Chief Operating Officer

Vanco Products•Hudsonville, MI

10h

About The Position

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is responsible for translating the company’s high-level vision into a high-functioning operational reality. You will be the bridge between sales promises and production reality, ensuring our team delivers world-class quality on time and under budget. The COO is a disciplined leader who thrives on accountability, process standardization, and solving the complex puzzles of a modern manufacturing floor.

Requirements

5+ years of leadership experience specifically within a Manufacturing environment (Furniture, Metal, Plastic, Fabric and Woodworking industry experience is a significant plus).
BA/BS degree required; Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Mechanical, Industrial, or Manufacturing) is strongly preferred.
Deep understanding of P&L management, cost accounting, and manufacturing finance.
Ability to communicate effectively with both high-level stakeholders, customers, suppliers, skilled craftsmen on the shop floor and all other employees.

Responsibilities

Lead the Leadership Team: Ensure total alignment between the Sales, Tool Shop, Operations, Human Resources, and Finance functions.
Leadership meeting Facilitation: Run the weekly leadership meetings, including the weekly/monthly scorecard report out.
Operationalizing the Vision: Convert 3-Year Picture and 1-Year Plan into actionable quarterly goals.
Organizational Culture: Act as the primary driver of core values, ensuring our values are lived - from the front office to the shop floor.
Delivery on Promises: Prioritize Quality, Cost, and Delivery.
Process Standardization: Document and audit all manufacturing processes to ensure consistency and scalability across all functions.
Efficiency & Waste: Oversee the transition from raw materials (metal, plastic, wood, fabric, hardware & etc.) to finished goods with a focus on Lean principles and minimal scrap.
Facility & Safety: Full oversight of the physical plant, equipment, maintenance, and a clean, safe working environment with OSHA-compliant safety protocols.
P&L Responsibility: Full accountability for the operational profit and loss, driving margins through process improvement and efficiency.
Cost Modeling: Maintain and audit the company cost model to ensure labor and material overhead are accurately reflected.
Quoting: Partner with Sales and Engineering to provide accurate, profitable quotes for custom and production-volume orders.
Supply Chain Management: Manage vendor relationships and stabilize the procurement of high-quality materials.
Unblock Roadblocks: Identify friction points in the workflow and remove them before they impact our employees and customers.
S&OP Alignment: Ensure Sales and Operations are in sync—preventing the sale of items that Production cannot realistically build.
Crisis Management: Act as the "Cool Head" during equipment failures, supply chain breaks, or labor shortages.
Ad Hoc Projects: Lead high-impact strategic projects as they arise (e.g., new machinery implementation, ERP rollouts, etc.).