Cadence Aerospace, a provider of highly complex aerospace components and assemblies to commercial and defense customers, today named Bernard (Ben) P. Chowaniec as vice president—operations. With Centers of Excellence based in the U.S. and Mexico, Cadence Aerospace serves the world's leading manufacturers of aircraft, aerostructures, aeroequipment and other defense platforms.
In his new role, Mr. Chowaniec will oversee day-to-day operations across Cadence facility locations to support growth, focusing on strategic planning and goal setting in key areas including quality, materials, delivery, cost and manufacturing engineering. He reports to Dennis Orzel, Chief Operating Officer of Cadence Aerospace.
“The addition of another aerospace industry veteran further strengthens the operational organization at Cadence Aerospace, and I am excited to welcome Ben to Cadence Aerospace leadership team and look forward to his contributions,” said Thomas C. Hutton, chief executive officer of Cadence Aerospace. “With more than 30 years of experience, Ben brings a strong blend of manufacturing and operations knowledge to our Company, along with a proven track record in both OEM and Aftermarket sectors for meeting business goals, driving continuous improvement and building and maintaining strong customer relationships.”
Mr. Chowaniec’s career is highlighted by a 32-year tenure at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, an American aerospace manufacturer in East Hartford, CT, and subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation [UTC], with global service operations. Since 1987, he has held a number of positions of increasing responsibility at the company, serving most recently as Vanes Operations Manager. In this capacity, Mr. Chowaniec expanded the business by 33 percent in 24 months while reducing both costs and quality defects. Prior to that, he was Business Unit Manager for Pratt’s Turbine Module Center, responsible for overall business unit operations of the commercial blades business. As Materials/Customer Service Manager, Mr. Chowaniec managed overall interaction with the customer base and improved inventory turns by 600 percent during a four-year period.
He also served as an Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Team Leader for Pratt’s Turbine Module Center, improving overall Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) performance as well as the turnback data entry system. Earlier during his career with Pratt and Whitney, during 1987-2003, Mr. Chowaniec held the positions of blade quality manager, product line manager, vane cell manager and senior methods engineer. He was instrumental in guiding and implementing quality improvements, lead-time and turn-time reductions, and mistake proofing initiatives as part of these roles.
Mr. Chowaniec earned both a Master of Science in Organization Management and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology from Central Connecticut State University as well as an Associate Degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Greater New Haven State Mechanical College. He also is a recognized UTC ACE Practitioner, a recipient of a UTC Leadership Award for military flow line implementation and a Pratt & Whitney Leadership Award Winner for 1998.
