STEPHEN W.

KILLAM
stephenkillam@att.net
Henderson, NV 89011

702-755-5694
www.linkedin.com/in/StephenKillam

Highly skilled professional with proven experience building cohesive teams from diverse groups, eliminating
waste through lean manufacturing processes and leading cultural change. Invaluable experience leading two
successful plant start ups (H-E-B and TH Foods) and one plant turn-around (Rich Products).
PROFESSIONAL STRENGTHS
Operations Management
Quality Management
Team Building

Process Improvement
Cost Control
Training

People Development
Project Management
Innovation

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
TH Foods Inc., Henderson, NV
2011 present
Plant Manager Dec 2011present
The Henderson Plant began production in July 2012, added a second production line in August 2013, and
a third production line in September 2014. Plant runs 6 days a week to produce 25 MMLBS of multigrain
crackers a year, shipped to retailers throughout the US and Canada.
Ten Direct Reports: Maintenance, Quality, Accounting, HR Managers plus 6 Production Supervisors
Total Staff: 87 Full Time hourly employees plus 36 temporary employees
Rich Products Corporation, Niles, IL
2006 2011
Plant Manager May 2006Dec 2011
The Niles Plant runs 7 days a week, 50 weeks a year and produces 90 MMLBS of non-dairy toppings and
icings (oil in water emulsions) shipped to warehouses in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Israel. Primary
customers are Quick Service Restaurants and In Store Bakeries.
Seven Direct Reports: Production Manager, Plant Engineer, Continuous Improvement Manager, Quality
Assurance Manager, Controller, HR Generalist, Administrative Assistant Total Staff includes 12
Supervisors, 82 Full Time hourly employees and 24 temporary employees
This turn-around assignment resulted in a transitional, positive culture and improvement of all metrics.
The biggest improvements were Safety (TRIR), Schedule Attainment, Efficiency, and Yield.
HEB, Manufacturing Division, San Antonio, TX
Dairy Plant Technology Leader Feb 2006May 2006

1999 2006

Snack Food Plant Manager Dec 1999Feb 2006

The Snack Food Plant runs 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year and produces 15MMLBS of potato chips and
tortilla chips shipped to H-E-B warehouses and 350 grocery stores across Texas and Mexico.
Five Direct Reports: Production, Maintenance, Quality Assurance Mangers plus Inventory Clerk and
Administrative Assistant Total Staff includes 3 Supervisors and 71 Full Time hourly employees
Snack Food Plant Technology Leader Jan 1999Dec 1999
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Frito-Lay, Manufacturing Division, San Antonio, TX

1987 1999
Supervisor / Product Manager / Senior Resource Sept 1987Jan 1999
The San Antonio Plant ran 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year and produced 45MMLBS of core brand salty
snacks shipped to FL distribution centers across Texas. I started as a co-op student, was promoted to line
supervisor, was promoted to Shift Manager, and led the Potato Chip Department as Product Manager.
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Project Management, Team Building, Training
On April 1, 2012 the TH Foods Henderson Plant was an empty, 150,000 SF building. On July 1a three
shift operation was up and running. I used my hiring and training skills to select an Operations Team and
ensure each Supervisor and Hourly Employee developed technical competence.
The resultthe plant made profit on schedule in November. The successful start up was followed by on
time delivery of the plants second and third production lines in 2013 and 2014.
Process Improvement, Cost Control, Training
In 2013, TH Foods bag-in-box packaging department had 10% waste and 20% downtime. There were
several contributing factors and the most significant were operator training and process over-adjustment.
I instituted a program improving training standards and establishing a rigorous discipline, Centerlining, to
ensure that discrepancies from validated machine set points were analyzed for root cause and corrected.
The resultefficiency improved from 80% to 86% and yield improved from 90% to 95%.
Operations Management, Process Improvement, People Development
In 2007, Rich Products had a poor safety culture and unacceptable safety metrics (7.1 TRIR and $305K in
Workers Compensation charges). Over the course of the next 3 years I changed the plant culture and
improved safety by leading a series of projects including;
Executing effective safety training courses
Increasing participation in safety inspections, hazard identification, and problem solving
Instituting Behavior Based Safety expectations
The resultby 2010 the TRIR was lowered to 2.3, Workers Comp charges were reduced to $90K, and
the plant achieved one million man hours worked without a Lost Time Injury.
Project Management, Team Building, Cost Control
In 2007 Rich Products had unacceptable customer service, efficiency, and yield. The biggest opportunity
for improvement was the bagged dessert topping/icing department. I led a series of projects to improve
reliability including;
Collaborating with corporate planners to establish more efficient schedules for the plant
Negotiating with Purchasing and suppliers to improve the quality of packaging materials
Establishing a High Performance Team to engage employees in solving problems
The resultsSchedule Attainment improved from 77% in 2007 to 80% in 2008 and 90% in 2011.
Line Efficiency improved from 70% in 2007 to 76% in 2008 and 85% in 2011.
Yield improved from 84% in 2007 to 88% in 2008 and 93% in 2011.
EDUCATION & SKILLS
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas -- Bachelor of Science Degree, Geophysics, May 1985
Macro Value Stream Mapping, Quality Assurance, HACCP, SQF Quality Audit, BRC Standard, SPC,
Root Cause Analysis, Five S Implementation, Behavior Based Safety, Production Scheduling

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