Lead Consultant, Kevin Kennedy Associates Inc.
Providing expertise in chemistry, materials engineering, process engineering, quality and continuous improvement, noise and vibration control, brake noise damping, forensic investigation and analysis,
patent infringement, expert testimony, and related expertise to a wide variety of clients.
Consultant, materials and process chemistry consulting firm
Professional chemist with 30+ years experience in academics, commercial, aerospace, electronics, and automotive-related industries. Was a hands-on consultant on various aspects of the chemistry of materials and their applications, working both independently and with a private firm.
Process Engineering Manager, Eaglepicher – Wolverine Gasket Division, Blacksburg, VA
Was responsible for instituting a materials-oriented approach to optimizing processing parameters to gain improved product properties and performance. Accomplishments included: Process and Product Improvements Led materials-approach to optimizing processes to yield more robust metal-based composites, metal-to-metal laminates, and special coated products. Supervised five engineers and chemists involved in various aspects of process engineering, along with the QC Laboratory and its five technicians. Established thermal profiling of oven conditions as the method of choice for understanding and controlling parameters for continuous processes and their relationships with material properties. Led effort to improved quality of manufactured products and was champion of several continuous improvement projects. Led development of documentation including Process FMEA. Manufacturing representative on material and process issues in discussions with customers.
Director of Materials Engineering, Director of Product Development, Manager of Product Development, Material Sciences Corporation, Elk Grove Village, IL
A $260 Million worldwide manufacturer of coated metals and metallic laminates and composites for automotive, electronics, appliances, and other markets. Was responsible for
new product development, product improvements, qualification of alternative raw materials, transitioning new materials from the laboratory to production, and support to sales & marketing. During part of this period, application engineers reported to me. Initial assignment of
new product development included direct supervision of two chemists and two technicians. Product and Process Development accomplishments: Leadership in development, formulation, testing, and manufacturing scale-up of film-to-metal, metal-to-metal, and special coated products Championed project with Engineering and Operations staffs to discover causes of appearance defects in a recently developed decorative laminate, which resulted in a fully qualified product that is now going into production and will generate $8+ million in annual revenues. Supervised a project to identify an alternate NBR raw material component for a vehicle brake noise control product, arranged for custom mixing, scaled up in production for the aftermarket (annual savings to the company were $250K to $300K) General responsibility for first product that opened the electronics market for constrained layer materials designed for noise and vibration control (sales into this market had become $22.5 million) Developed winter/summer concept for tuning viscoelastic formulations for maximum efficiency in automobile body panels exposed to average outside temperatures. Project to develop a polysiloxane-based pressure sensitive adhesive for brake shim applications was successful. Optimization of liner release coating is on-going. Process Improvement and Management accomplishments: Served on cross-functional teams to create ways to modernize and evolve manufacturing and process capabilities in order to open new markets, increase product quality and reduce costs Team member in transferring materials & process technology to a division that had no prior experience in manufacturing metal-to-metal laminates (opened the market for wide-width laminates for automobile body panel applications) Organized a project team to evaluate Henkel’s chromium-free pretreatments for metal surfaces, resulting in full-scale production trials and application-specific testing of products (one of the company’s lines is the only chromium-free coil coating line in the U.S.) Led a laboratory and production trial study to determine the causes of variations in the mechanical properties of a laminate developed for computer applications (solution was identified and adopted in production in Asia) Championed a 3.5-year project to change a major raw material that effected four of the company’s primary products for OEM customers ($12 million in sales was secured) Evaluations of water-based adhesives, UV curable adhesives, 100% solids viscoelastic formulations, and transfer tapes. Organizational Support accomplishments: Key focal point and provided direction to staff for technical support and administrative support to sales, marketing, purchasing, operations, application engineering, product development staff, and upper management Appointed Management Representative to lead the company’s effort to become QS-9000 certified (resulted in successful completion of the qualifying audit) Participated in transferring materials & process technology for manufacturing five of the company’s products at a joint venture in Brazil, provided periodic technical support Provided technical advice and direction to a division that suddenly achieved unacceptable mechanical properties in a laminated product Coordinated studies of the contents of weld fumes generated during resistance spot welding of some the company’s products (the toxicology groups at the Big Three have used these studies as part of their qualification procedures) Created and maintained Material Safety Data Sheets for the company’s products.
Engineering Laboratory Manager, Senior Staff Engineer, Senior Engineering Specialist, LTV Aerospace And Defense Company, Dallas, TX
A defense company divided into two divisions - aircraft and missiles - for design, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing of engineering components and systems. Supervised a multi-disciplinary staff of 50+ scientists, engineers, and technicians. Responsible for professional development of staff members, managing the department budget, capital equipment purchases, and maintenance of a 21,000 square foot facility. Involved in a materials science group specializing in the development of materials for very high temperature applications, and fabrication and testing of prototype components. Interacted with project management officers to implement corporate projects in the laboratory's research group, and coordinated the laboratory work on a day-to-day basis. Responsible for interpretation of technical data. Reorganized the organizational structure of the laboratory. Active participant in design and lay out of newly established 21,000 sq ft facility. Acted as department and company representative at symposia, conferences, workshops, and marketing meetings. Member of company’s Patent Committee.
