Plant Manager - Ponca City, OK

Plant Manager – Ponca City, OK (ASC)

Air Distribution Technologies, Inc. (ADTI) is seeking a high-impact, hands-on Plant Manager to lead our ASC manufacturing facility in Ponca City, OK (127 employees). This role serves as the senior site leader with full accountability for plant performance, including safety, quality, delivery, cost, inventory, and profitability.

The Plant Manager will drive operational stability, continuous improvement, and scalable growth by aligning people, processes, and performance through ADTI’s Management System (ADMS). This leader must be highly visible on the shop floor, capable of diagnosing operational challenges, and experienced in leading teams through performance improvement and sustained execution.

What You’ll Do

• Lead all plant operations with full accountability for Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Inventory, and P&L performance.
• Establish and maintain a safety-first culture, ensuring adherence to OSHA, environmental, and company standards.
• Drive execution against Financial Plan targets, including revenue, gross margin, labor efficiency, and absorption.
• Build operational stability by improving throughput, flow, schedule attainment, and on-time delivery (OTIF).
• Lead and sustain Lean transformation initiatives using ADMS, value stream mapping, and constraint-based problem solving.
• Diagnose manufacturing inefficiencies using data (capacity, WIP, utilization, bottlenecks) and prioritize improvement actions accordingly.
• Implement and mature S&OP, Master Scheduling, and inventory management disciplines to support demand and reduce variability.
• Develop, coach, and hold accountable a team of functional leaders (production, quality, maintenance, supply chain) to achieve site KPIs.
• Drive a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement through daily management and floor presence.
• Partner closely with HR on talent development, performance management, and employee relations.
• Ensure strong communication with internal and external stakeholders regarding customer commitments, delivery performance, and issue resolution.
• Lead site-level continuous improvement initiatives, ensuring measurable results tied to financial and operational metrics.
• Represent the facility within the local Ponca City community and support workforce engagement initiatives.
• Model ADTI’s Integrity Values and reinforce a culture of respect, urgency, and results-driven execution.

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business, or related field required
• Minimum 10+ years of progressive manufacturing experience, including 5+ years leading operations or plant-level teams
• Proven success leading in a mid-sized manufacturing facility (100–500 employees)
• Demonstrated ability to stabilize operations and drive performance improvement across safety, delivery, quality, and cost
• Strong expertise in Lean Manufacturing, flow, and constraint-based problem solving
• Solid financial acumen with experience managing or influencing plant-level P&L, labor absorption, and cost control
• Experience leveraging ERP systems and production data to drive real-time decision-making
• Ability to balance strategic leadership with hands-on execution on the plant floor
• Strong leadership presence with a track record of developing leaders and driving accountability
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills

Preferred

• MBA or advanced degree
• Experience in fabrication, sheet metal, or engineered-to-order manufacturing environments
• Prior experience in turnaround, transformation, or acquisition-integrated environments
• Experience implementing or sustaining Lean systems (ADMS, TPS, or equivalent)
• Background in environments with product mix complexity and routing variability

Work Environment

This role is based onsite at the Ponca City facility and requires a strong daily presence on the production floor. The environment includes exposure to fabrication equipment, moving machinery, and varying noise levels. The Plant Manager must be able to walk the floor extensively, stand for extended periods, and occasionally lift up to 50 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made for individuals with disabilities.

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