KENNETH W. DAWSON | Chief Financial Officer
McCormick Dawson CPG, Ltd

W 6140 Long Ct.
Appleton, WI 54914
920-731-2627
kwd_01@hotmail.com

Career Summary:

Manufacturing Professional with MBA degree, versatile leadership experiences blending Production and Materials responsibilities. Background features advanced strategies in Supplier selection to include international supply agreements, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Supply Chain Management with LTA plans, Demand Flow, Kanban, ISO and QS environments. Accomplishments demonstrate a diverse business acumen and strengths in: strategic planning; cost reduction initiatives; goal setting/achievement; quantitative and budgeting skills; and maximizing teams through training, mentoring and listening skills. Personally flexible for success in both large and closely held environments.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

June 2006 to Present: GENERAL ELECTRIC OIL & GAS GROUP
Oshkosh, WI

• Sourcing leader for the High Speed Recip. business unit. $75MM in sales. Produces oil and gas pumping equipment for all major oil companies world wide. Purchasing responsibilities cover approx. $50MM in castings, machined components, valves, engine parts and hardware components. Scope of position covers negotiating agreements of supply, cost reduction activities, supervising all procurement activities and associated tooling requirements. Achievements have covered streamlining the supply base, two international LTA’s, increasing on time delivery from 60% to 90%. Personally Achieved GE Green Belt status.

July 2001 to May 2006: HB PERFORMANCE SYSTEMS, INC.
Mequon, Wisconsin.

• $120 million tier 1 manufacturer of brake systems for Harley Davidson motorcycles, Polaris snowmobiles, Arctic Cat ATVs, John Deere lawn and garden equipment, and other off road farm and construction equipment. As Director of Procurement, was responsible for sourcing/selecting suppliers for $46 million in castings, friction material, plastic, rubber, and steel buys annually. Coordinated $1.2 million in annual tooling contracts with multiple suppliers.
  
  
• Handled international supplier sourcing for both castings and brake pad assemblies as well as other brake components. Negotiated long-term agreements, which included built-in annual cost reductions for top 5 suppliers and annual aluminum and steel contracts. Consolidated supplier base by developing tier 2 suppliers to existing casting suppliers. Developed Supply chain Kanban systems to streamline product flow, saving $250K annually. As part of a QS environment, handled all new part/supplier PPAP and ISIR documentation through approvals. Overall responsibility for Supplier corrective action and supplier quality development programs.

1999 to 2001: GKN SINTER METALS, INC.
Wisconsin Division – Germantown, Wisconsin

• $96 million manufacturer of powder metal products for Tier 1 automotive, lawn/garden, power tool and diverse commercial markets. Formerly known as Zenith Sintered Products, Inc.
  
  Regional Materials Manager/Lean Manufacturing Project
  
  
• Dual responsibilities for: production planning and materials procurement/management for 5 facilities with 24/7 operations. Given additional shared role in the creation and implementation of Lean Manufacturing strategies and initiatives for the Wisconsin Operations.
  
  
• Materials Responsibilities for a 500 employee Division, encompassed acquiring a diverse range of raw goods, supplies, parts, tools, products and services supporting powder metal/machining facilities. Duties included: sourcing/selecting vendors; negotiating volume supply agreements; part/vendor consolidation; managing and mentoring an 11 person staff; continuous improvement of operating and business processes.
  
  
• Reduced warehouse and transportation costs $135K by developing plant-based strategies. Restructured planning functions designing a decentralized platform for faster plant response. Increased on-time delivery to 95% at a machining support facility vs. a historic 60% rate. Instituted demand flow pull systems and part-by-part strategic analysis planning.
  
  
• Led a company-wide Supply Chain Management Team covering $120 million in raw material across 17 plants. Coordinated use trends, improved on-time delivery to 90%, eliminated 2 vendors and reduced costs, re-vamped ordering system.
  
  
• Lean Manufacturing Responsibilities featured facilitating special projects in scrap, downtime and setup time reduction while implementing Six Sigma methodologies. Also developed training/materials incorporating Toyota production techniques in Kaizen events, 5S, Demand Flow, and Kanban systems.
  
  
• Conducted detailed process flow analysis and part rationalization. Developed Kanban lots aligning processes and finished goods inventory for high volume operations.
  
  
• Raised productivity 10% by implementing a short interval, hourly control plan and by reducing setup time by 50% utilizing scripted and very detailed SMED procedures.
  
  
• Saved $400K annually by reducing scrap through facilitating product line teams and training using problem-solving tools.

1996 to 1999: WATRY INDUSTRIES, INC.
Sheboygan, Wisconsin

• $21 million permanent mold aluminum foundry, custom machining operations, and powder coat line.
  
  
• Production Manager, Managed all production operations, set-up personnel and continuous improvement strategies incorporating 15 melting furnaces and 9 CNC machining centers.
  
  
• Increased inventory turns from 7 to 10 in 12 months by a control program utilizing run excesses.
  
  
• Expanded finishing area/supervision to 3 shifts, eliminating WIP backlog.
  
  
• Wrote procedures and assisted implementation for winning QS 9000 certification.
  

1993 to 1996: RACINE INDUSTRIES, INC.
Racine, Wisconsin

• $13 million manufacturer of commercial and residential floor scrubbing equipment.
  
  
• Production Manager, - Directed a 2-shift facility with 60 production employees performing assembly, CNC/manual machining, stamping, fabrication and plastic processes. Drove employee ownership/training initiatives.
  
  
• Solved workload/overtime imbalances through cross training.
  
  
• Eliminated off-line quality inspections decreasing manpower requirements.

1981 to 1993: COOPER INDUSTRIES, INC.
South Milwaukee, Wisconsin

• A leader in high voltage apparatus for electric utilities. Local operations were at $110 million.
  
  
• Manager of Production Planning and Distribution – 1988 to 1993
  
  
• Production Supervisor-Custom Assembly – 1985-1988
  
  
• Production Supervisor- Single Phase Assembly – 1983-1985
  
  
• Process/ position description coordinator. - 1981-1983
  
  
• Responsible for master production scheduling activities for a 500-employee facility, manufacturing 100 final products with a 30,000-service part base. Diverse contributions to obtaining first pass, ISO 9000 certification. Wrote standards and trained/served as an internal auditor.
  
  
• Generated $1 million in revenue through driving a 25% liquidation of the finished goods inventory, while maintaining customer service levels.
  
  
• Teamed in the seamless relocation/receipt of a $10 million product line.
  

1977-1981: Regal Beloit Corp.
HQ Beloit, Wisconsin.

• Manufactured gear reduction products. Full line of custom machining.
  
  
• Entry level in process / cost accounting. Given additional duties to develop process and position descriptions.
  

EDUCATION:

MBA degree 2004. Regis University
BS, Business Administration/Labor Management – University of Wisconsin – Parkside 1979
Larry Halt Advanced Leadership Management 2000
European Foundation for Quality Management Facilitation 2001
Crosby Quality System 1985
APICS coursework
MRP Training Mentor
ISO Internal Auditor
General Electric Green Belt

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