Richard Gustke Email & Phone Number

West Palm Beach, Florida, Us

As CEO I am responsible for P&L and Balance sheet review while working closely with the Board of Directors on finance, strategic pricing, planning & expansion. I also manage global sales and marketing with developing forecast, budgets and business relationships. I personally manage all the large accounts and am responsible for the implementation of Lowes USA, Ace Hardware International, True Value International retail sales. Grew sales from $12MM to near $20MM in 7 years.At E-Z Weld I implemented EOS – Entrepreneurial Operating System, a practical solution that guides a business to success. The simple concepts within EOS help to develop and communicate the vision, get traction across the organization, so that the team can move forward with the vision, and keep leadership teams healthier. I have set-up international operations that include filling, packaging and logistics in Egypt and India while maintaining quality standards. I developed new products which include the world’s first 3 year shelf life cement, All Pressure heavy body PVC cement, Pipe Wipes, and an Industrial line of cements, this was done by listening to the voice of the customer.At E-Z Weld we believe in LEAN Manufacturing Principles where we executed a Set-up Reduction lean workshop that reduced line change over time from 6 hours to 1 hour using Quick Change tooling, retro fit of 3 manufacturing lines, product wash out system and operator awareness. We also installed semi automatic manufacturing lines that increased production by 32% while maintaining ISO 9001 Quality System and ISO 14001 Environmental System's.

MSK PRECISION PRODUCTS, INC., Tamarac, Fl General ManagerManaging executive who turned around a struggling business in 6 months by careful examination of P&L, management team, engineering roles and responsibilities, scheduling and the addition of a customer service department. Developed operational priorities for addressing marketing and sales requirements. Inspired superior performance from diverse management and production teams while instituting many process and procedure improvements using team building and lean manufacturing techniques.

T&L AUTOMATICS, INC., Rochester, NY 1984 - 2007Vice President of Manufacturing (1996-2007)I started my career at T&L Automatics as a teenager. I started out as a machine operator and then was promoted to Purchasing Manager, Engineering Manager and at the age of 29 I was promoted to VP Manufacturing all while obtaining my Engineering degree part time. I was the corporate officer in charge of all plant operations for a $20 million automotive components and parts manufacturer with 130+ direct/indirect reports. Developed and directed production, quality, operational and engineering standards by implementing ISO-9001. I worked in many different functions at T&L providing me the leadership skills and tools needed to successfully manage the company using my combined experiences from the plant floor and management perspectives.