David Kress

About David Kress

Education : B.S. Mech. Engineering 1993. MBA May 2010 Started as an engineering co-op at Sundstrand Aerospace. Worked in 3 different areas which helped build my foundation. After graduation, I started my career at American Roller Co. which is a privately held manufacturing company. I was awarded my first opportunity to manage people after 13 months which created my passion for working in operations. After 7 years, I pursued a new career challenge with SC Johnson Professional (which became JohnsonDIversey/Diversey/Sealed Air). During tenure I earned roles of increasing responsibility starting as Maintenance Manager and ending my stay as US Cluster Mfg. Mgr. overseeing 3 chemical manufacturing and packaging facilities. Highlights during those 11 years was international experience in India, Japan, China, Mexico, and Brazil. I had a difficult and challenging experience in 2010 to co-lead the shut down and decommissioning of its largest plant of 140 operators. During the 18 month shutdown, I needed to relocate 5 high speed packaging lines to both internal and external locations. At the end of the shut down, all goals pertaining to Safety, Productivity, Quality, and Budgets were met. I left Diversey at the end of 2011 and begun my new career at Hydrite Chemical as the Milwaukee Operations Manager overseeing two facilities in Milwaukee which has since grown to 6 chemical manufacturing sites and 5 warehouses totaling over 300 employees in 3 states. Hydrite is a chemical leader in providing cost effective solutions from pure tolling applications to turn-key formulations. Superior customer service and support is our foundation. Our agility and flexibility to turn ideas into reality is our competitive advantage that is driving our growth. 31 years into my journey, I\'ve learned that understanding and developing people is just as important as technical knowledge. Lastly is the importance of being able to bridge the communication gap between Operations and Commercial Teams. I\'ve worked directly with Marketing and Sales personnel over my entire career and understand the absolute need to cater to your customers, both internal and external. Most decisions are not black and white and finding resolution is more important than being right. My managerial skills, style, and focus include: Commitment to safety and adherence to SOP, Metric Driven Operations Mgmt, Servant Leadership, Strong HR support, LEAN tools, utilizing Visual Workplace techniques and never forget that without customers there is no future for sustainable growth.

Experience

1. Director of Operations, Transportation, & Logistics

   Hydrite

   Jan 2024 — Present

Education

• Alverno College

  MBA, Business Administration and Management, General

  2008 — 2010

• Marquette University

  BS, Mechanical Engineering

  1988 — 1993

Skills

• Human Resources
• Budgets
• Supply Chain Management
• Analysis
• Value Stream Mapping
• Process Improvement
• 5s
• Manufacturing
• Operations Management
• Lean Manufacturing
• Team Building
• Management
• Continuous Improvement
• Kaizen
• Project Management
• Manufacturing Operations
• Process Engineering
• Engineering
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Sourcing
• Leadership
• Supply Chain