Scope & Range of Services

Roger Star Associates has well over thirty years of
diverse management, manufacturing, engineering experience and legal expertise

Roger Star has well over thirty years of diverse management, manufacturing, engineering experience and legal expertisefor companies marketing products to consumers, industry, and the government. Extensive Experience Managing Creative Product Development resulting in Expanding Sales, Profits, CAD/CAM systems, Quality and Productivity Improvement Processes, Manufacturing Engineering, Production, Reduced Product and Warranty Costs and Legal Witness.

As a consulting expert with a diverse background and a wide range of experiences Roger Star is capable of handling cases involving:
PRODUCT LIABILITY - PATENTS - ENGINEERING MECHANICAL - MANAGEMENT - PRODUCT WARRANTY
PRODUCT SAFETY - PERSONAL INJURY DAMAGES - MANUFACTURING - INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY - MATERIAL HANDLING - FORKLIFTS - CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT
QUALITY CONTROL - INFRINGEMENT - HEAVY EQUIPMENT - CLEANING MACHINES

PAPERS: Authored, presented, and published technical papers: Society of Automotive Engineers on "Truck Suspension;” Fluid Power Society on "Hydraulics" and numerous technical society meetings.

PATENTS: Inventor on 13 issued patents on Board Range Hydraulics, Steering, Mechanical Links and Machines

PROFESSIONAL
AFFILIATIONS:
- SPE, Society of Plastics Engineers
- SEA, Society of Automotive Engineers.
- ASME, American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
- ISPE and NPSE, Illinois and National Society of Professional Engineers
- Registered Engineer #062-026537
- ASQC, American Society for Quality Control.
- SME, Society of Manufacturing Engineers.
- LRI, Licensed Realtor, State of Illinois

Experience:
1991 to Roger Star Associates, Wayne, Illinois.
Present A consulting group specializing in a broad range of managerial and technical skills directed to strategic implementation of customer-focused, creative new sales and improving gross profits on all products and services and extensive expert witness on product liability, machinery and patent infringement.

President. Responsible for customer agreements, program management, personnel, design and achievement of customer requirements or "beyond" planned customer anticipated results.

Prime (Sample) Clients:

• Halm Industries Co., Inc., New York - World’s largest envelope printing machine technology. = Consultant 4 ½+ years
• Cooper Industries, Florida - Dies, Tooling, Cable Technology = Consultant 1+years
• Breuer/Tornado Corporation, Illinois - Cleaning Machine Technology = Consultant 3+ years
• FMC Corporation, Illinois - Material Handling and Robotics Technology = Consultant 1+ years
• Eaton – Vickers, Nebraska - Hydraulic Components and Systems = Consultant 1+ years
• Patent Development/Infringement – Numerous Attorneys - Expert Witness on Patent Development and Infringement =ongoing 30+ years
• Product Liability - Numerous Attorneys - Expert Witness on Product Liability including trials = ongoing 30+ years

1989 to Quanex Corp., Nichols-Homeshield/Fabricated Products Division, Naperville, Illinois.
1991 A subsidiary of Quanex Corporation manufacturing metal roll-form and fabricated products for the building and custom manufacturing markets with sales of $300,000,000.

Chief Engineering Manager. Responsible to the Vice President and General Manager for all engineering operations including Research and Development, Design, Manufacturing Industrial and Tooling Engineering, and, in addition, all Maintenance, Tooling and Quality Assurance.

• Directly supervised a management staff of five (5) department Managers plus 55 professional, hourly, and clerical employees and a $10,000,000 budget.

• Developed a responsive costing and quoting team and installed a new six-station AUTOCAD system which increased new product design and manufacturing cost quotes from 10/month to 30/month. Net Result: Increased quotation activity permitted the capture of $7,000,000 additional sales.

• Developed a creative environment that brought in 200% more new products per year than previously, and, in addition, developed an advance window spacer resulting in an additional $10,000,000 in forecasted sales at 35% gross margins.

1986 to Federal Signal Corp., Elgin Sweeper Division, Elgin, Illinois.
1989 The premier manufacturer of street sweepers with worldwide sales of $200,000,000.

Vice President, Engineering and Quality Assurance. Responsible to the President for all Research and Development, Engineering Lab, Product Engineering, Strategic Product Planning Operations, and Elgin's Quality Improvement Process.

• Developed and introduced a complete redesign of 75% or 9 of 12 of Elgin's products within 18 months, subsequently improving sales and profits by 25% on redesigned models. Plus developed an advanced styling and performance all-aluminum truck cab model. Net result: Sales increased 300% from 30 to 90 units per year.

• Developed within two years (2) and introduced the most innovative street sweeper (Eagle) in history. Net results: Sales grew 40% and profits 50%.

• Implemented a Quality Improvement Process that reduced Quality costs over $1,000,000 a year highlighted by an 85% reduction in warranty costs plus spearheaded an ongoing Supplier Quality Improvement and Cost Reduction Process.

• Key participant in displacing the union during their strike and hiring and managing to a new total non-union workforce that participated in profit sharing.

1984 to Cooper Industries, Clarke Div., Muskegon, Michigan.
1986 Second largest manufacturer of powered cleaning products marketed through Clarke, American-Lincoln and Clarke-Delco with sales of $250,000,000.

Vice-President, Engineering and Quality Assurance. Responsible to the president for all Research and Development, Engineering Design, and Quality Assurance at three (3) locations and Clarke's Strategic Product Planning. Responsible for $7,000,000 budget.

• Developed and introduced 11 new products in 1985 ("most successful new product launch in years") resulting in +15% sales, +20% profit growth and reduced warranty costs by 30%.

1983 to Renfro Corporation, Mount Airy, North Carolina.
1984 World's largest [five (5) plants] manufacturer of sport/casual socks with sales of $150,000,000.

Director of Technical Services. Responsible to the president for product Development, Quality, Lab, Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering and a $3,000,000 budget.

1977 to Tenant Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
1983 World's largest manufacturer of industrial sweepers, scrubbers, and floor coatings with plants worldwide the Netherlands, Brazil and Japan and sales of $450,000,000.

Director of Engineering. Responsible to the vice president for the planning and technical direction for all products worldwide from concept through production. Managed five (5) Chief Engineers and 125 employees and a $10,000,000 budget.

• Developed and introduced seven (7) major products and four (4) major product line updates increasing sales by +20% and profits by 30%.

• Improved Engineering responsiveness by speeding up product development from five (5) years to two (2) years with a "do it right the first time" philosophy. Net result: Reduced engineering turnover from 20% to below 4%.


1976 to FMC Corporation, Crane and Excavator Division, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
1977 A manufacturer of hydraulic and cable cranes and excavators with sales of $500,000,000.

Chief Engineer, Hydraulics/Electronics. Responsible to the vice president for the design and development of all hydraulic systems, component development, electrical systems and components, and advanced (ergometric) design of operator cabs and controls.

1972 to Allis Chalmers Corporation, Industrial Truck Division, Matteson, Illinois.
1976 A manufacturer of material handling and lift trucks with sales of $250,000,000.

Manager, Engineering. Responsible to the vice president and general manager for the design and development of all material handling products, reliability testing and divisional strategic product planning worldwide in U.S., Canada, and European Operations. Managed the direction of seven (7) Chief Engineers and a staff of 90.

1962 to Komatsu Dresser Company (formerly Westinghouse Air Brake (WABCO)), Peoria, Illinois.
1972 A manufacturer of trucks, graders, and loaders with sales of $100,000,000 in (1970).

Design Engineer (1962) to Senior Technical Staff Engineer (1969-1972).

EDUCATION:
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, Chicago, Illinois.
- Advanced Management Development, 1975.

BRADLEY UNIVERSITY, Peoria, Illinois.
- MEA, Master's of Engineering Administration: Quality and Economics, 1971.
- MSME, Master's of Mechanical Engineering: Design, 1967.
- BSME, Bachelor's of Mechanical Engineering: Design, 1962.

MANAGEMENT
DEVELOPMENT:
- AMA seminars = Finance, MRP I & II, JIT, Research, Economics, Management…
- CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEADERSHIP, Greensboro, NC + Leadership.
- FARR Associates, Greensboro, NC = Self-Development and Leadership.
- PHIL CROSBY'S = Zero Defects & Quality Improvement Process.
- Dr. W.E. DEMING'S = Statistical Process Control and 14 Step Quality.
- Dr. J JURRAN'S = Quality and Reliability.