About Mickey
Hi, I’m Michael McCallion, Mickey.
I’m an Irish-born operational excellence leader with more than 30 years of hands-on manufacturing experience, helping companies move from good intentions to real, measurable results across safety, quality, delivery, cost, and EBITA.
My Journey
I started my career the honest way—on the shop floor in Northern Ireland—beginning as a young engineer and spending my first 20 years learning manufacturing from the inside out. I was fortunate to be exposed to Lean manufacturing early, learning from great peers and mentors along the way. I didn’t begin with buzzwords or slide decks; I learned by running machines, fixing problems, working with operators, engineers, planners, and supervisors, and figuring out how to get product out the door safely and on time.
Twenty plus years ago, my family and I emigrated to the United States, I’ve had the opportunity to lead manufacturing operations across the US, Europe Asia, Mexico, and India, learning firsthand that the most complex challenges aren’t always technical. Real success comes from understanding local cultures, building trust at the Gemba / where the work happens, and creating alignment that allows teams to execute and deliver sustainable results.
What I’ve Spent My Career Doing
I’ve worked across several industries, EMS, prototyping, new product introduction, metal fabrication, clean-room environments, full assembly and testing, my primary focus has always been on the value stream itself. How to optimize, create efficiencies and risk mitigation.
I work closely with designers, customers, manufacturing teams and end users to reduce variability, standardize processes, and create repeatable, scalable manufacturing systems that consistently meet delivery, quality, and cost targets.
Along the way, I’ve led and transformed operations across:
- EMS and end-to-end electromechanical manufacturing, from prototype through volume production
- Medical, aerospace, defense, automotive, and high-tech industrial products, including implantable and external medical devices, imaging systems, and mission-critical electronics
- Advanced radar, thermal, sensing, and communications technologies supporting air, maritime, space, and data-center applications
- ISO-controlled, FDA-regulated, and multi-site global supply chains
Why EmeraldOpex Exists
I founded EmeraldOpex to do operational excellence differently.
This isn’t theoretical consulting. I don’t arrive with a binder, disappear for six weeks, and hand you a report. I embed with your team, roll up my sleeves, and work alongside operators, engineers, supervisors, and leaders to fix what matters most.
I bring deep experience in:
- Lean Manufacturing & Six Sigma (CLSSBB)
- Theory of Constraints and Flow
- KPI and Operating-System Design
- Supply Chain, Logistics, and Warehousing
- Automation, Data, and Practical Analytics
But just as important as the tools is the way I work.