Craig Smith | Senior Consultant

Craig is an experienced executive skilled in operations, plant & project management, growth strategy, new plant start-up, asset management and business restructuring.

Craig has held director and plant manager roles, and has worked across Australia, UK, USA, Canada, Europe, India, China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand. He has a strong track record in building relationships with customers and suppliers, negotiating with key decision makers and delivering results.

Craig has successfully led and implemented lean management, just-in-time manufacturing, continous improvement and people development strategies.

Expertise

Operations management
Customer management
Process optimization
Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement and quality control
Business restructuring

Experience

J Pao & Co. UK Limited – Engineering & Technical Director and Plant Manager

Responsible for operations, projects, manning, logistics and all engineering across production sites in Manchester and London for the UK’s leading beansprout manufacturer. Streamlined operations through the application of lean principles and business restructuring to improve output by 10%, and reduced operating costs by 40% predominantly through a review of raw materials and services. Designed and developed an early warning system to remotely monitor critical inputs, which prevented a total crop loss and avoided associated customer disatisfaction and financial impact.

TI Automotive – Global Manufacturing Engineering Director

Located in Barcelona, drove the manufacturing strategy for this tier 1 automotive business with approximately 10,000 employees across 100 locations. Held responsibility for all plant capital and the entire manufacturing process, as well as new capital asset equipment, process development, new program launches and enforcing best practice standards globally. Prior to Global Manufacturing Engineering Director role also held various operations management and director roles in UK and Asia Pacific for TI Automotive, and successfully launched six new plants in Thailand, India, Indonesia and Japan.