SUMMARY
I AM a hands-on Ph.D. polymer R&D engineer & global technical leader with 19+ years of cross-industry experience in R&D, process engineering, product development & commercialization leading cross-functional teams of 5 to 15 members and completing over 50 projects in delivering innovative & differentiated solutions to drive growth, increase sales, improve margins, and reduce costs in plastic resin, additive & filler masterbatch, multilayer film, paperboard, food, and flexible packaging industries.
CAREER IMPACTS:
Annual $200K to $14MM new sales, $50K to $4MM margin increase, 12% to 38% cost reduction, 20% efficiency improvement, 87% particulate emission reduction, and 7% to 37% carbon footprint reduction in 20+ product lines ranging from $3MM to $150MM annual sales. Author of a book chapter on mixing and screw design in extrusion and more than 20 journal publications and conference presentations.
+++ I can help solve your problems and achieve the same or better results faster. +++
COMPETENCIES:
• Polymer Materials Science, Multilayer Film Coextrusion, Barrier Film, Coating, Lamination
• Project Management, Lean Six Sigma, DMAIC, DFLSS, Stage-Gate®, Statistical Analysis
• Cross-Functional & Multicultural Team Building, Diversity, Collaborative Leadership
• Customer Focused Problem Solving, Application Development, Technical Service
• Competitive Analysis, Value Management, Blue Ocean Strategy, Value Innovation
• Product Stewardship, Environmental, Health, Safety & Sustainability Leadership
SPECIALTIES:
• Polymer: LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, PP, Nylon 6, PET, EVOH, PVOH, PVC, TPO, PLA, TPS, Biopolymers
• Additive & Filler: antiblock, slip, antistat, colorant, flame retardant, fiberglass, mineral, nanoclay
• Process: film extrusion, foam extrusion, single/twin-screw extrusion, compounding, coextrusion, multilayer, microlayer, barrier film, cast film, blown film, extrusion coating, paperboard coating, adhesive-cohesive-kraft-foil-lamination
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
MEADWESTVACO, Richmond, VA 2014-present
Senior Principal Polymer Materials R&D Scientist and Project Leader at MWV Center for Packaging Innovation. Chief Polymer Technology Architect leading polymer materials & barrier extrusion coating R&D program and paperboard packaging product development in food service, food packaging, beverage and aseptic liquid packaging end markets.
• Initiate and direct the road map of a new Extrusion Coating & Lamination Technology Platform,
• Launch and manage a Supplier Technical & Commercial Exchange Forum as part of material sourcing and value chain management,
• Scout, identify and evaluate next-generation polymer materials, plastic resins, green chemistry, biopolymers, additives, films, extrusion, processing, packaging & converting technologies,
• Develop and commercialize barrier multi-layer co-extrusion & monolayer film extrusion coating materials & lamination technologies for sustainable paperboard-based packaging solutions based on consumer insight- and market-driven value.
SEALED AIR CORPORATION, Saddle Brook, NJ 1999-2013
Research Scientist/Innovation Project Manager
Led and managed 50+ new product development and improvement projects in collaboration with Business, Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain and external vendors & converters to develop and commercialize value-added, innovative solutions or to re-engineer & optimize existing products in a diverse portfolio of more than 12 product lines. Delivered top line revenue growth and bottom line EBITDA results using Stage-Gate® innovation process based on lean Six Sigma tools and DMAIC and DFSS methodologies, from concept generation & Voice of the Customer (VOC) feedback to laboratory-scale experiments & pilot plant scale-up development trials, from statistical analysis & validation testing to successful technology transfer, implementation, commercialization & market launch.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt project manager and product development leader accountable for high-visibility portfolio management & technology leadership to develop 5-year strategic plan, define project scope & success criteria, set project goals & timelines, design RACI project plan, prioritize activities & guide directions, conduct IP landscape & competitive analysis, propose budget & monitor spend, set milestones & deliverables, manage FMEA risk assessment matrix, align internal & external resources to meet deadlines & financial targets within budget, build effective collaborative cross-functional teams, establish regular communication with team members & stakeholders, prepare reports & present at Gate meetings and to the senior management team.
• In-house technical expert in polymers, resins, additives, films, barrier packaging, processing & converting in formulating LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, PP, Nylon, EVOH, PET, PLA, TPS, biopolymers with additives/fillers in monolayer, barrier & non-barrier, multilayer co-extruded cast film, blown film, foam, thermoforming, and barrier packaging. Secondary converting processes include paper, film, foam & foil lamination, paper/plastic-adhesive or cohesive coating, and packaging systems.
• Led global cross-functional, multi-location, multicultural teams to develop and commercialize next-generation void-fill packaging materials 3 months ahead of schedule at 27% lower cost, 37% reduced carbon footprint, increasing 5-year total new sales by $69.9MM and improving margin by $22.5MM.
• Developed and commercialized the industry’s first anti-static inflatable barrier cushioning material meeting military packaging specifications for electrostatic discharge, surface resistivity and creep barrier performance to increase 5-year total new sales by $3.0MM at $1.3MM total margin.
• Explored a new microlayering film co-extrusion technology and identified innovative multilayer barrier film structure to enable simultaneous down gauging and performance enhancement, representing 36% lower carbon footprint and resin cost savings of $16MM annually.
• Evaluated and developed PET/recycled PET barrier co-extruded multi-layer cast films for flexible packaging products, saving resin cost of $1.5MM annually and meeting quality specifications.
• Developed and reformulated multilayer blown film from HDPE to PP-based then laminated the PP film with multilayer co-extruded cast film-thermoformed air cellular into plastic cushion mailer products, achieving 38% lower cost, increasing 15% annual sales growth rate for 5 straight years, representing $15MM total 5-year sales increase and $3.75MM margin improvement.
• Developed and improved a diverse range of packaging materials based on adhesive and cohesive coated substrates for paperboard on automated packaging system. Reduced setting time and increased packaging speed by 15%. Assessed and implemented a new paper coating technology to allow for thin coating weight at 3 to 5 gsm, saving $3MM coating material cost.
A. SCHULMAN, INC. Orange, TX 1998-1999
Process & Product Development Engineer
Provided technical expertise in thermoplastic extrusion, resin compounding, application development and technical service to s...
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