Mark Leber has nearly 20 years of experience in plastics manufacturing as a plant and operations manager. He has successfully overseen plastic plants with annual sales between $25-50 million and 75-300 employees. At his current role at D&W Fine Pack, he has led safety and quality initiatives that have reduced injuries, rejections, and labor costs. Previously, he held plant management roles at Graham Packaging and quality management roles at other packaging companies.
1. Mark Leber
11337 South Churchill Drive
Plainfield, IL 60585
Phone # 815-439-8893, cell # 847-848-8922 or e-mail: leber5@comcast.net
Plantand OperationsManagerwithalmost20 yearsof experience inplasticsmanufacturing,ie injection
molding,blowmolding,thermoformingandsheetextrusion.
Successful oversightasPlantManagerfor plasticplantswith25 to 50 millioninannual saleswith75to almost
300 employees.
Implementedandmaintainedefficiencyimprovementswhile leadingprojectsandtoreduce directlabor by32%
while managingtocontrol fixedandvariableoverheadaccountstothe budget
EMPLOYMENT
D&W Fine Pack, Elk Grove Village, IL and Fort Wayne, Indiana (November 2012 toPresent) –
D&W Fine Pack isa companywith10 plantsacross the US and annual Salesof $400 million. D&Wproduces
ridgedpackaging(ie containers,plates,bowls,trays,cutlery,strawsandmeal kits) forservicingrestaurantsand
grocerymarkets.
Plant Manager, Elk Grove Village, IL (November 2012 to October 2013 and September 2015 - CURRENT)
Lead plantsafetyinitiatives. Assistinimplementationof behaviorbasedsafetyprograms(completionof
hazard assessments),re-formatsafetymeetingtoincorporate TierIandTier IIformat to increase employee
ownership/accountability
Lead plantqualityinitiatives. Internal roll rejectionsreducedby26% for2013 overpreviousyear.
DevelopandsubmitbudgetforPlantwith8productionlines(5thermoformingmachinesand3 Extrusion
lines),annual salesof $40 millionandproducing~45 millionpoundsof plasticsheetforuse oninternal
thermoformingmachinesaswell asotherinternal facilities. Increasedproductionby15% overpreviousyear
to assistinimplementationof programto helpsupplyotherinternal facilitiesextrudedsheettoreduce cost
of purchasingfromoutside vendoraswell asutilizingscrapandadjustingformulastomaximize
consumptionwithoutimpactingquality.
Complete weekly,monthlyandannual review of operatingstatementssothatall plantcosts are within
budgetarystandards.
Developandmaintainsoundrelationswithmajorcustomers –Walmart,Dole,GardenFresh,Ralcorp,Costco
and GFS
Work with engineeringand corporate resourceswithinplantmanufacturingfacilitytoensure Engineering
directives,ie developmentandsamplingandprocessrequestwere completedtimelywhile maintaining
plantmanufacturingcosts.
Ensures continuousimprovementplansare developedandimplemented suchasstreamline thermoforming
case packing,reducinglabor18%and packagingimprovements,ie packingarealayoutmodificationsthat
resultedinadditional 13%reductioninlaborhours. These improvementsresultedin$335 annual reduction
inlabor costs.
Manages productionplanningprocesstoensure customerrequirementsare satisfied.
Operations Manager, Fort Wayne, IN (October 2013 to September 2015)
In Septemberof 2013, D&W management offeredme the opportunitytoworkinthe Fort Wayne,IN plant. This
isthe largestplantinthe company,approximately95millioninannual Saleswith28Thermoformers,7Extrusion
lines,5flake reprocessingmachinesand2Compoundersforproducingtalc filledpolypropylene.
2. Lead plantsafetyinitiatives. Assistinimplementationof behaviorbasedsafetyprograms(completionof
hazard assessments),re-formatSafetymeetingtoincorporate TierIandTier IIformat to increase employee
ownership/ accountability
Lead plantqualityinitiatives. Establishingnew electronicdatabasesformeasuring sheetquality
characteristicsanddata collection
As part of the plantturn-aroundefforts,documented proceduresanddeveloped“playbooks”for
Supervisors, ExtrusionOperator,ReproOperatorandMaterial Handlers.
Assistandmanagedoverall ExtrusionandReprocessingImprovementAction Plan,providingupdates,
assigningresources,auditinglinesandverifyingcompletionof identifiedkeyactivities
Assisted inreplacementandupgradesof meltpumps(6) as well as extrusionscrewsandbarrels(4),
updatedchill roll temperature control unitandskewingarmdevice neededforproducingthingauge
(>45mm) sheet.
KeyPlantAchievementsfor2014 that I was assignedtomonitor, follow upand verify completion:
o Safety – Lost time andRecordable Reduction25%
o Roll Rejections –ExtrusionQA Reduction42.5%
o Headcount- Extrusion Reduction16.5%
o Headcount- Repro Reduction33.0%
o ExtrusionGood – Lbs. Increase 5%
o ExtrusionRunHours Reduction11.0%
o Flake andReproInv. Reduction50.0%
Work withEngineeringandCorporate resourceswithinplantmanufacturingfacilitytoensure Engineering
directives,ie developmentandsamplingandprocessrequestwere completedtimelywhile maintaining
plantmanufacturingcosts.
Manage extrusion productionplanningprocesstoensure thermoformingrequirementsare satisfied and
engineeringrequestsare completedtimelyforfuture businessgrowth.
Graham Packaging / Liquid Container, West Chicago, IL (2001 to October 2012)
Plant Manager, November 2006 to October 2012)
Lead plantsafetyinitiatives. UtilizedSafetyJackpotandDuPontSTOPtrainingprograms.
Lead plantqualityinitiatives. FirstWestChicagoplantforLiquidContainertobe certifiedGMA-SAFEin
October2008
Complete weekly,monthlyandannual review of operatingstatementssothatall plantcosts are within
budgetarystandards.
DevelopandsubmitbudgetforPlantwith7productionlines(HDPEandPET),producing~140 million
containersannuallywith72employee’srunningproduction24/7.
Develop andmaintainsoundrelationswith majorcustomers -- BayValleyFoods,ChurchandDwight,
Unilever,Kraft,Clorox andNestle.
Ensurescontinuousimprovementplansare developedandimplemented suchas roboticpackaging,
palletizerupgrades,andPLCupgrades.
Manages production planningprocesstoensure customerrequirementsare satisfied.
Production Manager / Process Manager, November2003 to 2006
Oversaw all productiondepartmentpersonnel/HRissuesincluding:hiring,reviews,recognition, disciplinary,
attendance,andgrievances.
Executedaproductionschedule tosatisfycustomerswithrespecttotime,cost,andquality.
Assignedall supervisoryprojectworksuchassafetyprograms,housekeeping,regrind,CQI,etc.
Coordinatedwiththe Maintenance Manageronthe preventative maintenance program.
Managed temporarystaffinglevelstoachieve plantobjectivesforlaborefficiency.
Ensuredthat the necessaryplantStandardOperatingProcedures(SOP’s) weredevelopedand implemented.
3. Quality Manager, November 2001 to 2003
Definednecessaryinspection,critical processpointsandrequiredmethodologies tomeetcustomer
specifications.
Monitoredcustomercomplainttype andfrequencytoverifyeffectivenessof corrective actions.
Defined, implementedandmonitoredthe systemsrequiredtoensure regulatorycompliance.
WorkedwithEngineering,Sales,andCustomerService incompleting new producttrials.
Developedoperatingproceduresandcontrolsforall automaticinspectiondevices.
Defined,developed,trained,implementedandmonitoredprocesscontrol points.
HeldmonthlyQualityManagementReview meetingsto communicate customerissuesandoverall plant
qualityperformance tomanagement,staff,andplantpersonnel.
CONTINENTAL PLASTIC CONTAINERS, WestChicago, IL
Quality Manager, October 1997 to November 2001
PLASTIPAKPACKAGING, Alsip, IL
Quality Manager, July 1993 to October 1997
EDUCATION
Illinois State University Normal, IL 1989 to 1993
Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Management (Operations focus)
Minor in Statistics
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE / SKILLS
Led Project / Line Installations for 2HDPE lines and 1 PET line since 2005
Led Labor Reductions totaling 32% of work force since 2006.
Worked and cost justified various labor projects and facility upgrades / improvements, totaling
$2 million plus since Y2006, all with paybacks of less than 1.5 years, with majority less than 1.0
years.
Proficient in Word, Excel, Outlook, MS Office
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Member of Eagle Point Elementary School PTO for 4 years (last 2 as President) in Plainfield, IL
Member of Heritage Grove Middle School PTO in Plainfield for three (3) years (last 2 as
President)
o Received 2010 Volunteer of the Year / Service Award for Heritage Grove Middle School
Coach Plainfield Park District Soccer and Head Coach as well as Assistant Coach for baseball
during the Spring and Fall for 7 years.
REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST