Converting Superintendent

ND Paper•Langhorne, PA

13d•Onsite

About The Position

The Converting Superintendent is the senior leader of the converting department and owns the department’s full-shift, full-line performance across all shifts and converting equipment, including safety, output, quality, downtime, cost, and people. The role directly manages and develops Converting Supervisors, establishes accountability and performance standards, and serves as the primary connection between converting operations and plant leadership. The position is expected to build and sustain operating discipline through structured shift reviews, supervisor coaching, downtime analysis, quality-trend response, and workforce development. Results are expected to be embedded in systems rather than dependent on the Superintendent’s personal presence. The role works across safety leadership, production performance, quality, supervisor development, training, maintenance coordination, reporting, and communication.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED.
At least 5 years of experience in corrugated or packaging manufacturing, including at least 2 years in a supervisory or lead role overseeing converting operations.
Demonstrated ability to manage and develop frontline supervisors.
Strong working knowledge of flexo folder gluer, die cutter, bundler, stitcher, and related converting equipment operations.
Ability to interpret production data, identify trends, and make data-informed decisions.
Clear, direct communication skills across organizational levels and departments.
Track record of building accountability without creating a blame culture.
Ability to spend significant time on the production floor across shifts as needed.
Ability to lift up to 50 pounds occasionally and work in environments with noise, dust, and temperature variation.
Availability to respond to escalations outside standard hours when plant operations require it.

Nice To Haves

Associate degree or technical training.
At least 7 years in corrugated manufacturing with multi-shift supervisory responsibility.
Experience implementing or sustaining operator-level PM programs, downtime logging, or OEE tracking.
Familiarity with quality hold management processes and corrective-action frameworks.
OSHA 10 or 30 certification.
Forklift and LOTO train-the-trainer experience.
Experience working in a plant turnaround or continuous-improvement environment.
Bilingual English, Mandarin, or Spanish.

Responsibilities

Lead and sustain the converting department’s safety culture, model safe behavior, and hold supervisors accountable for safe work.
Review safety observations and near-miss reports daily, assign and follow up on corrective actions, investigate significant incidents, conduct monthly safety walks, and escalate unresolved hazards.
Ensure operator qualifications and training are current for LOTO, machine-specific safety, and forklift/material handling requirements.
Own department MSF output, run rates, and makeready targets across all shifts; review production reports, investigate shift-to-shift variance, and drive root-cause analysis.
Monitor equipment utilization and unplanned downtime, escalate chronic equipment issues with supporting data, coordinate with Scheduling on orders and capacity, and maintain consistent shift handoffs.
Identify recurring production losses, track corrective actions, and assess results.
Own converting-process quality, including setup compliance, in-process inspection, quality holds, waste coding, and corrective actions for repeat failures.
Review quality holds daily, ensure timely disposition and documented root causes, trace customer-related quality events to shifts and setups, and ensure setup approval before production release.
Directly supervise, coach, and evaluate Converting Supervisors across all shifts; conduct at least biweekly one-on-ones and review shift reports and KPI scorecards.
Identify supervisor skill gaps, create development plans, hold supervisors accountable for performance, and support the General Manager with warranted performance-management actions.
Maintain the converting department training matrix and ensure new operators complete documented machine-specific qualification before working unsupervised.
Partner with supervisors on cross-training, develop high-potential operators for future supervisory roles, maintain accessible training records, and participate in new-hire orientation.
Review downtime logs daily, identify chronic downtime contributors, coordinate equipment PM priorities with Maintenance, escalate unresolved defects, and ensure consistent defect tagging.
Present department performance at daily operations meetings and provide the General Manager with weekly KPI trends, issues, and actions in progress.
Escalate issues that may affect customer delivery commitments or plant cost targets to the General Manager the same day.
Maintain department training matrices, corrective-action records, incident reports, and supervisor performance documentation.
Spend significant time on the production floor across shifts as needed and respond to escalations outside standard hours when plant operations require it.