Donald P. Clark
3016 Kennys Street, Pineville, NC 28134
Tel: 828-612-7820
donclark3@msn.com
President / Chief Executive Officer / Chief Operating Officer
Consistently successful in building stable and profitable businesses, turning around companies and building top-performing teams.
2005 Current SPARTACRAFT INC. Hickory, NC
President
President of a ~$4 MM specialty woodworking company which had lost an average of $400.000 per year for 10+ years before my arrival. Within 9 months we achieved our first profitability in the companys 12 year history and have now doubled 2005 revenues even through the difficult 2009-2010 market economy. We were named by Wood 100 magazine as one of the fastest growing woodworking companies in the United States.
Key turnaround factors:
Vision & Leadership: Created a vision for this business focused on what we did best and dropped unrelated product lines. We changed the rules of our industry by offering same day shipping and great service.
Marketing & Sales: Redesigned our retail website and created/managed Pay-per-Click (PPC) and internet ad campaigns that dramatically grew our retail business revenues from $60,000 to $400,000 per year. Developed a high-end wholesale product catalog to upgrade our market position, developed a direct mail campaign, attended numerous trade shows and developed advertising campaigns for major trade publications. Created a communications program that resulted in numerous newspaper and trade magazine articles being published as well as TV news features. Established sales policies/practices and focused our sales team on consistent and cost-effective methods to provide excellent service to our customers.
New Business Development: Re-established relationships with our key customers and selectively added new specialty product lines that we designed and manufactured. Identified specialty businesses where imported products where we could not effectively compete. Gained GSA (Government) contract status to expand our customer base and won two major military contract awards ($3MM+ over 5 years) for the company. Formed new business relationships with major customers in the industries we served. Created the Custom Woodworks high-end cabinetry business backed by over $300,000 in new investment and staff.
Operating Improvements: Increased production through Lean Manufacturing productivity improvements which resulted in increasing our Revenue per Manufacturing Payroll Dollar from $2 to $6. We also initiated a same-day shipping business model to retain and build new customers. Renegotiated supply contracts and reduced primary materials supply cost by 25%. Reduced SKUs by 50% and increased prices.
Financial Debt Restructuring: Loans and lease payments restructured to existing owner with payback based on profitability and attained new lines of credit in a difficult 2009 banking environment based on the companys performance and to support our growth.
Results: Increased revenues from $1.9 MM to $3.8 MM. Increased Gross Margin from 10% to 30+%. Grew internet retail business from $5,000 per month to peaks of $85,000/mo. Realized the companies first ever profits in 2005 and achieved average annual earnings of $150,000 per year in 2009-2011. We achieved over 1600 days without a lost work day injury through implementation of a safety program. This resulted in reducing our Workers Compensation Insurance mod ratio from 1.4 to 0.88 and annual insurance costs from $70M to $24M.
2010 2011 THE SYSTEMS DEPOT Hickory, NC
President
President of a $47 MM low voltage products distributor of security, access control, fire, CCTV and home audio equipment. The company has 95 employees and 8 branch locations in the southeast United States. The company had not had a profitable year since it began operation in 1994. In 2010, the company achieved a 33% revenue growth from $33 MM to $44 MM with profits of $837 M. In 2011, the company grew revenue 8% to $47 MM with profits increasing 60% to 1,381 M. This is a privately owned company as part of a holding group that also owns SpartaCraft - noted above where I retained both positions.
Key turnaround factors:
Vision & Leadership: Created a vision for this business focused on the companys key strengths to provide expanded custom services to large customers and improved the infrastructure and sales processes to meet the needs of all customers. Created a 5 year business plan and key initiatives to lead our future financial growth.
Marketing & Sales: Developed a team to provide weekly and monthly product promotions as well as e-mail and Facebook campaigns. We increased our product and technology training programs as a key method to bring customers to our facilities. We targeted trade shows with a focused message on our core same-day delivery service. Established sales policies and best practices and led our sales team on implementing consistent methods to provide excellent service to our customers.
Operating Improvements: We started efforts to develop improved processes in all facets of our business and made the corresponding computer system upgrades and formatting to match the teams day-to-day work. We developed a system to monitor and direct our same-day delivery trucks and sales activities. We reduced vendors from over 325 to 275 and increased inventory turns.
Financial Debt Restructuring: Attained a new credit facility when existing credit lines were cancelled. Reduced debt ~$700 M. Negotiated extended terms with our primary vendors resulting in $400 M additional credit and established and achieved volume purchase rebates and coop advertising allowances in excess of $2 MM.
Results: Increased revenues from $34 MM to $47 MM and profits from -$435 M to $1,381 M.
2000 2005 PLIANA INC. Charlotte, NC
President and CEO
Recruited to this privately owned $70 million textile fiber company that included 3 business units and 1,200 employees in 3 locations (Charlotte, NC, Mexico City and Tlaxcala, Mexico) to lead the company out of financial difficulty while concurrently managing the US sales division.
Pliana was a leader in the manufacturing of polypropylene fiber and yarns with in-house R&D and new product development departments. Their main markets included; home upholstery, contract upholstery (hospitals, hotels, offices), automotive and industrial.
As part of our financial restructuring program, in 2005 the ownership group divested 2 non-fiber textile businesses and assumed my leadership role. (Note: ~18 months after my departure, in late 2006, the company closed its primary operations in Mexico and Charlotte as many of its home upholstery customers shutdown due to import furniture competition)
Key turnaround factors:
Vision & Leadership: Created a vision focused on innovation, quality products, dependable service and team execution to position company as a leader in innovative high value-added polypropylene products in the US.
Marketing & Sales: Launched aggressive new-product brand campaigns and established a global marketing presence via our website. Disseminated corporate communications that elicited interviews and subsequent articles in major trade publications including the International Fiber Journal and Southern Textile News. Established sales policies to unify and deliver a consistent message through our sales team.
New Business Development: Aggressively grew high-margin product line. Identified new markets and leveraged companys product/market strengths to expand into several new markets. Led new product development initiatives that resulted in 21% of our revenue coming from products introduced in the last 24 months.
Operating Improvements: Reduced inventory 76% and slashed $3 million in past due accounts and inventory to nearly zero. Reorganized staff and reduced costs 25%, which reduced overhead from 14% of sales to 9% of sales. Renegotiated supply contracts and reduced primary materials supply cost by 35%. Reduced SKUs from 3,500 to 1,225 profitable items and increased prices.
Financial Debt Restructuring: Bank loans were negotiated and restructured with a 7-year payout.
Results: Reduced company debt 60%. Increased US revenues 14% in 2002 over 2001 and overall global company sales 7%. With 2003s 9% furniture end-use market decline (China impact), Pliana still outperformed the competition by an average 15%.
1981 2000 E. I. DUPONT NC, SC, DE
North American Business/Operations Manager, Camden, SC (1994 2000)
During my near 19 year career at DuPont, I was continually the youngest professional to be promoted into a new position every 12-24 months...culminating with a five-year role as North American Business/Operations Manager. Based on my view of DuPonts future viability in the manufacturing industry in 2000 (DuPont divested of their textile businesses in 2003), I decided to accept the President/CEO opportunity offered by the owner of Pliana.
Originally promoted to Business Manager, I was subsequently given responsibility for the entire $300 million Nylon Legwear Business. This included leadership of a team of 400 manufacturing and business associates in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and our global business team including partners in Europe, Australia, Asia Pacific, and South America.
In 1996, our team commercialized a breakthrough product utilizing a new project-managing process called P.A.C.E. (Product and Cycle Time Excellence). As the first team selected to implement this process, we exceeded historical product development time by 2X while exceeding earning objectives 40%. Our team was selected by the Chairman for the DuPont Corporate Marketing Excellence Award.
Financial results in 1997-1998 were 500% better than the best historical earnings performance and 200% better than our 1997 objective. Plus, business management expense was reduced 20%.
In 1998, we completed a $3 million capacity expansion project under-budget; increased production yields 3% and delivered best-ever product quality as measured by our customers.
Senior Account Manager, Charlotte, NC (1991 1994)
DuPont Fibers Group Senior Account Manager responsible for $70 million of annual revenue in the Lycra, Nylon and Polyester fibers businesses. Developed exceptionally strong relationships with key customers that led to increased market share and earnings performance.
Member of a four-person team that developed a filtration fabric to combat Guinea Worm Disease when President Jimmy Carter asked DuPont for assistance. Received DuPonts Environmental RESPECT Award (1991) for reducing disease 50% in two African countries. Featured in DuPonts 1991 annual report. President Carter announced January 2012, that the incidence of the disease has been reduced from 3.5MM to under 1000.
Technical Marketing Representative, DuPont Fibers Group, Charlotte, NC (1988 1991)
Supporting sales/marketing teams, resolved customers technical related issues with our fiber and yarn products. Established a partnership approach to problem solving that significantly strengthened customer relationships and led to my promotion into Sales and Marketing.
Project Design, DuPont Chemicals Group, Wilmington, DE (1986 1988)
Coordinated mechanical designs of a new manufacturing facility for the Savannah River Nuclear Plant.
Production Supervisor, DuPont Chemicals Group, Aiken, SC (1984 1986)
Led a 4-shift production group of 125 team members that achieved record production performance in 1984.
Maintenance Engineer, DuPont Chemicals Group, Aiken, SC (1981 1983)
Developed preventive maintenance programs to improve uptime of chemical manufacturing facilities. Held Top-level Security Clearance from Savannah River Nuclear Plant.
Education: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, BSME, 1981
Leadership: President, American Fiber Manufacturers Association - 2005
Personal: Married, Eagle Scout, Musician-Guitar, Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do |
