Thomas Sparks

184 Sonata Drive, Lewisville, NC 27023 Phone: 336.946.1068 sparkietomspark

s@gmail.com http://www.empowermentrealized.com, http://www.linkedin.com/in/spark
stom
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Executive Management
Team Player/Interpersonal Impact Leader, Coach, Mentor Business Manager
Results Achiever
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Accomplished manufacturing business manager with over 15 years as Plant/General
Manager. P&L oversight. Direct reports include HR, Maintenance, Engineering, Pur
chasing, QA, Operations, Safety, Warehouse and up to 380 hourly employees. Uniqu
e leadership style provides superior results in both union and non-union environ
ments. Track record of improving the bottom line while spearheading operational
improvements to drive productivity and reduce costs. Skilled in leading organiza
tions to better quality, quicker service & lower waste. Draws effectively on the
team’s resources to solve problems and accomplish goals. Takes personal responsibil
ity for achieving customer (internal or external) satisfaction. Proven ability t
o build, integrate, start up & operate new processes & products.
Core Competencies
Business Unit Management Leadership Development
Organizational Change
Team-Building Empowerment & Accountability Manufacturing Technical
Knowledge & Skills
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Professional Experience
Plant Manager 1/2009 – 6/2010 Nonni's Food Company, Inc. non union 300
EEs
Management Direct Reports: 8 400,000 sq ft Bakery producing over 100MM lbs/
yr
 Converted 400,000 sq. ft. textile plant into an industrial bakery producing salt
ed snacks from baked bread items, pita chips, Melba snacks, and filled dessert p
astries.
 Responsible for overall plant operating budget in excess of $10 million. P& L ov
ersight.
 Achieved a 98 score on first Siliker Audit.
 Directed sourcing, purchasing, shipping, installing, testing, and managing start
up and ongoing operation of 5 state-of-the-art high-speed production lines.
 Drove Lean and 6-sigma methodologies for effective production manufacturing with
30% higher pounds per man-hour, “best quality in 20 years†with lower standard cost.
 Staffed, trained, and developed high performance teams which improved efficiency
by 20%.
 Led human capital directives that improved safety, decreased turnover to 3% agai
nst an industry average of over 17%, and implemented capital improvements in exc
ess of $50MM.
Consultant and Writer 1/2004 – 12/2009
The 3 Rules of Leadership
 Developed, wrote training guides, educated, consulted small business and non-pro
fit organizations in the use of The Three Rules of Leadership.
Plant Manager/General Manager 1994 – 2004 George Weston LLC
Maplehurst Bakeries Division 1998 – 2004 Plush Pippin Pies non union
 250 EEs
Management Direct Reports: 9 150k sq ft Industrial Bakery producing 35M
M lbs/yr
 Managed all aspects of Plush Pippin, a baked and frozen pie company.
 Led management team of HR, QA, Maintenance, Finance, Warehouse, Purchasing, and
Warehouse.
 Negotiated union contract, 1 yr later the mechanics decertified their union.
 Instituted 3-Rules Leadership achieving turn-around profitability, 4.5 out of 5
in employee satisfaction, improved efficiency to 96% Theoretical Maximum, increa
sed line speeds by over 50% from 93 ppm to 120 ppm.
Thomas Sparks Phone: 33
6.946.1068
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 Directed empowerment strategies realizing <3% turnover, 950 days without a LTA,
< 1% absenteeism, 75% waste reduction, and a 30% decrease in product variance.
 Actualized strategies from P&L, capital, procurement, and operations indices res
ulting in $3MM savings in direct labor, overhead, and waste.
 Utilized 6-sigma methodologies to educate, measure, develop SOPs, implement chan
ge, analyze, track, and motivate team to achieve superior world class performanc
e in Integrated Process Management & MRPII Class A.
Interbake Foods Division 1994 – 1998 Cookie & cracker union bakery 380 E
Es
Management Direct Reports: 6 Industrial Bakery producing over 100MM lbs
/yr
 Invoked empowerment strategies realizing <3% Turnover, < 1% Absenteeism, 20% Was
te Reduction, 20% cost savings in Direct and Overhead, 68% decrease in customer
complaints.
 Achieved superior results in safety (LTA dropped to zero from 18), quality (over
weight product was slashed 30% while rejected product was reduced 75%), and prod
uctivity (efficiency improved 20% and downtime decreased 9%) through participat
ory leadership, leadership development, team building of high performing self-di
rected teams, empowerment, accountability, and trust.
 Achieved Superior AIB ratings, an improvement of over 70 points with reduced san
itation crewing.
 Applied Kepner-Tragoe problem solving to identify defects, solve for them, brain
storm best solutions, and implement those solutions. Solved a recurrent 10 year
mixing oil delivery problem.
 Negotiated union contracts and presided over plant shutdown. Recordable accident
s decreased during shutdown.
Process Engineer, Shift Manager 1991 – 1994 Continental Mills non union
300 EEs
Frozen Pancakes & Waffles, Dry Mixes, Boxed Mixes Direct Reports 70 Hourl
y
 Designed, sourced equipment, installed, integrated systems, and started up a com
plete new waffle line with state-of-the-art automated mixing, spiral freezing, s
mart belt stacking, and ergonomic packaging.
 Built Research & Development test kitchen and quality facility.
 Managed the design, build, installation, start up and operation of a complete pl
ant palletizing system in a refrigerated dock.
 Managed all aspects of 2nd Shift operations achieving a 30% improvement in effic
iencies, lowering the absenteeism and injuries,
Production Management, Quality Assurance, Technical Director 1984 – 1991 Frito-Lay
union
 Supervised several different process lines including corn snack lines and potato
 chips.
 Managed Quality Control on 2nd shift.
 Applied Technical Trainer for Potato Chips.
 Led the West Zone potato chip audit team performing ATT audits and material bala
nces. Resulted in savings of over $700k annually.
Nuclear Engineering, Nuclear Physics, Radiological Controls 1978 – 1982
Defense Department of Navy
EDUCATION
Brigham Young University - Bachelor of Science Business Management Finance
Provo, UT GPA: 3.08
1984