Sunset welcomes new COO, Charlie Hopewell
Charlie has spent the bulk of his career with Neilsen Manufacturing in roles from account management to President. Neilsen was a precision sheet metal manufacturing company specializing in enclosures and parts for the Northwest’s high technology and manufacturing industries. The organization grew from 35 employees to over 350, occupying over 180,000 sq. ft. with an extensive array of manufacturing processes and equipment. Neilsen participated actively in its LEAN manufacturing journey. The 24 year experience with Neilsen provided Charlie with extensive background in manufacturing, operations, marketing, sales, finance, quality (ISO) and team development. Charlie was President of the company when it made the very difficult decision to close its doors, primarily due to manufactured products moving off shore.
Charlie then joined Alumco/Aluminite as its C.O.O. overseeing 7 plants in 6 states. Aluminite manufactures screens for window and door OEM’s across the United States. It did this by coordinating it’s production of products to the customer’s daily production and delivering finished goods directly to the customer’s assembly lines … within 24-36 hours of order receipt! Charlie also handled capital equipment and major tooling acquisition as well as plant location and set up. Aluminite continued to develop Charlie’s background in LEAN manufacturing across a broad array of facilities and products.
Charlie also has experience in running a family business (as a non-family member) and working in a manufacturing consulting environment with Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP).
He is most proud of his two married daughters and his wife, to whom he’s been married for 33+ years. Charlie most enjoys ANY time he can spend with his family. Occasionally, he’ll find time to play golf or have an enjoyable walk with one of his dogs.
