Robert A. Abair, CPIM

As Senior Partner, Bob has managed his own consulting firm for over 20 years. He has guided large and small clients on ERP/MRP II, Lean/Agile Manufacturing, JIT, TQM, and major cost reduction initiatives. In 1997, the firm became consulting partners with Agility Forum, in Bethleham, PA, and with the Bose JIT II Education and Research Center in Framingham, Masssachusetts.

Prior positions include Plant Manager for a plastics extrusion company, Director of Materials with a high-volume valve company, as well as Production Control Manager, and MRP II Project Leader at a large cutting tool company. Bob was instrumental in the design and implementation of their high-volume manufacturing and warehouse distribution, MRP II and DRP Systems.

Mr. Abair has more than thirty years of management experience in various manufacturing, distribution, and service companies, including management positions as Plant Manager, Director of Materials, Production Control Manager, as well as Data Processing, and Sales. Industry experience includes electronics, defense, textiles, food processing, rubber, metals, heavy machinery, distribution, printing, chemical processing, biotech, high-performance ceramics, packaging, insurance, medical, and fiber optics.

He has a BSBA from Clark University. In addition, he is a graduate from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute School of Industrial Management and the Emery School of Computer Science. Also, Mr. Abair is a Certified Practitioner in the field of Production and Inventory Management.

For over thirty years, he has been an active member of APICS. He, also, served for eighteen years on the Worcester County Chapter Board of Directors, serving as President in 1981. He has been a frequent speaker and educator on the local, national and international level. In addition to local workshops and seminars, his speaking experience includes: keynote speaker at National Agility Conferences, National IBM Manufacturing Conference, the APICS International Conferences, APICS Regional Seminars, Motorola University, Six-Sigma Quality Symposium, International AME/Lean Conferences, as well as frequent international speaking engagements and seminars. He is, also, a past Six-Sigma instructor at Motorola University.

In 1995, Bob received the APICS International Award for "Best Advanced Skill Speaker".

He is known as an industry leader, in his field, working with companies from entrepreneurial start-ups to Fortune 500 Companies such as IBM, Norton, Friendly Ice Cream, Dupont, Malden Mills, GE, AT&T, Lucent, Raytheon, Titleist, Eastman Kodak, Hasbro, Bemis, Gerber, Speedline, and Bayer Corporation.

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