Steve is a Senior Advisor with FTE Performance Consulting who brings 35 years of result-driven manufacturing experience in the automotive, industrial, and oil and gas markets. He is a proven leader in continuous improvement, with extensive senior-level experience in operations management, production management, manufacturing engineering, lean, and quality. 

Notable experience and accomplishments

• Developed and Implemented Daily Accountability Meetings in four castings and one machining facility resulting in a 16% improvement in schedule attainment, a 37% reduction in internal scrap, and an 18% increase in sales per team member over two years.
• For 8 years was a VP of a Global Tier 1/2 producer of precision die castings, machining and assemblies for the automotive markets.  $220MM with locations in KY, Hungary, Brazil, and China. Led the following departments: Casting, Machining, Engineering, Materials Management, Quality, Program Management, Maintenance, Safety and Environmental. 
• Guided an engineering team and facilitated a $75MM capital project to build two high-speed filter manufacturing lines, resulting in North American Best in Class production costs. The direct contribution included collaboration with senior management on the scope of the initial project, project planning, oversight of the execution, and monthly reporting on progress.
• Oversaw and directed the launch processes on 17 components for eight and nine-speed transmission programs in 2013 and 2014.  All launches were on time and under budget, including the addition of $30MM in new capital.
• Directed the activities of industrial, manufacturing, electrical, and controls engineering in a four-plant campus manufacturing filtration products for the automotive and heavy-duty vehicle markets.  The focus was on safety, uptime, quick changeover, and lean methodologies to eliminate waste in operations. Achievements recognized by the President and was asked to participate in future strategic planning sessions with the executive team.
• Used Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to optimize business processes, organizational structure, and component standardization in a Build to Order capital equipment manufacturer resulting in a 400% improvement in profits over three years.

Prior to consulting, Steve was Director of Manufacturing for McCoy Global, a capital equipment manufacturer for oil and gas.  His priority was inventory reduction and a robust safety program.  Before that, he was VP at Gibbs Die Casting, a tier-one supplier of castings, machining, and assemblies. In this role, Steve had P&L responsibility for a five-plant campus in Kentucky and dotted line responsibility for plants in Hungary, Korea, China, and Brazil.

Steve holds a Master’s of Science in Engineering Management and a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla. Steve is Six-Sigma certified by ASQ and in Lean Leadership by the University of Michigan.