Kurt Kroplin

Kurt Kroplin

Vice President, Supply Chain Operations The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company

Kurt Kroplin is a seasoned manufacturing and supply chain executive with deep expertise in operational excellence, engineering, and large-scale production leadership. Currently serving as a senior leader at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, Kurt brings a strong track record of driving performance across complex manufacturing environments, with a focus on improving quality, optimizing processes, and delivering sustainable business results. His leadership spans plant operations, supply chain strategy, and cross-functional execution, enabling organizations to enhance efficiency while maintaining a strong commitment to safety and reliability. Prior to joining Scotts Miracle-Gro, Kurt spent nearly a decade at Whirlpool Corporation, where he held multiple leadership roles in manufacturing engineering and quality, including Plant Leader, Director of Manufacturing Engineering, and Senior Manager of Manufacturing Quality. Throughout his career, he has built a reputation for developing high-performing teams and implementing scalable systems that drive continuous improvement. With a background in mechanical engineering and business administration, Kurt combines technical depth with strategic insight to help organizations achieve operational excellence and long-term growth.

CWM Summit Day Two - October 15, 2026

8:40 AM Turning Frontline AI-Powered Execution into Your Ultimate Asset

Global manufacturing has reached an inflection point. For years, the mandate was simply to digitize the floor. But in an era of chronic labor shortages, retiring expertise, and relentless margin pressures, just "going paperless" is no longer a differentiator. The true competitive advantage belongs to leaders who can convert daily frontline actions into a self-sustaining engine of continuous improvement.

In this main-stage keynote, Jerry Dolinksy moves past the digital transformation hype to deliver a strategic blueprint for the modern connected worker ecosystem. Discover how forward-thinking manufacturers leverage embedded AI, intelligent workflows, and real-time visibility to institutionalize tribal knowledge, slash onboarding times, and eliminate hidden bottlenecks. Attendees will leave with a clear vision of how to shift their frontline strategy from a reactive cost-center to a compounding strategic asset, where every shift and every worker automatically strengthens the entire enterprise.

• The Improvement Flywheel: Designing a closed-loop system where frontline feedback instantly optimizes training, safety, and OEE.
• Pragmatic Frontline AI: Moving AI out of data science silos and into active workflows to prevent downtime in real time.
• Operational Continuity: High-impact strategies to capture decades of retiring expertise and build a resilient workforce.
• The Cost of Complacency: Why traditional digital transformation frameworks are failing the frontline and the hidden financial drain of waiting to modernize.
• AI-Driven Velocity: Shifting from "reactive firefighting" to an automated operation that predicts bottlenecks and updates standard work in real time.

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Kurt.

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