Technical Consultant/ R &D Manager
Zain International Group for Commercial Investment
Total years of experience :29 years, 0 Months
Achievements:
• Spearheaded and successfully achieved the implementation of cost saving through optimization of machine efficiency and manpower utilization.
• Led staff restructuring initiatives without any downtime and optimized operations.
• Formulated a juice formula which was a competitor to Rani and other Saudi products, with the recipe formulation in Europe across Germany, Spain & Austria
• Spearheaded the first plant in Iraq to fill float in juice products.
• Studied and negotiated new mega line for cheese and tomato paste for Zain Al Dawlya.
• Turned around the plant operations to be able to produce juice in cans of 250 ml and 330 ml, which was not existing prior.
• Convinced the management to lead the buyout of a sick factory that was closed in order to restart the production of juice in glass as a new line for the company.
• Worked on the formula of a product once famous in Iraq in the 70’s to be re-introduced in the market after getting the due license from authorities in Austria.
• Achieved all the above in highly restrictive Iraqi market conditions, society and sanction riddled economic environment.
Responsibilities:
• Successfully started the juice production lines across cans, glass, bottle line and float product categories in addition to providing all technical and R&D support on all juice products based on market and competitor analysis.
• Overseeing all strategic and technical deliverables of the juice plant project, determining projected time frames, opening projections, execution issues and ensuring the timely completion of all line functions within budgetary constraints
• Working with the teams to ensure plans are generated in conjunction with existing circumstances, project documents, restrictions and expenditure guidelines.
• Communicating project status and costs to senior management, periodically conducting line checks and shop floor audits to verify workflow, quality of work and mitigate any resultant issues.
• Training the operators and the line managers to manage all production runs economically and profitably as per envisaged targets from the stakeholders.
Achievements:
• Saved USD 200, 000 in terms of operational expenses despite using water across the plant, given that water is very expensive in the country. Achieved this through smart utilization and plant engineering.
• Resumed production operations in this sick unit where production was stalled for over a year and a half owing to various operational and regulatory issues.
• Applied and implemented ISO 22000 standards plant wide.
• Developed and produced light and B12 enriched juice varieties, a first for the company.
• Successfully implemented effective pest control systems in order to decrease risk of contamination.
Responsibilities:
• Formulated long term objectives, maintained plant smooth operations and served as the focal point of contact for communication during crisis situations.
• Oversaw the management of all plant operations, handled recruitments of plant staff, supervised various products and production lines and ensured operational sufficiency.
• Planned for daily, weekly and monthly production runs, negotiated and sourced raw materials, performed quality checks and ensured that the input and output were of the finest quality.
• Performed costing for the production cycle right from input to output of finished product and ensured that all products produced were profitable and of high quality.
• Followed up on all production and plant related issues and ensured that all operations worked seamlessly as per pre-established operating plans.
Achievements:
• Served as the Team Leader of the HACCP team.
• Implemented ISO and HACCP practices plant wide.
• Gained experience in package integrity tests of Tetra Pak Bricks, Tetra Pak machine sterilization and operation procedure, CIP operation procedures and pasteurization and sterilization unit operating procedures.
• Travelled to China to procure tomato paste, led negotiations and successfully procured all paste required as per specifications required by major clients such as NADEC, Wazzan, Carrefour, Haley and KDD among others.
• Saved in excess of USD 300, 000 for the company in the costs of procuring tomato concentrate over a span of 4 years.
Responsibilities:
• Managed all plant operations, performed costing of all the finished products of the company, computed raw material requirements by product and line estimates, handled inventory and tracked stock cycle to ensure that minimum stock required for production is available at warehouse year round.
• Formulated the yearly raw materials budget per year, analyzed variance and applied cost control methods to ensure profitable and operationally sufficient plant operation as well as planning for and scheduling all routine and non-routine activities of the production department.
• Amassed massive experience in filling and processing of natural juices and drinks, tomato paste, spread and processed cheese, yoghurt in cups and many other products.
• Planned all elements of the project using the fast track program and ensured all procurements were in order especially pertaining to tomato paste based purchases.
Highlights:
• Oversaw all activities of the quality control department, planned and scheduled all orders of the production department and forecasted raw material requirements for various production lines.
• Amassed experience in the processing and filling of canned food (legumes), canned food laboratory examination and testing and food laboratory examination.
• Applied the ISO system plant wide and ensured excellence in production.
processing of tomato concentrate and filling tomato paste in cans.
processing of tomato paste and concentrate as well juice processing
