Ron Basu

Production and operations leader with 20+ years of experience across high-volume food manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and automotive operations. Strong fit for Factor's ready-to-heat meal fulfillment environment, with hands-on experience leading large teams, driving safety and GMP discipline, improving plan adherence, quality, order fulfillment, efficiency, and cost performance. Proven record leading teams up to 325 employees, improving OEE from 55% to 80%, achieving 98.3% uptime, supporting SQF/BRC/HACCP/GMP programs, closing major audits, and implementing SOPs, training systems, MRP/ERP tools, rootcause problem solving, and Lean Six Sigma continuous improvement.

Production Manager - AM - Chudleigh's Bakery - Milton, ON

(2025-12 - 2026-05)

• Led 325 direct and indirect employees in a high-volume food production environment, aligning labour, materials, equipment readiness, production flow, safety, quality, and daily output targets.
• Reported directly to the Operations Manager and provided clear operational updates on uptime, waste, staffing, bottlenecks, production risks, and corrective actions.
• Consistently exceeded monthly performance targets by achieving 98.3% uptime against a 95% target and reducing waste to 4.21% against a 5% target.
• Spearheaded a Lean Six Sigma initiative to increase plant capacity by 35%, supporting stronger throughput, efficiency, and plan reliability.
• Reinforced accountability, employee engagement, safe work practices, GMP expectations, and process discipline across production teams.

Production Manager - VM Foods - Vaughan, ON

(2024-09 - 2025-08)

• Managed 45 direct and indirect employees producing hot cereals, reporting to the Director of Operations and coordinating production, batch blending, packaging, and warehouse activities.
• Improved OEE from 55% in September 2024 to 80% by strengthening daily management, bottleneck resolution, line discipline, and data-driven problem solving.
• Achieved record weekly production of 22,000 cases in March 2025, more than doubling the previous average of 10,000 cases.
• Established KPIs across 10 production lines, batch blending, and warehouse operations to improve visibility, accountability, efficiency, and plan adherence.
• Contributed significantly to successful Markov MRP system implementation, improving planning, material visibility, and production coordination.
• Closed SQF audit with a 96% score in July 2025, demonstrating strong food safety, quality, documentation, and compliance discipline.
• Launched an employee recognition program, recruited and onboarded a Production Supervisor, and supported stronger morale, retention, and leadership bench strength.
• Repurposed inbound white pallets for outbound shipping, generating $24,000 in annual savings while supporting operational sustainability.

Production Manager - Bimeda, Inc. - Cambridge, ON

(2022-01 - 2024-07)

• Led 6 Supervisors and 79 hourly unionized employees across 3 shifts in a regulated pharmaceutical manufacturing and packaging environment, reporting to the Plant Manager.
• Owned plant safety metrics and served as JHSC management co-chair, reinforcing OH&S compliance, incident prevention, and hazard awareness.
• Reduced quality deviations per batch from 1.98 in April 2022 to 0.79 in July 2024 through root-cause analysis, training, process control, and corrective actions.
• Increased Equine Paste productivity from 12,000 to 15,000 units per shift through a focused continuous improvement program.
• Reduced WIP inventory from 70,000 injectable units to 5,000 by the end of Q2 2024 through improved flow, prioritization, and cross-functional execution.
• Reduced batch release time from 40 to 29 days by improving the finished packaging process and removing operational delays.
• Reduced overdue training from 543 items to 12 for a team of 85 direct and indirect reports and created a formal training program for production and packaging operators.
• Successfully supported closure of 1 US FDA audit and 1 Health Canada audit.

Production Manager - Club Coffee - Etobicoke, ON

(2019-08 - 2022-01)

• Managed cross-functional teams across production, maintenance, QA, and material handling on two shifts, including 75 team members, 5 Supervisors, and 1 Production Analyst.
• Oversaw coffee production from roasting and grinding through packing, managing approximately 700,000 lbs. per week and 700 active SKUs during production cycles and changeovers.
• Maintained and coached teams on product quality, food safety programs, BRC, HACCP, QA/QC, GMP, sanitation practices, and audit readiness.
• Managed yearly manpower budgeting and planning, using weekly and monthly labour reports to control costs and support operational coverage.
• Improved final packaging productivity on day shift from 65,000 lbs. to 82,000 lbs. per shift by optimizing production processes and manpower planning.
• Led continuous improvement and cost-saving projects estimated at $90,000 and $450,000 annually.
• Implemented Lean process and manpower changes, reducing temporary labour requirements by 3 on midnight shift and 7 on day shift.

Production Supervisor - Maple Leaf Foods - Brampton, ON

(2017-11 - 2019-08)

• Supervised 120 unionized employees in food processing, production, sanitation, packing, and daily goal achievement, with two Lead Hands and one Assistant Supervisor as direct reports.
• Partnered with Production Planning and Shipping to maintain strong fulfillment performance and consistently achieved 101% to 105% order fill rates.
• Trained team members on GMP, HACCP, food safety, health and safety, and floor-level compliance expectations.
• Managed food safety processes and liaised with CFIA Site Vets and Food Inspectors to support compliance and inspection readiness.
• Designed, implemented, and monitored SOPs for workstations, supporting standardized work, productivity, and quality consistency.
• Conducted manpower planning, requisitions, interviewing, onboarding, performance reviews, accident/incident investigations, and health and safety follow-up.

Production Supervisor - Magna International - Milton, ON

(2005-02 - 2017-11)

• Promoted from Production Team Member to Production Supervisor and managed business operations for assembly lines manufacturing automotive parts for major OEMs.
• Led 15 team members, applied standardized work and TWI principles, and trained team members and leaders as a Certified TWI Trainer.
• Consistently achieved over 90% KPI performance against an 85% company-wide target through disciplined daily management and team coaching.

Master of Business Administration - Operations Management - European International University

Bachelor of Science - Biological Sciences - University of Calcutta