Injection Molding Consultant Mike Eikenberry

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Plastic Injection Molding Expert Mike Eikenberry

Mike has over 38 years of technical expertise in tooling, production cost reduction, cycle time/process improvements, P&L management, motivational team building, and superior customer service. With his very strong tooling and molding background along with knowledge of most grades of resin from commodity through specialty grade resins, Mike is your expert for training, mentoring and consulting on injection molding.   He is a change agent successfully turning around injection molding facilities by developing teams capable of sustaining a profitable business. Technical skills upgrade training and application of Lean manufacturing principles, Cash flow management, Inventory controls and general good manufacturing practices lead to profitability.
His experience in Plant Management includes production resources, implementing cost containment and restructuring initiatives, meeting deadlines, and producing quality products according to customer demand.  He has successfully utilized Lean manufacturing practices, international standards, and other guidelines to ensure that the production process meets the needs of internal customers such as R&D teams, distribution and other business units, as well as those standards required by the customer.   His deep understanding of the R&D and manufacturing environments, industry best practices, manufacturing processes, and quality control management practices that ensure that schedules are met without sacrificing quality and company integrity.

• Demonstrated ability to meet manufacturing process requirements in terms of both product quality in accordance with customer/corporate specifications and product launch deadlines.
  
• Adept at reversing poor production performance in support of strategic business objectives.
• Demonstrated expertise in executing continuous improvements in process and productivity performance.
• Extensive automotive supply chain experience. Very familiar with QS 9000, PPAP, FMEA, continuous improvement initiatives etc.
• Well versed in
  
• Lean Manufacturing principles
• Team development
• Cash flow management
• Strict inventory controls
• Project management

Experience
Sept 2010 – Present
Global Molding Solutions, Inc., Managing Partner
Tampa / St Petersburg, Florida

• Started GMS to supply consultation and training to the industry. It became very obvious the USA was not, at the time, training nor promoting skilled trades. I saw this as a stumbling block in the future and so tried to do my part to fix it.
• Trained over 1000 technicians on proper molding techniques including but not limited to:
  • Scientific molding principles – Methodical approach to a data driven process
  • SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Dies) – A journey towards rapid part to part changeovers
  • Operational excellence – Time management, constraint theory, effective team leadership

July 2008 – Sept 2010
American Technical Molding (ATM), General Manager
Clearwater, Florida

• Developed a team with the objective of turning around an unprofitable custom molding facility.
• Successfully restructured the team who then through the application of Lean manufacturing principles and good business practices took the facility from net annual losses to 8% net margins in less than two years.
• Worked with the tooling side of the business to develop a Project Management process which included extensive use of MS Project. Instructed the team on proper meeting management, time management, problem resolution, root cause analysis and project budget management. Introduced a single piece flow philosophy and lean manufacturing as it applies to job shop environments

April 2007 - July 2008
Infiniti Plastic Technologies, Plant Manager
Paducah, Kentucky

• Recruited as Plant Manager to lead a budding young company into profitability in the Media packaging industry
• Established an ISO compliant quality system resulting in the highest quality record with the three largest DVD replication companies in the industry. (Sony, Technicolor and Cinram.)
• Lead the company to its most profitable year since its inception in 2004.
• Implemented a productivity program that took the company from approximately 60,000,000 units in 2006 to over 140,000,000 for 2007.
• Built and lead a team of technicians and managers to achieve the company’s goals for fiscal year 2007.
• Implemented tooling and process improvements leading to over $700,000 annual cost savings.

 
August 2005 - March 2007 
EPI, Engineering Manager, Plant Manager
St. Louis, Missouri

• Multi facility custom molder. Main customers: Briggs and Stratton, Emerson, Electrolux, LR Nelson
• Process improvements (improved several problem jobs via tooling design alterations, process improvements, material selection improvements etc.)
• Established rigorous training program to improve overall quality, trained process tech’s in modern molding techniques etc.
• Established procedures to assure proper mold set-up and removal to protect tooling and machines
• Oversight of all preliminary tool designs to assure consistent processing and production
• Promoted to Plant manager 2006
• Oversight of all manufacturing
• Customer relations
• P&L responsibility
• Associate development
• Reduced labor content from 18% to 14% without sacrificing quality
• Engineering management, oversee Plant maintenance, Tooling etc.
• Established and maintained a team oriented atmosphere conducive to efficient manufacturing on all levels.

 
April 1998 – August 2005 
ACM-SW, Plant Manager
El Paso, Texas

• Oversight for all manufacturing processes that supplied custom injection molding and component design assistance for customers throughout the US, Mexico and Asia including Delphi Automotive Systems, Lear Corp, Yazaki and Mabe.
• Responsible for all processes and personnel including training, daily operations, schedules, human resource management, cost containment, and ongoing process improvements.
• Successfully grew the business from 3 machines to 11, and achieved QS9000/ISO certification with 0 findings within the first 6 months of operation.

 
 
1996 - 1998
ACM, CIM Manager, Tool Engineer
Kokomo, Indiana

• Applied specialist technical expertise and industry knowledge toward managing the integrated manufacturing environment.
• Responsible for all aspects of the process including meeting with clients to determine need, design reviews, project tracking, resource allocation and management, sampling and optimizing product, and tooling design throughout the full project life cycle.
• Utilized performance metrics and intuitive technical knowledge, achieved a reduction in average production cycles by 15% and scrap reductions to 1%.
• Accepted a plant manager’s position in El Paso TX to start up and manage a new division for the same company.

 
 1994 - 1996
ATM, General Foreman / Assistant Plant Manager
Clearwater, Florida

• Recruited to reverse and restructure in response to poor overall performance.
• Successfully delivered the desired result by implementing a number of process improvements.
• Resourcefully reduced raw material scrap from 40% to 2% on a single project and overall by 11%.
• Developed an efficient process for Nypro and Ford, saving them $200,000 in new tooling.
• Proactively reduced cycle time by an average of 15%.
• Responsible for many new tool samples for sister company.
• Spearheaded, developed and cultivated a collaborative team environment to facilitate daily operations.

 
1981 – 1994

• General Foreman for Americraft Inc., Bradenton Florida: Designer of a signage tool and process to help set the standard for ADA compliant signage in the US
  
• Tool Maker MarKing Plastics Brooksville Florida.
  
• Production Supervisor/Toolroom supervisor for Oneida Plastics Group St. Petersburg Florida: Contributed to several thin wall molding solutions.
  
• Set-up / Process Tech/Toolmaker ACM Kokomo Indiana: Performed set-up and processing for custom molder after completion of Tooling apprenticeship for sister company.
  
• Toolmaker apprentice BMJ Mold and Eng. Kokomo Indiana: Learned to fabricate precision custom tooling for the injection molding industry.
  

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