Al Mar

Manufacturing executive and metallurgy-driven quality leader with 15+ years of progressive experience across forging, heat treatment, machining, aerospace, defense, oil and gas, specialty metals, coatings, laboratory operations, and engineering management. Proven success leading cross-functional teams, building compliant management systems, improving manufacturing performance, resolving complex technical issues, and translating metallurgical expertise into business results. Combines an MBA with hands-on expertise in ferrous, nickel-base, titanium, and copper alloys; process qualification; failure analysis; supplier development; ERP improvement; and digital quality management.

Qualified for Director, Head of Quality, Engineering, Metallurgy, Operations, Continuous Improvement, Technical Services, and Plant leadership roles.

Director of Quality, Engineering & Metallurgy at Galperti Inc. (2023-03 – Present)

• Provide executive leadership for Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Engineering, Metallurgy, ISO/IEC 17025 laboratory operations, supplier quality, regulatory compliance, customer technical support, and continuous improvement within a forging, heat-treatment, and machining operation.
• Serve as ISO 9001 management representative and lead management reviews, internal audits, customer audits, third-party assessments, corrective actions, KPI governance, risk management, and organization-wide quality strategy.
• Directed successful ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for tensile, Charpy impact, Rockwell, Brinell, grain size, steel cleanliness, corrosion, and microstructure testing; built laboratory procedures, competency systems, verification programs, equipment controls, and audit readiness.
• Led PED certification, NSF compliance, and AMS 2750 implementation, including furnace classification, temperature uniformity surveys, system accuracy tests, instrumentation controls, pyrometry procedures, calibration systems, and corrective actions for furnace performance.
• Own metallurgical engineering and technical decisions involving material specifications, forging reductions, heat-treatment cycles, mechanical testing, microstructure, failure analysis, MTR review, NDE, deviations, concessions, and customer acceptance.
• Implemented company-wide quality and accountability structures defining process ownership, inspection, verification, escalation, and handoffs across Receiving, Saw, Forging, Heat Treatment, Machining, QC, Shipping, and Engineering.
• Developed department KPIs for first-pass yield, forge and machining scrap, NCR volume and aging, customer complaints, supplier performance, laboratory turnaround, calibration compliance, and on-time delivery.
• Led scrap and defect reduction initiatives addressing under-forging, incomplete fill, misalignment, dimensional loss, machining errors, heat-treatment deviations, and delayed problem escalation.
• Established a structured NCR and corrective-action program with defect coding, root-cause analysis, ownership rules, rework routing, alerts, disposition controls, and management visibility.
• Designed SharePoint workflow dashboards and digital systems for NCRs, rework, tooling, audits, training, document control, approvals, supplier onboarding, and cross-functional project tracking.
• Built ProQMS software solutions, including ProISOManager and ProDocs Manager, to manage ISO clauses, controlled documents, audits, findings, CAPA, 5-Why and fishbone analysis, training, approvals, audit trails, attachments, dashboards, and PDF/Excel reporting.
• Improved Infor LN processes for item status, sales-order quality review, production planning, PO visibility, traceability, naming consistency, and release controls; partnered with IT and operations to reduce manual gaps and order delays.
• Led strategic sourcing and supplier development for forged and continuously cast materials, heat treatment, testing, calibration, and specialty processes; performed supplier technical evaluations, MTR/specification reviews, audits, and qualification planning.
• Directed R&D and DOE work for A350 LF2 material and heat-treatment optimization, evaluating chemistry, carbon equivalent, grain size, microstructure, hardness, tensile properties, impact toughness, forging route, quench agitation, and supplier capability.
• Managed furnace repair, burner tuning, door sealing, overshoot investigations, control-system improvements, PLC/SCADA requirements, alarms, quench agitation upgrades, and production release decisions based on pyrometry evidence.
• Partner with the President and leadership team on organizational structure, hiring, succession planning, capital projects, aerospace diversification, business risk, supplier strategy, and integration of quality with operations and engineering.
• Created internal auditor development, technical teach-back sessions, operator training, competency matrices, and role/responsibility charts to improve workforce capability and reinforce that product quality is owned by every department.
• Support major energy, oil and gas, petrochemical, and industrial customers through specification interpretation, ITP/NOI review, technical waivers, failure investigations, corrective actions, material substitutions, and direct customer communication.

Senior Metallurgical Engineer / Program Manager at Ellwood Texas Forge (2020-03 – 2023-03)

• Led metallurgy, quality, technical program management, and customer qualification activities for aerospace, defense, oil and gas, and industrial forging portfolios valued above $50 million.
• Developed and qualified forging and heat-treatment routes including normalizing, quench and temper, solution annealing, age hardening, and stress relief to ASME, API, AMS, ASTM, and customer requirements.
• Authored manufacturing process specifications, material qualification plans, process qualification plans, inspection plans, control plans, SPC requirements, and technical work instructions.
• Led NPI, FAI/FAIR, process validation, risk reviews, customer technical meetings, supplier qualification, and production readiness from contract review through final approval.
• Governed NDE method selection, technique requirements, acceptance criteria, and documentation for UT, RT, MT, and PT; supported NADCAP scope planning and AS9100 compliance.
• Performed metallography, fractography, failure analysis, and root-cause investigations; translated findings into design, material, tooling, forging, and heat-treatment improvements.
• Reduced production cost by approximately 20% through yield improvement, furnace-cycle optimization, routing changes, process controls, and Lean manufacturing initiatives.

Product Metallurgist / Continuous Improvement Lead at PCC Aerostructures (2018-01 – 2020-03)

• Provided metallurgical ownership for flight-critical titanium and nickel-alloy forging and rolling operations under AS9100, AMS, customer, and aerospace quality requirements.
• Qualified melt and conversion routes, controlled grain size and alpha case, and developed beta anneal, duplex anneal, solution treatment, and aging cycles.
• Led Six Sigma and process-improvement projects that increased yield by approximately 25% through die, reduction schedule, heat-treatment, pyrometry, SPC, and workflow improvements.
• Supported customer qualifications, FAI/FAIR, NADCAP interfaces, NDE, material review, SAP data integrity, audit readiness, and cross-functional corrective actions.

Metallurgical Laboratory Manager at Revere Copper Products (2017-01 – 2018-01)

Directed

MBA