production line.• Increased productivity 10% by implementing production monitoring system for an annual savings of $325K. • Developed a Kanban system for chemical storage that improved measurement accuracy, consistency and safety.• Optimized equipment setup methods to reduce changeover downtime by 26% for annual savings of $175K.• Using statistical tools and techniques, ensured that the production processes that directly affect quality are planned, identified, and carried out under controlled conditions• Implemented a visual factory program that reduced inventory waste and scheduling errors

North Kingstown, Ri

• Reduced manufacturing cost by eliminating surface defects while utilizing Lean Manufacturing Techniques to yield annual savings of $210K.• Stabilized process controls and set company production record in OPP while surpassing 3.3M lbs/mo.• Developed and implemented a training program for new process engineers and operators.• Optimized process conditions to run 25% faster while increasing useable web width by 9% for annual savings of $3.2 MM.• Established standardized process conditions to optimize new OPP extrusion film line resulting in a 8% increase in uprate for annual savings of $800K.• Formally documented Technical Department procedures to achieve ISO 9001 certification.

Conover, Nc

• Managed eight-person team in the manufacturing of $1M/wk of polyurethane foam• Responsible for troubleshooting foaming process from chemical blending through formation and slitting• Operated and maintained chemical blending recipes to meet customer specifications• Evaluated and maintained all process equipment including: heat exchangers, pumps, motors and drives, temperatures and flow controllers, valves and storage tanks• Implemented flat topping system on the production line resulting in a 2% increase in production yield and net cost savings of $20,000/wk. This flat topping system has been adopted by pouring plants nationwide.