Plant Manager

Title: Plant Manager
Location: Mills River, NC
Duration: Full Time

Job Description Summary:
The Plant Manager will lead and oversee the operations of the Mills River facility including the production, maintenance, quality, logistics, and health & safety functions, ensuring operational goals and performance objectives are consistently achieved.

Areas of Focus:
Responsible for plant financial performance to include labor productivity, material utilization, inventory accuracy, operating costs, and capital expenditure management to achieve budget and profitability targets.
Drive a proactive safety culture with accountability for OSHA compliance, environmental standards, incident reduction, and employee engagement in safety initiatives.
Coordinates with other corporate organizations such as Human Resources and Finance to ensure successful operations.
Support customer relationships by participating in operational reviews, responding to escalations, and ensuring timely execution of corrective actions and delivery commitments.
Coordinate with Sales and Marketing to determine pricing and timing to be communicated to the customer base as part of the sales cycle.
Partner with Sales teams to support materials reordering processes, optimize inventory levels, and ensure production alignment with customer demand.
Build and maintain an operational culture that pursues excellence in EH&S, Quality, and Customer Focus.
Lead continuous improvement initiatives utilizing Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies to improve safety, quality, delivery, inventory, productivity, and cost performance.
Ensure compliance with applicable quality management systems and lead initiatives focused on reducing defects, scrap, and cost of poor quality.
Maintain a visible presence on the manufacturing floor to support employee engagement, problem solving, and operational discipline.
Active engagement with the local community and educational institutions to support workforce development and enhance the site’s reputation and ability to attract talent.
Develop and execute strategic operational plans aligned with company growth objectives, including capacity planning, workforce development, and operational scalability.
Foster a high-performance culture built on accountability, communication, teamwork, and continuous development.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Organizes and oversees the schedules and work of assigned management staff.
Conducts performance discussions and evaluations that are timely and constructive.
Mentors and trains leaders in the production environment.
Attracts, grows, and retains talent at all levels in the organization.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities desired:
Excellent managerial and supervisory skills within a production environment.
Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making skills, using structured problem solving to eliminate waste and improve process capability.
Ability to interpret financial data as needed to set and manage production goals.
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Extensive knowledge of Lean Manufacturing principles including leader standard work, value stream mapping, and root cause problem solving.
Ability to translate company strategy into site and functional objectives that have aligned targets across functions.
Ability to develop leaders at all levels, including coaching teams in standard work, problem solving, and daily management, while fostering a culture of teamwork and performance.

Education and Background:

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Management, or related manufacturing field desired.
At least ten years of experience in industrial management required, with at least 5 years in a plant leadership role.
Demonstrated experience across multiple departments within a plant environment to include Production, Quality, Supply Chain, Engineering, etc.
Experience using ERP/MRP systems and manufacturing performance metrics to drive operational decision-making.
Experience working within a production environment with operations in the US and Mexico, preferred.
Six Sigma Certification or significant Lean Manufacturing experience.

Physical Requirements:

Must be able to quickly traverse manufacturing areas.
Moderate periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.