Finished Goods Enterprises, Inc.

Experience Summary  

• Extensive experience in Processing/Packaging/Material Handling Engineering, Project Management, Business Development, and Technical and Equipment Sales - primarily within the food, packaging, and consumer goods manufacturing sectors. 
• Routinely managed over $40MM in concurrent multi-disciplinary projects, both domestic and international.
• Known within the industry as the Packaging Line “Fixer”… and for ability to use “common sense” to achieve the optimum, most bang-for-the-buck solutions.
• Developed the “4M” technique, which – when applied to poorly performing packaging operations – uses lean manufacturing methods to yield significant increases in efficiency…generally accompanied by consequent decreases in direct labor.
• Authority in packaging machinery Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Commissioning Acceptance Testing (CAT).
• Provides expert witness services.

Education

• Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
• Completed over 2500 hours of independent technical management sales training and company-sponsored seminars.

Associations   

• Past Chairman, The Packaging Consultant’s Council.  Continuing responsibilities for screening potential new Council members and for following-up on consulting services inquiries from prospective new clients.
• Co-chair, PCC Ethics Committee.
• Member of the Institute of Packaging Professionals ( IoPP ).
• Member, IoPP Packaging Equipment Performance Committee.
• Member, Sustainable Packaging Education Committee
• Member, the New Jersey Packaging Executives Club.
• Member, ABET Certification Committee for Elizabethtown College.
• Board Member, Media Marketing Group.

Awards    

• 2011 inductee to the NJ Packaging Hall of Fame.
• Completed Coca-Cola’s Corporate Production Management Development Program and was awarded top prize in the class for a Manufacturing Consolidation Project.

Publications    

• “Sum of Its Parts”, Packaging Machinery Technologymagazine, May/June 2007.
• “PreShipment Testing of Packaging Equipment;” Copyright 1995 Finished Goods Enterprises, Inc.
• “Factors to Consider in Converting from Traditional to Non-traditional Packages,” presented at PMMI Solutions ’99 Conference
• “Faster, Better Changeovers”, presented at Food Engineering Magazine’s Plant Tech 2001 Conference.
• “Packaging Tipsheets", issued monthly in an eMail newsletter format.

Work History

Finished Goods Enterprises, Inc.  

Mechanicsburg, PA   (1994 to present )

Contract Engineer, Consultant, & Project Manager

• Providing services ranging from sales to project design consulting, including technical training, improving efficiencies in consumer goods manufacturing operations, serving as an expert witness, and managing multi-disciplinary projects.
• Provided assistance to companies such as Benjamin Moore Paints, Mars, Starbucks, Better Baked Foods, Nercon, Nabisco Biscuit, Hartz Mountain, Kraft, Pepsico, Hillshire Farm & Kahn’s, General Mills/Pillsbury, Wella (P&G), Slim*Fast, Ralston, Glaxo SmithKline, Quaker Oats, and ACH Food Companies.
• Engineering client companies include Morgan Consulting, EI Associates, Susquehanna Valley Engineering Group, Nutec, CH2M-Hill, and BTR.
• Represented Sebesta, Blomberg, & Associates for east coast business and developing ethanol projects.
• Representative accomplishments include:
• Retro-fitted former chemical production area to act as R&D area.  All work required to be explosion proof and intrinsically safe ( Class 1, Div. 1).
• Reworked bulk chemical unload area to meet all state environmental and federal safety mandates.
• Developed manufacturing layout for three, new frozen food process/packaging lines to fit in a newly-acquired building.
• Retooled high-speed single serve beverage filling & packaging lines to accept new bottle designs and sizes.
• Completed forensic engineering task to determine why a high-speed filling machine was not producing as purchased.
• Improved efficiency on high-speed ( >1100/min ) dry cereal pouching line.  In ten weeks, line efficiency was increased 9%, garnering an additional $2.4MM in finished goods.
• Developed efficiency improvement plan for cereal bag-in-box client to achieve similar gains.
• Completed material handling improvement plan for frozen food manufacturer that eliminated bottlenecks causing continued, random line stops.
• Completed assessment for relocation of shampoo product line to determine which pieces could be transferred and which pieces should be upgraded or replaced.
• Improved efficiency on powdered condiment filling & labeling line that eliminated seven production shifts per week.
• Audited, and then revised the operation of four pet food packaging lines for higher production.
• Completely engineered the conversion from formed pouch to stand-up resalable pouch for frozen food manufacturer.
• Completed packaging equipment re-engineering for major cereal manufacturer to add club store multi-packing to existing line.
• Completed packaging equipment re-engineering for major cookie manufacturer, resulting in a 65% reduction in packaging labor while gaining a 25% increase in throughput.
• Directed process and packaging engineering effort for Webber/Smith Associates, and completed projects for:
1. Replace bag-in-box with Kliklok-style cartoning on two frozen specialty packaging lines, while also doubling output to 100 ctns/min/line.
2. Line addition to process ( from dough mixing through freezing ) new retail dinner roll in client bakery.
3. Replace RSC cartoning with shrink-bundled trays for national brand coffee drink manufacturer in three plants consecutively.  All three lines met start-up dates.
4. Develop high speed cartoning line to replace existing bag-in-box for specialty frozen food manufacturer.
5. Line addition in salsa plant to permit packaging product in microwave bowls as well as standard jars.

Hershey Chocolate USA

Hershey, PA (1988 to 1994)

Staff Engineer

• Responsible as a Project Manager and as (processing or packaging) equipment engineer for capital projects in excess of $1MM each. 
• Project duties included development, directly supervising design and engineering, developing equipment, purchasing service specifications, purchase orders, contractor selections, and supervision, critical path schedules, budget administration, supervision of installation through startup, project closing, and follow-up audits.
• Representative accomplishments include:
1. Managed two-year, $5MM new product processing and packaging system at two plants.  Directed team of six engineers, and project resulted in a new $35MM/yr. brand. Managed fast track (nine months) $6MM project to remove existing line and replace with new processing and packaging equipment at the Canadian facility.  Finished line also had the ability to run two items, with quick changeover features. 
2. Managed $8MM expansion project for Reese Miniature line including process and packaging equipment.  Project resulted in doubling line speed to 6000 pieces/min., and finished $2MM under budget.
3. Developed and managed an $8MM project that installed the first, large distribution packaging operation.  This system would allow for different secondary packaging operations to occur simultaneously, and created an average reduction in packaging labor of 19 people.
4. Served on a multi-disciplinary team to create standardized practices for project management.
5. Developed computerized project tracking program for Canadian projects, which was then used by all other managers.

Coca-Cola Foods (The Minute Maid Company)

Houston, TX     (1980 to 1988 )

(Held three positions)

Project Manager

• Responsible as project manager for projects up to $10MM. 
• Manager's duties include project development (including cost justification and pay back analyses), supervising contracted design and engineering, placing and monitoring purchase orders, selecting contractors, critical path schedules, budget administration, supervising installation through startup, and project closing. 
• Also served as Group Leader for three, salaried CADD designers.
• Representative Accomplishments include:
1. Directed program to develop, design, and test systems to package citrus pulp for shipment from processing plant to packaging use plant.  Completed project was valued at $4MM, and saved $700,000 annually.
2. Directed international joint ventures to create aseptic juice market in both Venezuela and Chile.  Designed complete apple juice concentrate processing and packaging facility, including packaging for export.
3. Managed $6MM project to install the world's first high‑speed aseptic (Tetra-Pak AB-9) system. The operation also was the first to have full plc Batching and processing control, as well as completely automated CIP and sterilizing capability.
4. Managed corporate design team to install (the first) sleeve aseptic (Combibloc) line in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Plant.
5. Developed and executed program to replace New Jersey plant's wastewater treatment system with contracted hauling and treatment/disposal. Responsibilities included permitting with four municipalities and the State of New Jersey, as well as designing and installing $1MM worth of pretreatment equipment in the plant.  Cost savings for the plant exceed $1.8MM annually.

Manager, Cost Optimization Engineering

• Responsible for supervising two salaried engineers in the optimization of existing plant processing and packaging systems, as well as making ergonomic improvements in every plant.
• Representative accomplishments include:
1. Revised formulations for fruit drinks, qualifying new, less expensive ingredients to replace more costly ones.  Accrued first year savings were $1.5MM.
2. Developed and implemented computerized project tracking and reporting procedures for project managers and project engineer use.
3. Developed replacement lighter-weight can for fruit drink line, saving $5MM annually in material.

Senior Process Engineer

• Responsible for providing necessary technical knowledge to initiate, develop, and promote processes, designs, and ideas to reduce operating cost, improve quality of products, or manufacture new products. 
• Recognized expert in CIP systems.
• Representative accomplishments include:
1. Managed design through installation of multiple product aseptic processing and packaging facility in division history (sales value = $30MM/yr.; construction cost of $6.7MM).  Job was completed on schedule and $500M under budget.  
2. Designed, installed, and commissioned aseptic processing and packaging systems for four company plants (total of 29 lines.) Total value of these projects was $15MM.

Campbell Soup Company

Camden, NJ       (1976 to 1980)

Design Engineer I, II, & III

• Responsible for design, start‑up, and testing of new installations, in addition to capital project estimates and project preparation. 
• Supervised design/draftsmen, wrote purchase specifications, issued engineering guidelines and specifications. 
• Became recognized as expert resource on sanitary piping and equipment design, USDA, FDA, and GMP standards.
• Representative accomplishments include:
1. Supervised design, construction, and start‑up of tomato paste system in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico. Modified automated boiler feed water demineralization system.
2. Designed and installed a $1MM system for processing and packing seafood, saving $50M annually.
3. Supervised the design and installation of pilot plant tomato paste processing system for new spaghetti sauce product.  Also directed installation and startup of full scale system.
4. Completed retrofit of packed tower tomato essence (flavor ingredient) recovery line, getting a 30% increase in yield.
5. Worked with Keystone Valve to develop a new valve for sanitary product lines.  Resultant valve cost 25% to 70% less, and complied with all USDA requirements.
6. Supervised contract engineering design of systems for new (North Carolina) plant, specifically, pneumatic bulk handling, automated CIP, bulk HFCS handling, product evaporation and heat transfer, and distributed process control.

Owens-Corning Fiberglas

Barrington, NJ           (1971 to 1976)

Process Control Supervisor

• Responsible for supervision of process and quality control personnel for the home building products area of the plant.  Promoted from Process Engineer position.
• Worked in the field with the Sales Department to resolve customer application problems, including negotiating the supplying of replacement products where necessary. 
• Liaison between the company and an environmental consulting firm in retrofitting an existing secondary wastewater treatment plant into a 100% reuse facility, and therefore eliminating an NJDEP citation, and saving $20M per month in resin solids.

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J L Pfister

President