Alan K. Stanbridge is a Process Engineering Consultant with particular expertise in tobacco leaf processing, cigarette manufacture and tobacco expansion technologies. He has extensive experience in the tobacco industry in process technology, production support and consulting roles. Alan has a proven track record of successfully implementing innovative solutions to process issues and achieving outstanding results. He applies a practical, hands on approach to problem solving which when harnessed within the Holistic Manufacturing™ methodology generates quick and sustainable results.
Alan has worked on Holistic Manufacturing™project teams and on diagnostics in many plants and countries, including Nobleza Piccardo Argentina, B&W Macon GA USA, West Indian Tobacco Company Trinidad & Tobago, BAT Malaysia, BAT Bangladesh and Bigott Venezuela. In these projects HMC achieved significant financial benefits with payback often measured in weeks or months. Alan's results include: a 40% increase in DIET plant throughput; significant reduction in process variability of tobacco with no major investment, while also reducing tobacco usage by over 2% through waste- and variability-reduction, resulting in less degradation and greater control.
Alan has demonstrated success in variety of process areas in factories worldwide: Led a tobacco utilization team resulting in 1.5% tobacco savings, or £1.6 million; achieved £0.75 million in annual savings by changing the processing strategy of a DIET plant; specification and installation of a pilot plant primary process in a new Group Science & Technology Centre on time and in budget (£4.5 million); implementation of a new processing strategy at various factories resulting in improved cigarette quality and overall waste reduction; establishment of process specifications and quality reporting for several production facilities; successful implementation of a novel cigarette manufacturing machine; implementation of control systems which reduced waiting time for prototype blends and cigarettes from up to 1 year to 2 weeks and improved overall product quality; stabilized stem blend filling power.
Prior to joining HMC, Alan worked for Rothmans International for over 20 years in a variety of roles. As Senior Process Engineer at the Group Science & Technology Centre, he was responsible for setting process specifications for Rothmans production facilities, development and evaluation of new technologies, investigation of tobacco lamina and stem expansion processes, problem-solving in both primary processing and secondary manufacture, defining and implementing best processing practices within the Rothmans group, managing a factory-wide primary and secondary waste reduction team, and for providing technical support to leaf department managers and directors worldwide. Alan is currently based in England.
Email: stanbridgea@h-m-c.com
