Our Experts

PlanTech's core competencies of Product, Project, and Performance Improvement are led by experts in their fields:

Chad Kymal- CTO

Chad Kymal is an international trainer and consultant whose broad experience includes TQM, setup reduction, technology assessment and inventory analysis, statistical process control, and quality function deployment. After graduating from the General Motors Institute Chad spent a number of years working at General Motors and KPMG before founding Omnex Inc. in 1986. Over Chad's successful career, he has served on the Malcolm Baldrige Board of Examiners and has received numerous quality achievement awards, including the Quality Professional of the Year award by the American Society of Quality Automotive Division in 2005 . In addition to Chad's Bachelor's degree from GMI, Chad holds both a master's degree in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Michigan. In his role as Chief Technology Officer, Chad is instrumental in determining the strategic direction of the consulting and training organizations, as well as the product strategy for the software company - Omnex Systems. Chad personally led the Omnex team that helped Ford Motor Co. rewrite the QOS methodology. He assisted Ford Motor staff write the QS-9000 requirements and he conducted the first worldwide witness audit for the same. Under Chad's direction, Omnex has worked with Lucent Technologies, Philips Semiconductors, Magna, and most of the Fortune 500 companies worldwide. Omnex provides more than 50 training courses in subject areas ranging from APQP to Six Sigma and has 15 offices worldwide. In addition to founding both Omnex and Omnex Systems, Chad is also the founder of AQSR, one of the top five rated quality system registrars in the United States as rated by Quality Digest. AQSR specializes in providing auditing services in ISO 9001, QS-9000, TE Supplement, ISO/TS 16949, VDA 6*, AS9000, and the ISO 14001 series of international standards.

Jim Bongiorno, PMP - President & CEO

Jim Bongiorno, PMP, is the President and CEO of PlanTech Inc. He has over 30 years experience in automotive plant engineering and Project Management . Jim is a widely published expert in areas such as new product development, quality improvement; manufacturing project management, client training, and staffing. He holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Wayne State University, and is a Project Management Professional.

Kevin Lange - Director

Kevin Lange is a self-motivated leader with proven results in the quality field and in purchasing and commercial activities. He has spent over 25 years in the quality field, including experience in the training and consulting fields in addition to tier one supplier and OEM experience. While at Chrysler, Kevin managed commercial issues with Dodge Viper suppliers which included leading multiple resource activities due to economic situations at suppliers. He was also responsible for the quality level of all incoming parts and managed PPAP activities for the Viper program. As Director of Quality at General Physics Corporation, Kevin managed a training staff of ten trainers that conducted seminars on QS-9000, FMEA, APQP, and PPAP to automotive suppliers. In addition, he both developed and conducted instructor-led training in quality tools for over 100 clients in the automotive, power generation and medical fields. He was also the lead instructor for all AIAG-commonized manuals, as well as the lead instructor and Program Manager for QS-9000 auditor training. During his career he has been responsible for numerous internal and external audit programs and conducted hundreds of audits of quality systems in many different industries. Kevin participated in the development of Chrysler's pre-assessment program to qualify a new source as a supplier to Chrysler. He trained Chrysler personnel in audit techniques and led the team on initial audits.

Damon Davie - Senior Consultant

Damon Davie is presently a Consultant/Trainer with Omnex with over 16 years of quality management system experience in automotive, aerospace, and numerous other regulated industries. He has personally led many companies to ISO quality management system registrations and provided associated training throughout Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Damon also has direct experience with the implementation of various QMS tools including: APQP, error/mistake proofing, layered process audits, 5S methodology, and 3L5Y problem solving. For DaimlerChrysler he was Lead Assessor of the team helped dramatically reduce adverse warranty costs by re-engineering quality management techniques in the supply chain. For Ford-Detroit Chassis Plant he drafted the initial quality system documentation and served as management representative in support of QS 9000 quality system registration. For Siemen's TurboCare operation in North Carolina, he provided all preliminary QHSE related training that led to the certification of the Integrated Management System (IMS) for health, safety, and environmental systems for all operations in Winston Salem, NC. For a major international quality management system Registrar, he served as Lead Auditor where he reviewed and signed off on hundreds of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and QS9000 audit packages assuring accuracy and completeness. Damon has held management positions of responsibility at the Ford-Detroit Chassis Plant and was the Lead Assessor of DaimlerChrysler's ASQ award winning Quality Assurance Audit Team (QAAT) in 2006. Damon launched his career at AAA Michigan as a Minority Vendor Relations Coordinator where he created the first assessment method to measure overall supplier viability and financial stability. He then formalized that experience by becoming an ISO Lead Auditor for a major quality system registrar before joining the Ford team in 1999. Damon is an accomplished instructor of quality system methodologies and creator of educational workshops who has the ability to make seemingly complex concepts very easy to understand. He has a Communications degree from Western Illinois University along with extended business coursework at Drake University. Damon's educational experience is complimented by numerous quality method certificates from Eastern Michigan University's Center for Quality.

Fred Krug - Senior Consultant

Fred Krug has 6 years experience supervising people in major automotive manufacturing facilities ranging from component production to full vehicle final assembly. In addition, he has experience with ISO-9000/QS9000 principles and has been a part of several successful plant certifications. Fred has been with PlanTech for over 10 years. His PlanTech, Inc responsibilities include Design and Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis consulting and training at several engineering center locations of a major automotive manufacturer. He has developed expertise in Mechanical DFMEA and Algorithm DFMEA. Prior to joining PlanTech, Fred was selected as one of sixteen from a candidate pool of 600+ to be hired by a major automotive OEM for a new direction of leadership in the manufacturing environment. He has created processes and supervised people at many vehicle assembly centers. Fred has a BS degree from the University of Michigan and presently pursuing his MBA.