Ron Proffer

Background

About Ron Proffer

When the first batch was finished, the customer's chemist asked if she could take a picture with the first bag of product. I totally understood the sense of accomplishment she was feeling. As Production Manager of a multipurpose specialty chemicals plant and Project Responsible for this major investment, I had just led a multidisciplinary team through the task of manufacturing a new molecule at industrial scale for the first time. The scaleup from 1kg to batches involved knowledge transfer from the customer's R&D and Engineering teams, pilot plant operation, safety reviews, automation programming, procedure writing, operator training, analytical method development, commissioning checks, chatting with the customer's team of people stationed in my control room all day and night - and finally, doing a "photoshoot" with the first finished batch. That experience cemented my desire to stay close to the world of manufacturing throughout my career. I have since moved on to a different field of work (controlling) in a different country (Germany), but always with the intent to bring useful new knowledge into future Production opportunities.