John Cross

Somerset, New Jersey · [email protected] · linkedin.com/in/johnlcrossjr

Research, Development and Manufacturing

A strong technical and organisational manufacturing leader with three decades of experience in CNC programming, development and manufacturing, from entrepreneurial start-ups to legacy companies. Expert knowledge of precision machining, tooling, programming and techniques. A leader in lean manufacturing and training, and a digital factory architect. Core strength is manufacturing and machining; artificial intelligence is a recent plus, with more than 100 professional certificates earned, most in AI, and growing expertise in validating AI tools for regulated medical device manufacturing.

Professional Experience

Micro Stamping Corporation, Somerset, NJ. A $100MM+ privately held global medical device developer and contract manufacturer.

John joined Micro in 2010 in the middle of a strategic shift, recruited to build the precision machining capability the company did not have. There was no department to inherit: no machines of this class, no processes, no people trained on them. He built it from the ground up, in particular its 7-axis mill-turn CNC, its PEM (precision electrolytic machining, deployed and perfected at Micro for the first time in North America) and its automation, alongside Swiss turning, EDM, additive manufacturing and computer integrated manufacturing, staffed and directed across research and development, prototyping, process development and operations. The capability travelled: he developed and delivered fully automated CNC machining cells to an Asian partner, from concept to completion, travelling to Asia to install, train and validate them on time and under budget. And it reproduced itself in people: he trained countless engineers who had never worked with this kind of equipment before, and led the team that developed and delivered a New Jersey state certified training program for apprentice toolmakers.

The work opened markets. He introduced Willemin-Macodel MT machines at Micro, which carried the company into the highly profitable surgical robot marketplace, and brought metal and polymer additive manufacturing into its legacy and planned processes. He was recognised and credited as a key contributor to average 15% per annum revenue growth, driven by the profitability of the CNC and Swiss processes he had built, and worked directly with customers’ engineering and design teams on design for manufacturing early in the product cycle.

Then he wired the factory to itself. He led the multi-year initiative that created Odin, Micro’s digital twin: a real time view of the manufacturing floor, running 24/7 and fully integrated with the ERP, so overall equipment effectiveness can be analysed, charted and acted on instantly. He brought in the SupplyPro SmartDrawer system, now 8 installations across the facility automatically managing $4MM of inventory and integrated directly into the ERP for auto purchases. Through all of it he stayed on the machines himself, the company’s CNC subject matter expert, programming multi-axis platforms including the Willemin-Macodel 408MT, Yasda and Haas, in Mastercam and CamTool.

Keeping the capability current has taken him around the world. He has been fortunate enough to travel the globe searching and researching the latest advancements in CNC, factory automation and autonomation: across most of the United States, and through Mexico, Canada, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and countless other places, bringing what he found back to the shop floor.

The titles followed the results. Manager, Precision Machining on arrival in 2010. Senior Manager, Precision Machining in 2016. Director of Advanced Machining in 2019, the role he holds today, with responsibility for precision machining, digital factory architecture and additive manufacturing.

Structure Medical, Naples, FL. A $50MM+ privately held ISO 13485 orthopedic implant manufacturer.

Manufacturing Manager / CNC Programmer, 2006 to 2010

Metro Technology, North Smithfield, RI.

Founder, 1993 to 2006

Workforce Development

Education and Certificates

Languages

English (native), Italian (proficient)

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