Obituary - Lawrence A. Portnoff - Brief Article - Obituary

Bobbin, Oct, 2000

Lawrence A. Portnoff, 79, a consulting engineer to the garment industry for more than 40 years, died Aug. 3 of heart surgery complications. He is survived by his wife, Evelyn, four sons and their families.

Mr. Portnoff, a graduate of Penn State University with a degree in industrial engineering, was president of Unified Management Consultants Inc., St. Louis, MO. He was also an author and inventor of production techniques and automation equipment. At the time of his death, Mr. Portnoff was working on improving his Unified Pants Cart with Pennsylvania Sewing Machine Co.

During his career, Mr. Portnoff directed and guided the formation and development of soft goods production and engineering staffs both nationally and internationally. Today, more than 400 Portnoff-trained engineers and training supervisors are currently serving the garment industry. Mr. Portnoff also was noted for the development of the Unified Ac-Cel Training System, which trains sewing operators on production standards in 10 days.