Jim Piper Email & Phone Number

Bellwood, Illinois, Us

Kelair is a fully integrated industrial damper product line within the Matot company. As President, I have expanded the network of independent sales rep groups for the industrial damper line from 3 to 13 in 24 months. I just led the acquisition of Matot by Savaria, leaving me to focus on my role as President at Kelair Dampers. This was part of a strategic restructuring to shift focus on the Kelair products, which represent the business area growing exponentially, and has the largest overall market potential.Key Leadership Highlights:• Oversaw production floor optimization and capacity expansion projects, which accommodated an additional $6M in damper production from current facility• Restructured sales team & simplified contracts• Focused efforts on integrating a culture of coaching, mentoring teams to develop & refine sales/pitch skills, which accelerated team productivity and revenue by $2.5M• Spearheaded turnaround by reviewing team workflows, product portfolio, analyzing customer data, vendor partnerships, input costs & expenses, which reduced COGS by 17%

Chicago, Illinois, Us

Bellwood, Il, Us

As President, I assumed full P&L responsibility with direct management of product strategy, manufacturing, business development, sales and marketing and oversight of ~40 cross-functional employees. Oversaw the transition from 4th generation family ownership to 5th generation. Managed growth and attract/retain top talent while negotiating merger & acquisition challenges & integrations.Recent Leadership Highlights:• Managed sales team to accelerate sales by $6M • Directed negotiations & acquisition of a dampers company to optimize under-utilized engineering & production capacity, which added immediate $3.5M in revenue• Pioneered Matot’s 1st Board of Advisors in 2020; appointed 3 independent Directors to complement 2 Owners on new board • Transferred manufacturing production, technical sales, supply chain operations & customer management 6 months after purchase• Coached and mentored key employees during pandemic, which retained 95% of workforce• Led expansion of industrial damper line by $4M; grew network of Sales Reps in 11 new territories & diversified product mix, which improved manufacturing excellence• Launched new products within dumbwaiter portfolio resulting in $1.5M in revenue• Implemented Lean Manufacturing Systems, Navision Workflow, Salesforce & additional configuration tools reducing product lead times by 20%+ from initial RFQ to deliverable

Bellwood, Il, Us

Directed the integration of operational excellence by combining fresh perspectives to the manufacturing environment, tactical hiring within the sales team, and strategic planning that led continued revenue growth in support of next generation owners.• Improved day-to-day & long-term performance in a precision manufacturing environment• Partnered with business owners to implement strategy & long-term growth objectives• Led Matot's 1st acquisition & integration, acquiring Kelair Products

Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, De

Directed business development efforts that positioned Schleifring in U.S. defense & aerospace markets. Managed team of 12 Technical Sales Reps targeting strategic accounts & traveled extensively in NA (75%). Nurtured Tier 1 customers like Boeing, Raytheon & Lockheed Martin. Key Leadership Highlights:• Member of the Schleifring’s Global Executive Committee with P&L oversight for U.S. division• Supervised all cross-functional positions within the organization• Managed & validated all financial reporting & forecasts• Oversaw approvals for all quotation and proposal activities• Directed internal quality initiatives & activities, inclusive of ISO 9001:2008 & AS9100C• Maintained status of “empowered official” for all ITAR corporate requirements & assured full U.S. government compliance to ITAR regulations• Provided oversight & guidance for domestic sales & business development activities

Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, De

• Served as Program Manager for several Schleifring defense & aerospace programs within the U.S. • Directed end-to-end programs, contractual negotiations, TAA (ITAR) filings, project planning, scheduling, resource allocation, design reviews, quality audits, customer & supplier management

Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, De

• Oversaw program management for aerospace related slip ring applications• Facilitated technical sales presentations to defense-related & industrial clients• Conceptualized product design & layout

• Collaborated with a group of Industrial Designers, Mechanical Engineers & Electrical engineers to design & develop new consumer products• Served clients including Fortune 500 companies to individual inventors who needed assistance turning a new product ideas into marketable products

Cleveland, Oh, Us

Served as Engineering Manager at the Rouen, France location of Lincoln Electric• Oversaw new product development, corrective actions, technical literature & implementation of new product design procedures

Cleveland, Oh, Us

• Coordinated new product developments for welding products in market retail sales

Master'S Degree, Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor'S Degree, Mechanical Engineering

Executive Education, Practical Finance And Accounting

Engineering