Caleb Read

Under my tenure with Somafina we have grown from a $90M yearly revenue business to $180M yearly revenue. The following will show some of my duties and contributions to the company.

• Collaborate with site GMs of 2 main manufacturing sites across 9 buildings to ensure operations met EBITDA budgets and adhered to lender covenants.
• Implement meaningful KPIs that tie directly to company goals and review plant KPI's and Metrics are trending toward producing $180M yearly.
• Lead the company by collaborating with VPs on updating or simplifying processes and performing kaizen events where needed.
• Engage with C-suite management to evaluate and execute capital expenditures focused on minimizing operational expenses and improving manufacturing processes.
• Coordinated large-scale building projects and operational expansions to support growth initiatives. Including multiple other sites with blending, gusset packaging and warehouse capabilities.
• Help company growth by working with new customers and R&D to make sure labor quoting is accurate.

• Manage multiple manufacturing sites from a P/L level ensuring that operations meets or exceeds EBITDA budgets and stays within lender covenants.
• Planned and executed multiple large-scale building projects and operational expansions to support business growth. Including adding capacity for stickpack, blending, and gummy manufacturing.
• Work with middle management teams to apply lean principles and stay within budget for temp and full-time labor.
• Build a team of capable leaders that can plan for and produce product for $140M top line business.

I was key to the UST operations as a selling point as we went through acquisition with Somafina. During my tenure at UST I was involved in many roles and helped grow the company from ~$40M yearly revenue to $90M.

• Collaborated with Board and executives to align on and achieve long and short term financial objectives.
• Create and stay within approved usage of CapEx and other approved budgets for maintaining and operating 3 manufacturing sites and 5 warehouses with ~500K Sq. ft. total.
• Implement SOPs that ensure process symmetry between facilities across multiple states.
• Oversaw profit and loss across operational categories to maintain budgetary integrity.
• Developed a dynamic team of leaders that oversees and ensures health of each department measured by meaningful KPIs.
• Conducted tours for visitors and customers, effectively communicating quality systems and production capabilities.
• Maintain a safety and quality focused culture to help protect employees and keep products running at the highest quality.

• Managed a fluctuating $15-20MM inventory ensuring minimal unallocated and well timed purchases on hard to source materials.
• Worked closely with accounting and executives to stay within a strategic plan with buying limits and still provide good lead times to needing customers.
• Lead multiple teams to Plan and Buy materials for completion of orders during COVID-19 pandemic.

• Introduced new planning procedures and led a team that improved OTD from 45% to 94%.
• Established SIOP meetings to enhance departmental communication and teamwork.
• Managed planning for over 800 SKUs with complex BOMs incorporating more than 80 ingredients.

• Coordinated daily warehouse operations to optimize workflow and enhance productivity.
• Improved Inventory accuracy from 60% range to 99% by implementing new receiving, picking, and cycle count procedures.
• Monitored and achieved daily KPIs, contributing to elimination of production downtime.

• Executed special installations for commercial and residential projects, utilizing welding expertise while managing time on-site.
• Reduced call-backs by 30% by ensuring all work met building specifications and analyzing mechanical malfunctions for residential customers.
• Installed, maintained, and serviced heating, cooling, and ventilation equipment in residential and commercial settings.

• Scheduled 20 employees to maintain optimal restaurant coverage during all hours.
• Developed onboarding and continuous improvement program to enhance employee training and retention.
• Reduced kitchen costs by 20% through effective vendor sourcing and relationship management.

• Conducted inventory for multiple warehouses
• Led counting team of 3 to consistently exceed location counting quotas.

• Completed custom paper kiting combinations on-time, ensuring adherence to customer specifications.
• Implemented process improvements that enhanced production efficiency and reduced waste.