Christopher Bixler

Led a 100+ person, high volume aluminum ornamental fence manufacturing company that produced over 300 miles of fence in 2021

• Authored and presented a 5-year plan to divisional group executives to build consensus and drive a shared vision of the future
• Reduced employee turnover by 50% through introduction of collaboration tools, cross-functional teams, employee reward events, employee growth opportunities, and clarity of role expectations
• Modernized shop floor with the introduction of $1MM in new automation projects to provide flexible production capacity and to combat employee shortages
• Added secondary sources for all primary materials to protect against material shortages while also increasing material availability by 15%.

Directed production operations, maintenance, and shipping of a 30 person NADCAP accredited metal treatment facility focused on bearing, medical, and aerospace manufacturers

• Performed Lean/Six Sigma process to select a continuous improvement project resulting in a 30% improvement (3-month payback) of furnace output through implementation of new furnace controls and scheduling techniques
• Overhauled material certification process by removing manual entry, saving office staff up to 10 hours per week
• Designed and introduced a custom, Microsoft Excel production scheduling tool to increase scheduling effectiveness by 10%, shorten lead time of deliveries, and focus team on key customers
• Identified, planned, persuaded, and ordered new furnace monitoring equipment to decrease carbon control variation by 10% and cut costs by 50%
• Spearheaded policy update focused on new hire onboard screening requirements to improve onboarding time by 2 days.

Managed operations of a 35-person metal processing facility serving a diverse clientele including defense (ITAR / EAR), oil and gas, and gear manufacturers

• Revamped training program, deployed new training classes, and taught a basic metallurgy class
• Strengthened small part sales by 10% by introducing improved processing techniques and scheduling procedures
• Developed new safety initiatives and revitalized safety committee; reduced reportable injuries by 50% YoY
• Drove redevelopment, implementation, and training of an ERP system update to refine system error by 25%
• Introduced Kanban systems in shipping and inspection to reduce shipping and inspection errors by 15%
• Implemented maintenance variance board reducing mean time to repair by 2.5 days
• Initiated root cause analysis teams to review and solve non-conforming material issues, decreasing overall non-conforming material by 5%.

Managed corporate engineering, quality, and information systems for an ISO 9001, ITAR/EAR, and NADCAP accredited, private equity owned metals heat treatment facility catering to a wide-ranging clientele

• Collaborated with C-level executives in strategic planning sessions and board meetings to meet yearly growth expectations of 15% YoY
• Executed large scale capital equipment projects totaling $2.5 million to increase top line sales by $4.5MM per year
• Defined and created a Business intelligence (BI) dashboard to provide executive management with daily metrics and KPI’s
• Directed project team on a successful condensed 8-month implementation of NADCAP aerospace quality accreditation
• Planned and executed $1.7 million, addition and renovation of Livonia, MI manufacturing facility while maintaining at least 50% production capacity
• Proposed, initiated, and led 2-year auditor-in-training education program in internal auditor procedures, professionalism, and business procedures for shop floor employees
• Implemented ISO 9001:2008 in Suzhou, China production facility on a short 2-month timeline
• Redesigned shipping and receiving department through DMAIC process and increased storage capacity by 75%.