Gerald D.

Cooper
155 Buffington St. * Novi, MI 48377 * (248) 921-2682 * gc647910@westpost.net
________________________________________
A proven Senior Manufacturing Engineer with 28 years experience in the automotiv
e and truck industry. Strong knowledge in developing B.I.W. & Assembly Tooling,
GD&T, APQP, PPAP, budget development, quoting tooling changes, & production. I
have successfully launched over 19 different niche vehicles/products (major conv
ertible vehicle programs) from their conceptual phase to production. A strong M
anufacturing Engineer with the experience to increase profit margins throughout
the program development, launch, and production phase.__________________________
______________
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS:
- Program Tooling Development & Launch Manager of the Chrysler Prowler B.I.W.
- Successfully developed assembly cells for GM's first outsourced (B.I.W.) Body
Side (14 robots).
- Expert knowledge of developing manufacturing processes and assembly tooling.
- Strong knowledge in manufacturing engineering processes such as G.D. & T., P.F
.M.E.A.'s, and APQP.
- Expert knowledge at obtaining a tool buy-off, launching programs, and achievin
g PPAP.
- Senior Manufacturing Engineer responsible for 2 assembly plants with 6 differe
nt vehicle conversions.
- Thorough understanding of the assembly plant deliverables.
- Experienced at conducting work sampling, time studies, and production allocati
on development.
- Successfully developed and implemented a $700K annual cost savings program.
- Experienced with product packaging and rack development.
- Extremely strong at developing supplier RFQ packages, program kick-off documen
tation, master timelines, and critical path assessment.
- Successfully Program Managed $35M of business while obtaining a 23% profit mar
gin, PPAP on time, and met all deliverables.
- Past experience of managing a Corporate Estimating Department.
- Expert knowledge at niche vehicle development.
- Successful Production Manager over 2 facilities and 125 employees.
CAREER EXPERIENCE:
Account Sales Manager ----------------------------------------------------- Nov.
2006 - April 2008
Commercial Metal Forming-Youngstown, OH
Program Manager ------------------------------------------------------------ Sep
t. 2005 - Oct. 2006
Press Room Technologies-Warren, MI
Program Manager/Account Manager/Launch Manager ------------ April 1996 - Sept. 2
005
Mayflower Vehicle Systems /Union Stamping & Assembly-Farmington Hills, MI
Senior Manufacturing Engineer ------------------------------------------- Oct. 1
980 - March 1996
MascoTech Specialty Vehicle Operations-Brighton, MI
PROGRAM EXPERTISE:
Account Sales Manager
- Developed 11 new clients, worth over $9.0M of new business opportunity.
- Supported existing business account maintenance.
 - Successfully maintained profit margins.
Program Manager
- Redesigned production cells to meet work standards.
- Managed production tooling installation and buy-off.
- Delivered all prototype assemblies as per plan.
- Obtained PPAP and developed integration plan for $3M of additional new toolin
g.
Account Manager
GM
- Managed $60M of ongoing business.
- Awarded $8M of new business in 2004.
- Awarded $24M of new business in 2003.
- Developed and implemented a plan that generated $5M of additional profit for
2004.
Corporate Estimating Manager
QUOTED ALL NEW BUSINESS
- Managed and quoted more than $200M of new business.
- Reduced Est. Dept.'s manpower by 30% by researching, purchasing and implement
ing new quoting software.
- Sponsored and convinced upper management to review and revise the corporate c
ost model used for quoting.
Program Manager
SATURN L/S
- Developed program budget and master timeline.
- Developed all suppliers' RFQ packages and awarded tooling contracts.
- Managed $5M of business while securing a 23% profit margin.
- Implemented all 2001 model year revisions, while obtaining P.P.A.P. as per pl
an.
GMT 830 & 2000
- Managed $17M of business and secured a 26% profit margin.
- Implemented the "Red Alert Process" which assigns root cause and corrective a
ction plans for program timing delay.
- Obtained P.P.A.P. as per plan.
- Met all corporate deliverables.
Assembly Process/Launch Manager
SATURN PROGRAM
- Responsible for assembly tolerance stack-up studies and the negotiation relat
ive to the final assembly tolerances.
- Responsible for the development and implementation of $3M of automated assemb
ly tooling.
- Negotiated a $1.5K cost savings while purchasing the assembly robots.
- Launch and obtained PPAP as per plan.
CHRYSLER PROWLER PROGRAM
- Relocated to our Norwalk Plant to manage the production launch.
- Managed the development and implementation of a $7.2M assembly system into ou
r Norwalk Assembly Plant.
- Managed the B.I.W. tooling to meet the vehicle acceptance standards.
- Developed and published the manufacturing process sheets.
Senior Manufacturing Engineer
- Senior Manufacturing Engineer Leader for two B.I.W. truck programs: Mack Slee
pers and Kenworth "T"-2000.
- Senior Manufacturing Engineer for four major niche vehicles: Ford Mustang Con
vertible, Chrysler Daytona "T"-Tops, Saturn Convertible and Oldsmobile Convertib
les.
EDUCATION:
- Cleary University Business
- Oakland Community College Industry-related Coursework