THOMAS ZAGER

519 South Market Street, Shakopee, Minnesota 55379

952.496.3213 (Home) ~ 925.217.6689 (Cell)
ctzager@yahoo.com

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
Accomplished and highly motivated professional with experience in manufacturing,
operations, and project management. Consistently recognized for optimizing staf
f performance and achieving established goals. Demonstrated proven expertise in
identifying opportunities for process improvements and implementing strategies t
o generate bottom-line results. Skilled at coordinating efforts to execute plan
s with focus on enhancing overall efficiency and productivity.

CORE COMPETENCIES
- Problem Solving and Troubleshooting Skills
- Profit and Loss Administration
- Budget Administration and Compliance
- Program and Project Management
- New Business Development
- First-Rate Customer Service
- Strategic and Long-term Planning
- Lean Manufacturing / Six Sigma

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
PROCESS IMPROVEMENT AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
- Provided strategic leadership in directing operations while ensuring the
overall effectiveness of the Quality Department
- Assumed full responsibility in maintaining ISO 9001:2000 Quality System,
tracking budgetary items, and managing customer concerns
- Demonstrated exceptional performance in the deployment of continuous imp
rovement activities which facilitated 20% improvement and $90 thousand savings i
n process cycle time reduction; 50% improvement and $50 thousand savings in prod
uction materials; as well as $240 thousand savings in raw material recovery imp
rovements
- Supervised the implementation of improvements on production floor which
significantly increased FTT by 15% and uptime by 10% through the peripheral equi
pment rebuild program
- Led the plant implementation of the Dupont Safety program and coordinate
d the development and implementation of training courses to increase employee aw
areness and ownership
OPERATIONS AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
- Played a pivotal role in the administration of Six Sigma Green Belt proj
ect, which reduced overall scrap by $144 thousand annually while improving produ
ct work flow from 78% to 88%
- Coordinated all aspects of production activities for Aluminum Die Cast D
epartment generating annual sales of $29 million
- Rendered good prioritization and leadership skills in directing daily ac
tivities throughout the department ensuring efficient utilization of resources a
nd delivery of peak performance
- Initiated and executed Lean Manufacturing principles and standards acros
s primary and secondary operations
LEADERSHIP AND TEAM BUILDING
- Led, motivated, and mentored 12 direct reports, including quality engine
ers as well as production floor inspectors
- Coordinated planning and execution of training to meet continuous improv
ement needs associated to the quality of products on the production floor
- Spearheaded and directed seven direct reports with 110 shop floor employ
ees
- Worked collaboratively with engineering professionals in pre-launch acti
vities for new customers
- Trained, developed, and oversaw 33 employees in charge of completing mul
tiple projects
- Conducted evaluations to assess training needs and respond to employee p
erformance
COMMUNICATION AND CUSTOMER SERVICE
- Managed customer-related concerns and implemented cost-efficient solutio
ns to overcome problems
- Worked closely with senior management in the successful implementation o
f manufacturing solutions to achieve goals, objectives, and budgetary items
- Interfaced and directly communicated with customers to negotiate quality
related items
- Established and cultivated productive customer partnerships to generate
leads and ensure utmost satisfaction

CAREER PATH
Intermet Minneapolis, New Hope, MN
QUALITY MANAGER 2006-2009
OPERATIONS MANAGER 2002-2006
QUALITY ENGINEER 1999-2002
SHIFT SUPERVISOR 1995-1999
Mercury Marine, Fond du lac, WI
AREA II SUPERVISOR 1993-1995

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

ONE-YEAR AUTOMATION PACKAGING COURSE
Hennepin Technical Center, Eden Prairie, MN
Lean Flow Manufacturing Certificate | Supervision Courses 1 and 2 Employer Assoc
iation Certificate
Dupont Safety Program (S.T.O.P.) Certificate | Lean Six Sigma Certificate In-Hou
se Training
SPC Classes | Basic Computer Courses | Quality Education System (QES) Training |
Basic Blueprint Reading
QS9000 Quality System Training | Time Management Training | Dale Carnegie Leader
ship Training