Robert Lange Email & Phone Number

United States

Responsible for all facets of the Continuous Improvement Operating system including: development of engagement processes; implementation; leadership development and coaching; Kaizen events; Value Stream Mapping; Lean tool training, practical application and site certification of personnel through various levels of skills; align cascaded performance goals with strategic objectives; while creating a positive culture of innovation, energy and satisfaction.

Greater Chicago Area

Responsible for all manufacturing and business functions for two manufacturing sites including a granulation plant in East Chicago, IN and a grinding plant in South Chicago, IL.

Gary, Indiana

Spearheaded the workplace transformation of the Gary Works facility, comprised of 4,500+ employees, to drive ongoing operational improvements and cultural changes. Improved critical systems and redesigned processes to better position the internal organization for success in advance of heavy global competition. Led the execution and implementation of work streams such as change management, operational excellence, and reliability in close partnership with Executive, Management, and Plant Leadership Teams, as well as external consultants.Key Achievements: Innovated a best-in-class Performance Management system to drive operational excellence and reliability in a high performing cultureo Conducted and created bench marking, training, assessment processes, and deployment schedule and strategy. Pioneered process to cascade a compelling change story from the executive level down to shop floor employees in the face of increasing national and global competition.o Achieved corporate-wide rollout for building change framework for all levels of the organization.

Gary, Indiana

Championed environmental compliance, ISO 14001 program, agency relations and negotiations, public outreach, and stakeholder communications for the Gary Complex, including Gary Works facility, Midwest Plant, and East Chicago Tin operations. Leveraged extensive experience in cross-functional plant operations to improve operating procedures and dramatically reduce environmental reportable violations. Promoted the identification and resolution of organizational problems by driving a transformation from a pure reporting structure to an environment that fostered problem-solving and action plan development.Key Achievements: Slashed reportable state and federal environmental liabilities by over 95% in just two years. Repurposed large quantities of unused slag by marketing it as feedstock to the glass industry.o Partnered with a third party to process up to 100,000 tons of additional slag material.o Secured 50,000+ tons of additional slag sales in just the first year. Facilitated the renewal of the largest NPDES permit by coordinating all agency negotiations, public outreach, stakeholder communications, and plant readiness assessment and implementation.

Gary, Indiana

Directed day-to-day operation and maintenance for the three vessel BOP Shop and associated continuous caster with a total steel making budget of $20+ M/month. Captured substantial improvements in safety, hygiene and housekeeping, environmental, quality, cost and productivity across a team of 450+ employees and 40 managers. Drove unrivaled levels of productivity by focusing on waste elimination, employee morale, equipment reliability strategies, and process flow improvements. Implemented improved budget management through strict controls and operational consistency. Key Achievements: Boosted chemistry and internal slab quality by adopting ambitious work standards and enhancing equipment reliability. Established historically high safety and productivity records. Transformed operating practices and advanced equipment improvements to eliminate particulate matter permit deviation events. Catapulted both employee morale and business performance by realigning roles and responsibilities with organizational objectives. Introduced leadership "What can I do for you?" mantra to actively engage employees and drive enhanced performance as part of a greater cultural shift.

Gary, Indiana

Responsible for all business aspects of the coke-making facility at the largest integrated steel mill in North America, including coal preparation, coke production, chemical operations, and maintenance departments. Supervised 44 managers and 500 union employees, with annual sales of $227M. Raw Material purchases of $140M and an R&M budget of $46M. Interacted with customers and resolved commercial issues. Set the standard for leadership, organization development, productive union relations and employee involvement. Reduced injuries by 70%, environmental events by 91% and quality diversions by 76%.

Gary, Indiana

Responsible for the Coal Preparation department including coal handling, pre carbonization, and coke plant laboratory. Coal preparation includes the scheduling, receiving, unloading, inventory management, pulverization, blending, distribution and preheating of cal for coking. Formulated coal blends optimizing blend cost without compromising battery integrity and coke quality. Responsible for 14 managers and 90 union employees. Managed an annual operating and maintenance budget of $4.8M. Managed in excess of $140M of annual coal purchases. Asserted leadership over peers and assumed responsibility of coke plant in absence of plant manager. Performance metrics outperformed all others.

Areas of responsibility included conventional by-product recovery plant, coke oven gas desulfurization plant, and biological wastewater treatment plant. Assumed responsibility representing coke plant interest in efficient coke oven gas usage throughout complex. Supervised 15 managers and 88 union employees. Managed annual operating budget of over $10M. Developed and implemented PSM Program for light oil recovery process. Developed and maintained compliance program with federal NESHAPs for by-products recovery plants including Subparts L, V and FF. Implemented various programs, projects and practices that resulted in significant improvement of department's business metrics, which outperformed all others.

Gary, Indiana

Responsible for all planning and execution of operating and maintenance activities for by-products plant. Supervised 6 managers and 54 union employees. Maintained inventories and scheduled product shipments to maintain steady operation. Maintained 100% compliance with employee safety, quality and environmental training. Provided technical expertise in engineering and process improvements for existing/new facilities and equipment.

Clairton, Pennsylvania

Responsible for operation of by-products plant including flushing liquor areas, primary gas cooling, COG desulfurization and the biological wastewater treatment. Maintained lead role in installation and startup of new primary cooler system and NESHAP system upgrades. Developed Coke Oven/Volumetrics Program adopted by USS Research and modeled the Primary Cooler System to determine equilibrium temperature conditions.

Clairton, Pennsylvania

Certificate Of Achievement, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Chemical Engineering