Gap Partners Launches Growth Strategy

To grow market share and double in size over the next three years, the precision parts fabricator hires a Six Sigma/lean operations management expert with startup and turnaround experience to be their new general manager.

Gap Partners, Inc. (Rabun Gap, GA) recently announced that Frank Cucchiara, a Six Sigma/lean operations management expert who has helped lead manufacturing startups and turnarounds in China and the United States, was hired as the general manager of Gap Partners.

Gap Partners, with 70 employees in two growing locations in Rabun Gap, is a full-service precision fabricated metal parts products and assembly company serving the telecommunications, computer, defense, energy management, medical equipment and instrumentation, industrial and office automation, electric utility, packaging, transportation, and visual display industries.

Cucchiara comes to the company from TSE Industries, where he recently started up Changzhou TSE Rubber and Plastic Products Manufacturing Co. in Changzhou, China, near Shanghai, within just six months. He has also facilitated rapid growth while serving in a variety of roles at TSE Industries in the U.S., Dosatron International, Goodyear Tire and Rubber, Western Auto and Olympic Transportation.

In addition to Six Sigma and lean operations management, his expertise includes supply chain management and international logistics. Cucchiara earned a BS from Rutgers University and was certified as a Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt at St. Petersburg College. While living and working in Pinellas County (where St. Petersburg is located) he served as a Pinellas County Doorways mentor for underprivileged children for 11 years and hired and trained eight young people participating in the Pinellas Association for Retarded Citizens (PARC).

“Frank has great skills, an impressive background and dedication to community service, and we are excited he will be Gap Partners’ new leader and a great addition to our team,” said Luke Faulstick, the president and chief executive officer of Power Partners, Inc. (Athens, GA), the parent company of Gap Partners.

“Our overall corporate strategy is to double in size over the next three years by growing share in markets we already serve and by entering new and adjacent markets,” said Steve Hollis, the chairman of Power Partners and the executive vice president for strategy and development at the parent company. “Frank will provide the necessary leadership to help Gap Partners fulfill its mission and growth targets.”

Gap Partners, a full service precision fabricated metal parts products and assembly company certified ISO 9001:2008, is equipped to take a job from drawing to completion using state-of-the-art CNC and other quality production equipment. The company’s core competencies include precision fabricated metal parts; mechanical assemblies; electronic and electro-mechanical assemblies; painting and screen printing; custom contract manufacturing; and flexibility to address customers’ needs quickly. Products include chassis, racks, panels, cabinets, enclosures, weldments, brackets, and much more. www.gappartnersinc.com