Paul Cooper Email and Phone Number

Leading material handling company offering engineered material handling solutions since 1929. Check out our website at aecmd.com to see our current products and services offered.

Manufacturer of Hookstick switches, Group Operated switches and substation power connectors sold to customers within the power grid industry.

Electrical equipment manufacturer of power distribution and monitoring solutions for the data center and industrial markets.

IEM Power Systems (IEMPS) is part of Industrial Electric Manufacturing (IEM). IEM is North America's largest independent full-line manufacturer of electrical distribution and power quality equipment.

Selected as corporate President by Private Equity Group with responsibility for formulating, directing, and achieving strategic, financial and operating business plans with a key role in financing and banking relationships. Reported directly to Board of Directors. • Improved EBITDA run rate that allowed investment group to benefit from two dividend recapitalizations that provided a five times return on investment.• Maintained and nurtured banking relationships with both mezzanine and senior lenders.• Developed customer outreach program that focused marketing and sales efforts on reaching the aftermarket customer base directly and opening a market ignored by the traditional transformer OEM suppliers. This produced highly profitable aftermarket sales with a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.9%. • Improved OEM market coverage in Mexico and South America increasing sales by 27% over three years.• Directed $5.5 million manufacturing automation initiative and negotiated financing of the project.• Strengthened company engineering capabilities and reduced time to market with new radiator design using computer modeling and simulation.• Led the efforts to sell the business in November 2011 to another private equity group.

Promoted from Director of Operations to oversee all departments including sales and finance.• Established Research and Development lab that allowed us to develop new patent pending radiator design.• Directed implementation of integrated business system that combined all business functions onto one platform resulting in increased financial and operational controls.• Led the initiative to create a spin off from a publicly held company (Dover) and then sell the stand alone business to a private equity group (Buckingham Capital Partners).

Recruited to manage manufacturing facility, recapitalize aging business and introduce lean manufacturing plant wide. Responsible for all functions except sales and finance. • Recapitalized key equipment to streamline manufacturing capabilities and reduce utility costs resulting in annual savings of $300,000. • Closed Canadian operation, moved equipment to South Carolina and set up new production line for product to compete with largest foreign radiator competitor.• Initiated lean manufacturing program saving $250,000 annually and reducing inventory by 50%.• Directed successful ISO 9001 certification. • Reduced lead times by 50% and improved on time delivery from 80% to 98% .• Implemented design changes in current product offerings saving $200,000 annually. • Improved inventory accuracy to 98% with aggressive cycle count program.

Responsible for manufacturing, quality, production planning, purchasing, warehouse, shipping, maintenance and manufacturing engineering. Manufacture compressed air filters and elements sold under multiple Flair brand names; annual sales of $25 million; 165 employees.• Implemented process improvements using lean manufacturing techniques that increased productivity 21% in 12 months resulting in annual savings of $750,000.• Introduced formal quality program that reduced scrap and warranty costs by 12% ($125,000) during the first year.• Led effort to consolidate Rich Creek, Va., facility into Stanley, N.C., facility achieving annual savings of $1.4 million.• Developed partnerships with vendors that produced material price reductions of approximately $230,000.• Improved customer service by using cross-functional teams to improve communications between manufacturing and inside sales functions.• Directed product rationalization and design for manufacture efforts on low margin product line increasing gross margins by 8%.

Responsible for functions located on-site, including manufacturing, materials management, human resources, inside sales, maintenance, engineering, cost accounting and quality. Manufacture filters for the HVAC industry. Annual sales of $6 million; 75 employees.• Grew sales by 15% by introducing customer incentive based product stocking program.• Implemented warehouse labeling system resulting in better product identification and inventory accuracy.• Reorganized plant layout to eliminate bottlenecks and increase productivity by 11%.• Developed production quota and hourly incentive plan for pleating department.• Increased on time delivery performance from 75% to 93%.• Reduced inventory levels approximately 12% ($240,000).

Responsible for introducing cellular manufacturing techniques plant wide and across all support functions. Manufacture filters, elements, dryers and purifiers for compressed air. Annual sales of $40 million with 120 employees. • Implemented cellular manufacturing practices on four refrigerated air dryer lines that improved product quality, reduced warranty expense and achieved annual savings of $285,000 in labor costs.• Developed financial business model to investigate the feasibility of relocating manufacturing operations from Delaware to South Carolina. Negotiated with officials from state economic development agencies; obtained incentives to keep operations in Delaware.

Promoted from manufacturing engineer (1988-1990) to oversee the activities of the manufacturing engineering, maintenance and production tool fabrication departments producing $275,000 of annual cost savings.