Most of the experience below comes from the more than 25 years Scott and Renee spent in operating leadership at a single Illinois plastics manufacturer — the operating credibility we bring to every Mantis engagement. Where current client engagements are confidential, they're omitted.
Helped grow a privately held Illinois plastics manufacturer roughly ten-fold in revenue and more than four-fold in headcount over more than 25 years, as part of the senior leadership team running the technical and people sides of the business in parallel.
Launched a carrier-tape manufacturing plant in Sweden serving a global electronics company, including process design, equipment qualification, and start-up.
Introduced laser processing for RF metal-coated plastic shielding, reducing tooling cycle times from 6–12 weeks down to 1–2 weeks on a production program.
Built the medical device thermoforming business into one of the company's highest-revenue product lines, including scale-up and qualification of cleanroom-grade production.
Led an award-winning Aptean ERP implementation integrating sales, job orders, inventory, shipping, invoicing, and financials across the business.
Founded and chaired the company Sustainability Committee, setting a 2033 carbon-neutrality target and standing up plastics-recycling and circular-economy initiatives.
Earlier career: Principal Investigator on two U.S. Department of Energy cooperative agreements at the University of Kentucky's Center for Applied Energy Research, including fluidized-bed oil-shale research that improved oil yield by 30%.
Transitioned the company to the Paycom HRIS platform — streamlining Talent Acquisition, Onboarding, Payroll, and Learning Management on a single system.
Improved the company Safety Score from 86% to 100%, established its first Safety Committee, and authored 35 loss-control policies.
Founded an in-house apprenticeship program in partnership with Tooling University, securing an Employer Training Investment Program (ETIP) grant and building a steady pipeline in skilled trades.
Designed and administered benefits plans (fully, partially, and self-funded) for more than 20 years — through multiple market cycles and workforce-size changes.
Led the people side of the company through award recognition: nominated for the Valley Industrial Association Spark Award every year from 2018 through 2023.
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