Steven Kennerknecht

BIOGRAPHY:

Steve was hired as Vice President & General Manager for MHD International Aviation Parts, an International distributor of military aircraft spares and components, located in St-Bruno, south of Montreal.

Mr. Kennerknecht had Consulted for the President of Uni-Cast a manufacturer of precision aluminum investment castings for the aerospace, defense and telecommunications industry. Uni-Cast is a fast growing entrepreneurial company of 130 employees, located in Manchester New Hampshire. The mandate included plant re-engineering, process development, manufacturing engineering, and market development.

Steve has been a key player in turning the company around in 4 years from a loss position to a current North American industry leader. Profitability and growth in a flat market now enables Uni-Cast to be able to invest in equipment, processes, and staff with continued market growth, and a second facility acquisition.

Steve had occupied the position of Vice President Operations and Engineering of NMF Canada Inc., a fast growth company of 200+ employees, producing aluminum commercial aircraft wing skins, in Mirabel Quebec.

He was responsible for manufacturing operations, contracts, process improvements, expanding manufacturing engineering capabilities, material studies, R&D, and facility planning. Following the development of a strategic plan, and presentations to customers, financiers and government agencies, the company set upon it’s largest and most ambitious expansion, in completing the journey of a Tier III major assembly supplier. Steve managed the $14M Year 2000 expansion, including facility planning, gantry CNC machining, new shot blasting equipment and addition of major new technologies including automated wing panel assembly and future robotic surface finishing..

As Vice President Technology and Marketing for the Howmet Aluminum group of aluminum investment casting companies (An Alcoa Business Unit), Steve has supported both technology development and the concurrent design and promotion of leading edge customer applications in the aerospace industry. The company, founded in 1959 in Montreal, was the world leader in terms of market share and advanced technology for custom aluminum components, and served as headquarters for a Group of 6 companies in Europe and North America, with annual sales exceeding $100M US. Mr. Kennerknecht had significant manufacturing experience, in leading the Montreal operations of 450 people, as General Manager. Rapid growth of the facility brought about by casting technology development and a shifted focus on new markets, prompted his team to re-engineer the manufacturing operations, using Lean-manufacturing techniques. Clients including Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Allied Signal and General Electric had switched to the new structural casting technology citing cost and performance as key advantages. Following several expansions, he led a process redesign and construction project to build a new facility for the company’s operations and headquarters in Laval, Quebec.

Steve has his roots in operations, metallurgical and process engineering, with a participative management style, and a talent for creative problem solving. He is well known in the industry for developments in structural casting applications, material performance evaluations, rapid prototyping, welding and finishing/assembly operations, and the Montreal aerospace community. Mr. Kennerknecht is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal Canada, holding degrees in Metallurgical Engineering and Masters of Business Administration. He is a member of the Ordre des Ingenieurs de Quebec, He has patented 7 inventions and authored dozens of papers on manufacturing technology.