ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan's Tauber Institute for Global Operations welcomes Raymond Muscat as Industry Director.  Muscat succeeds Al Woodliff, who served seven and a half years as Tauber Institute Industry Co-Director. 

Mr. Muscat’s 37 year corporate career includes global experiences in the Automotive, Defense Electronics, Aerospace and Office Furniture industries.  His expertise spans engineering, manufacturing, program management, mergers and acquisitions, global manufacturing strategy development and execution, and the implementation of the Toyota Production System/Lean Manufacturing principles.

Mr. Muscat’s career began in 1978 at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn MI.   His work in Ford’s Automotive Assembly Division included projects at assembly plants in Louisville KY, Wayne MI, Wixom MI, and Metuchen NJ.  In 1980, he joined Raytheon Company’s Submarine Signal Division where he held a variety of manufacturing engineering and program management positions for surface ship sonar programs.  From 1984 – 1986, he worked at Ball Aerospace in Boulder CO developing manufacturing operations for military aircraft antennas.  He joined Knoll-Shaw/Walker in Muskegon MI in 1986 and held the positions of Project Engineer, Product Engineering Manager and Director of Engineering for Midwest Operations.  Mr. Muscat joined Herman Miller in 1991, where he was responsible for engineering, new product development, operations management, corporate quality, mergers and acquisitions, and global facility strategy.  He led a core team that developed and implemented the Herman Miller Performance System, Herman Miller’s adaptation of the Toyota Production System/Lean Manufacturing, worldwide.  Mr. Muscat oversaw all new North American product launches in Operations beginning in 2001, and was researching the development of new materials and manufacturing processes for the factory of the future.  His responsibilities grew to include all North American facilities along with numerous facility construction projects, consolidations and upgrades internationally.  Mr. Muscat currently serves as VP of Manufacturing for Cignys, a precision engineered products company in Saginaw MI. 

Born in Detroit, Ray has a BSE in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Rhode Island.  He is the Chairman of the University of Michigan IOE Academic Advisory Board, and has served on the College of Engineering Alumni Society Board.  Additionally, he has lectured and consulted on the application of Lean principles at the University of Michigan, Michigan Lean Consortium, American Manufacturing Strategies Summit, and for State of Michigan employees.

About Tauber Institute for Global Operations

The Tauber Institute for Global Operations is a joint venture between the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the College of Engineering, working with numerous industry partners to facilitate cross-disciplinary education in global operations management.  In addition to a broad array of core and elective courses, the innovative LeadershipAdvantage^SM Program provides students with the tools to ascend to major operations leadership roles.  Well-designed and managed team projects form the cornerstone of the Tauber Institute experience and allow students to apply their knowledge to real world settings.  The Tauber Institute is an inaugural recipient of the UPS George D. Smith Prize for effective and innovative preparation of students to be good practitioners of operations research, management science, or analytics. http://www.tauber.umich.edu

Contact:
Theresa Ceccarelli, 734-647-0308, [email protected]