As factory manager for the Remanufacturing and Components Division at Caterpillar Inc., Keith Gettinger leads all aspects of a manufacturing business in excess of $300 million in revenue, 300 employees and a worldwide customer base. He works to align business processes with corporate objectives and leads strategic initiatives to fundamentally improve the business, with exceptional results.
Among his greatest professional accomplishments, Gettinger led a $180 million reinvestment effort in the undercarriage factory in East Peoria. He improved delivery performance of track-type tractor undercarriage products from 28 to more than 80 percent on-time delivery, with line of sight to 95 percent or better—critical to reducing back orders by over $20 million. His efforts to develop and adopt a safety strategy based on industry best practices and corporate benchmarking have resulted in improved safety performance by double digits each year, with a 34-percent improvement since 2010.
Active in the community, Gettinger has committed himself to the mission of providing hope and assistance to children with disabilities served by Easter Seals. Over the past five years, he has taken on progressively increasing roles of leadership in the nonprofit’s annual campaign: first as a Telethon VIP, then as a team leader, and most recently as a member of the Steering Committee. With his help, the 2010 Easter Seals Telethon VIP Campaign reached its highest level ever.
In addition to his work with Easter Seals, Gettinger supports the Children’s Home Association of Illinois, Heart of Illinois United Way, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He is an active member and leader in the Association for Operations Management and the American Society for Quality. He also sits on the Missouri University of Science & Technology Constituent Advisory Council and works as a Caterpillar recruiting volunteer to promote workplace diversity.
A motivated and committed leader, Gettinger successfully balances the demands of his professional life, community service and family responsibilities while demonstrating excellence in all three areas. iBi
