Quality Coordinator

THE COMPANY                                                                                  

Little Rapids Corporation (LRC) is a specialty paper manufacturer and converter of paper, film, cotton, and nonwoven materials. The company’s headquarters is in Green Bay and is privately held with annual sales of over $200 million and 450 employees at three Wisconsin locations. The business has two divisions that sell a wide variety of products in the healthcare, beauty, flexographic printing, and specialty paper markets. Rapids Green Bay supplies printed film, paper, and nonwovens. Rapids Shawano has three paper machines that manufacture tissue, machine glazed, and wet crepe paper.  Graham Professional manufactures and sells one-time use products into the healthcare and beauty markets through a network of national and regional distributors. 

With its family ownership dating back to 1947, the company is guided by a strong and positive culture. LRC’s purpose is remarkably simple: to bring together all their people’s talents and energies to create an outstanding organization that delivers true value to their customers. The four core values of the business are lived out by ownership and top leadership and serve as a guide to all interactions, behavior, expectations, and strategic initiatives. These values are:

• Care: Take Care of One Another & Always Be Transparent
• Act: Dream Big, Think Big, Act Big, Create Contagious Energy
• Learn: Improve Every Day while Being Humble
• Serve: Do Great Things & Be Easy to Work With

Position Summary:

The Quality Coordinator supports the site’s quality management system by ensuring consistent product quality, compliance, and continuous improvement. This role acts as a key link between production and quality systems, helping to maintain standards, resolve issues, and support the effective execution of quality and compliance processes across the site.

 Key Responsibilities:

• Maintain and update quality documentation systems, including Certificate of Analysis (COA) records, specifications databases, SPC charts, test logs, and traceability/lot control documentation.
• Coordinate customer complaint and nonconformance processes, including issue identification, containment activities, investigations, root cause analysis, corrective/preventive actions, and escalation of quality concerns when necessary.
• Support production operations in real-time by assisting with quality-related issues, material evaluations, inspections, testing, and disposition of non-conforming products.
• Lead internal audits and serve as site representative during external audits.
• Conduct plant audits, Gemba walks, product inspections, and compliance checks while monitoring trends and supporting continuous improvement initiatives.
• Coordinate supplier quality concerns, raw material rejections, and corrective action follow-up activities. 
• Support Food Safety, GMP, HACCP, ISO, FSC/SFI, and other compliance programs, including audit preparation and participation in third-party audits.
• Coordinate calibration and verification activities for quality testing equipment, gauges, and measurement systems.
• Collect and analyze quality data to support defect analysis, KPI reporting, verification of corrective actions, and operational improvements.
• Facilitate customer visits, new item setup activities, and cross-functional collaboration with Operations, Sales, Customer Service, and Supply Chain teams.
• Train employees on quality, food safety, and compliance requirements during onboarding and ongoing operational activities.

This is not an exhaustive list of duties or functions and may not necessarily comprise all "essential functions" for purposes of the ADA.

 Education, Certifications, and Experience:

• Associate degree in Quality Assurance, Manufacturing, Engineering Technology, or a related field required (Bachelor’s degree preferred).
• 3+ years of experience in a quality, manufacturing, or food safety role within a production environment.
• Experience supporting customer complaint investigations, structured problem solving, and corrective/preventive actions (CAPA).
• Working knowledge of ISO 9001:2015 and food safety management systems (GMP, HACCP, or equivalent) in a manufacturing setting.
• Experience with quality documentation systems, audits, inspections, and traceability processes preferred.
• Exposure to SPC, Lean Manufacturing, or continuous improvement tools preferred.

Key Competencies

• Quality Management Systems (QMS)
• Food Safety (GMP, HACCP)
• ISO / FSC / SFI Compliance
• Nonconformance & CAPA Management
• Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
• SPC & Data Analysis
• Quality Audits & Inspections
• Traceability & Lot Control
• Documentation Control (SOPs, Specs, Work Instructions)
• Customer Complaint Resolution
• Production Floor Support
• Equipment & Gauge Calibration
• Continuous Improvement (Lean / Kaizen)
• Cross-Functional Collaboration

Physical Requirements:

The ability to work in a normal office environment to include sitting or standing for long periods of time, operating various standard office equipment, carrying paper documents/files, reaching and bending, speaking on the telephone, walking through our manufacturing plant, and wearing required personal protection gear (i.e. hearing, eye and foot protection).

The ability to wear required personal protection gear (i.e., hearing, eye and foot protection as well as other personal protective equipment such as gloves and aprons, etc.); tolerating loud noise (maximum of 95 dB); tolerating extreme heat, cold and dusty environment.

EOE including disability/veteran