Mark Zblewski

Food manufacturing executive with 20+ years of plant and multi-site leadership. Directed six plants and three agricultural operations with $60-80M operating budgets and capital budgets up to $50M. Strong record of improving safety, cost, OEE and customer service, and of leading MES, WMS and EAM implementations across multiple sites.

Plant Manager at GREAT LAKES CHEESE (2025 – 2026)

Led a 470-employee facility with 15 production lines, three shifts and six direct reports. Responsible for safety, quality, production, planning, sanitation, warehousing, maintenance, budget and capital.

• Reached 1 million work hours without a lost-time accident in 2025 with a TRIR below 1.5
• Increased near-miss reporting 50%, building a proactive safety culture
• Delivered more than $350K in annual savings and met or beat the operating budget
• Increased OEE 6 points, cut unplanned downtime 12% and reduced changeovers 15% using SMED
• Improved material yield 1% and labor productivity 5%
• Reduced product giveaway through tighter fill-weight controls
• Held first-pass quality above 98% and lowered customer complaints 15%
• Managed a $4.6M MRO budget and kept PM compliance above 90%
• Maintained SQF certification with zero major nonconformances and passed all customer audits
• Completed mock recalls with 100% traceability in under two hours
• Maintained ammonia refrigeration PSM and RMP compliance with zero findings
• Reduced overtime 10% through better labor planning and cross-training

Assistant Plant Manager at GREAT LAKES CHEESE (2024 – 2025)

• Directed production, quality, planning, shipping, safety and maintenance across three shifts
• Raised schedule attainment to 95% with tiered daily huddles and KPI boards
• Coached front-line supervisors in Lean, safety leadership and team management
• Promoted to Plant Manager within 12 months

Vice President of Operations at DEL MONTE FOODS (2019 – 2024)

Directed six domestic plants and three agricultural operations with 11 direct reports, a $60-80M operating budget and capital budgets up to $50M. Responsible for manufacturing, supply chain, maintenance, quality, safety, sustainability and agricultural planning.

• Standardized KPIs, plant scorecards and monthly business reviews across all six plants
• Led the annual operating plan and multi-year capital plan for the manufacturing network
• Held cost per case flat despite rising labor and material costs and cut conversion cost 3%
• Delivered capital projects, including line installs and plant upgrades, on time and on budget with more than $1M in annual savings
• Reduced manufacturing waste 5-10% year over year across raw materials, production, handling and aged inventory
• Raised OTIF to 97% by aligning capacity, warehousing and staffing with demand plans
• Lowered network TRIR 25% and standardized PSM programs at all sites
• Implemented Blue Yonder WMS at all domestic sites within two years, with inventory accuracy above 99%
• Led TrakSYS MES selection and rollout across domestic and international sites from 2017 to 2023, improving OEE 5 points
• Negotiated annual raw-product contracts with California and Washington fruit and tomato growers' associations
• Maintained FDA LACF, FSMA, wastewater and environmental permit compliance at all sites
• Reduced water and energy use 5%

Director of Vegetable Operations at DEL MONTE FOODS (2014 – 2019)

Directed four plants in Wisconsin and Washington along with supporting agricultural operations.

• Shortened seed-development lead time from 9.5 to 6.5 years, a 32% reduction
• Redesigned direct labeling and deployment, increasing finished goods available to ship 25% and saving $500K
• Increased pack-season OEE 5 points and cut pack-season downtime 10%
• Implemented EAM and maintenance planning, improving parts-room management, raising planned work above 80% and cutting MRO inventory 10%
• Improved raw-product utilization 3% through grower contracts, acreage planning and harvest scheduling
• Rolled out Lean and Six Sigma at all four plants

Area/Site Manager | Plant Superintendent at DEL MONTE FOODS

• Directed plants with 150+ year-round and 600+ seasonal employees
• Reduced cost per case 5% and MRO spend 10% through parts standardization
• Kept pack-season line efficiency above 90% and started every pack on schedule after off-season rebuilds
• Reduced recordable injuries 30% and scored above 95% on food safety audits

Shift Supervisor | Production Supervisor at DEL MONTE FOODS

Led crews of 75+ through peak pack in processing, canning, labeling and warehouse

• Improved line efficiency 8% through crew scheduling and changeover improvements

B.S. in Agricultural Business; Minors: Farm Management, Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Economics – University of Wisconsin-River Falls