JUAN ALBERTO CRUZ, B.S. Electrical Engineering, MBA

Operations and Supply Chain Management Consulting - Launch Management - Lean Manufacturing - EBITDA and Cashflow improvement - Continuous Improvement - Footprint Expansion & Consolidation - Throughput and Quality Improvement

I led a skilled team, defining the industrial footprint, directing real estate projects, and enhancing multi-million investments through equipment capacity analysis to align with the five-year strategic plan. Recovery from supply chain disruptions at an $82M construction facility during 2022; ensured on-time delivery for OEM launch.

I assessed all capital expenditures at a North American Divisional level and achieved a substantial reduction in 2021-2022 Capex investments while maintaining activity levels, and I also provided training and mentorship for capital investment approval presentations.

I led multidisciplinary groups to achieve strategic projects focusing on manufacturing footprint and performance improvement. This included: - Orchestrating the relocation from the US to Mexico of the Harley Davidson exhaust production lines. - Consolidating two Southeast Michigan facilities, and plant simplification in Midwest Indiana with a dramatic impact in savings and surface utilization. - Led launch activities for new programs in five North American plants, ensuring budget compliance for launch costs and monitoring capacity planning for equipment and surface to meet customer expectations.

I oversaw a 500-employee plant with more than 100M annual turnover. - Led a comprehensive cost-saving plant turnaround initiative, reducing manufacturing costs from 12% to 7.7% - Effective Kaizen application to obtain a 21% reduction in direct labor cost: - Achieved a sustainable cash flow improvement of over $8M per year. - Applied continuous improvement tools including Kanban, Value Stream Mapping, Employee empowerment, and Management Control. - Transformed the organization to be recognized as the best-performing plant at the Division level.