Aaron Holwick

95%+PM compliance

Up from ~50% within six months at ABB, sustained since, including a 100% week.

90k → <10kPast-due backlog

Parts past due at ABB, cut as part of the leadership team and cleared to zero several times.

+40%Plant output

Growth at ABB toward a mandate to double output, achieved while the backlog came down.

5 weeks earlyRobotic rotor cell

One operator running two cells, delivered ahead of schedule on a project that had sat unfinished for a year.

30%Throughput gain

On a fully automated extrusion line I led through design and commissioning at Panduit.

20%Downtime reduction

From optimizing extrusion processes at Panduit.

1. Nov 2025 – Present

   Engineering & Maintenance Manager

   ABB Southwest Die Casting

   Fort Smith, AR

   Lead engineering and maintenance for a high-volume aluminum die casting and rotor casting plant (~25 machines, four shifts) under a mandate to double output. Scope covers maintenance, controls, facilities, tooling, and project engineering, with 2 direct reports, ~13 technicians, and the E&M capital budget.

   • Raised PM compliance from ~50% to a sustained 95%+ within six months, including a 100% week, by building a structured preventive maintenance program.
   • Part of the leadership team that cut the plant’s past-due backlog from ~90,000 parts to under 10,000 (cleared to zero several times) while raising output ~40%.
   • Built a failure-analytics platform that clusters free-text SAP work orders with vector embeddings (Python, Postgres/pgvector, React) into a repeat-failure Pareto that drives root-cause projects. Automated work-order and PM compliance reporting with Python SAP GUI scripting.
   • Ran the plant-wide annual LOTO verification as a live, machine-by-machine execution of every written procedure rather than a paper audit. Now driving closure of the gaps it surfaced, including ~35 new procedures, disconnect repairs, and retraining of authorized employees.
   • Designed a 9-level technician training path (Lube Tech to Lead) mapped onto the existing pay levels, stacking UAFS credentials toward an AAS, plus a reliability apprenticeship built on 30 credit hours of UAFS coursework.
   • Delivered a robotic rotor post-processing cell through ABB’s Lean program: sized it with a 20,000-order Monte Carlo model and a FlexSim model, staffed it with one operator across two cells, and finished ~5 weeks ahead of schedule on a cell that had sat unfinished for a year. Also leading standard work and SMED to cut die change from a 104.5 min baseline toward a 30 min target.
   • Reducing plant energy use year over year through compressed-air leak repair, evaporative cooling, and an on-demand hydraulic power pack pilot. Scoped a 75% evaporator capacity increase with oil separation for the ~6,000 gal/day oily wastewater stream.
2. Feb 2025 – Jun 2025

   Senior Automation Engineer

   J+H Automation Solutions

   Hackett, AR

   • Returned to J+H in a senior role on industrial automation, controls engineering, and custom manufacturing systems.
3. Mar 2022 – Nov 2024

   Senior Manufacturing Engineer

   Panduit

   Lockport, IL

   • Led design and commissioning of a fully automated extrusion line integrating robotics, vision systems, and PLCs, setting record performance and improving throughput 30%.
   • Optimized extrusion processes and reduced downtime 20%, cutting operating cost.
   • Engineered and programmed electrical systems for plastic extrusion and molding using AutoCAD Electrical and Allen-Bradley PLCs.
   • Integrated Fanuc robots and collaborative CRX units to add line flexibility and reduce manual labor; completed 45 hours of Fanuc training.
   • Built BOMs and managed procurement for on-time, on-budget component delivery, and worked with mechanical teams on designs that simplified long-term maintenance.
4. Mar 2018 – Mar 2022

   Project Manager (Remote)

   J+H Automation Solutions

   Hackett, AR

   • Project Manager (Remote), Sep 2021 – Mar 2022
   • Project Engineer, Dec 2019 – Sep 2021
   • Engineering Intern (during degree), Mar 2018 – Dec 2019

   • Designed the complete electrical and controls package for a three-cell robotic system as sole designer: a 1756-L83ES safety PLC, 4 Fanuc robots, 7 servo axes, 6 3D laser profilers, OEM equipment over OPC UA, 7 IO-Link remote I/O panels, and 4 safety circuits. Drew the 200+ page set in AutoCAD and led field installation.
   • Led seven-figure projects from concept to final acceptance as primary client liaison, coordinating engineering, procurement, installation, and on-site subcontractors.
   • Managed $500K–$750K projects; integrated Fanuc and ABB robots with custom end-of-arm tooling and deployed Keyence and Cognex vision inspection.
   • As an intern, supported mechanical and electrical design, time studies, and a hydraulic system build for Gerdau Steel.

Reliability & Maintenance

PM program design, SAP PM, MTBF / MTTR, RCFA, LOTO, CapEx budgeting, Contractor management

Lean

Standard work, SMED, Cell design, Time study, Monte Carlo & FlexSim simulation

Controls & Automation

Allen-Bradley / GuardLogix, Fanuc, ABB & CRX robots, Keyence, Cognex & LMI vision, OPC UA, IO-Link

Software & Design

Python, SQL, React, AutoCAD Electrical, SolidWorks, MATLAB

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, AR

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

  Fall 2019

  • Graduated with Highest Distinction (3.94 GPA)
  • Vice President & Co-Founder of Numa Motorsports

• Associate of Science in Mechanical Engineering

  Spring 2018

Before engineering, founded and ran two small businesses: Code Green Lawn Care (2011–2013) and Blizzard Wizard Shaved Ice (2014–2016).