Plant Manager

Ashland Conveyer Products•Ashland, OH

About The Position

The Plant Manager is the senior operational leader for the Ashland facility, responsible for day-to-day plant performance across Legacy Conveyor and Smart Conveyance. The role owns safety, quality, delivery, productivity, labor, capacity, inventory and material flow, manufacturing cost performance, continuous improvement, manufacturing processes, and organizational development. The Plant Manager develops the operating system, leadership structure, equipment, processes, and capacity needed to support continued growth, partnering closely with Engineering, Sales, Customer Service, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, and Human Resources. The position leads manufacturing operations through department leaders, establishes plant priorities, and ensures production objectives, customer commitments, schedules, and budget targets are met. It develops operating and capacity plans, staffing strategies, budgets, forecasts, and capital priorities; drives scalable manufacturing processes and continuous improvement; and leads materials, inventory, and production control. The Plant Manager also develops the plant leadership team, oversees major projects and product launches, monitors manufacturing financial performance, and maintains a visible presence on the manufacturing floor while establishing disciplined daily management practices.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive manufacturing experience with significant leadership responsibility.
Demonstrated experience leading manufacturing operations and production teams.
Strong understanding of lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, production planning, manufacturing processes, and plant financial performance.
Experience with ERP/MRP systems, BOMs, routings, inventory, production costing, and manufacturing data.
Strong technical aptitude, problem-solving capability, communication skills, and people-development ability.
Ability to work standing, walking, bending, reaching, and stooping frequently.
Ability to work in varying temperatures occasionally.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Business, or a related discipline preferred.
Experience with capital equipment, automation, facility layout, capacity planning, and new-product launches preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide overall leadership and accountability for manufacturing operations across Legacy Conveyor and Smart Conveyance.
Coordinate plant activities through department leaders to accomplish objectives in a timely and cost-effective manner while adhering to production schedules and budget targets.
Lead and develop the operations team, particularly direct reports.
Establish plant priorities and ensure customer commitments are supported by appropriate labor, material, equipment, and capacity.
Own plant-level safety, quality, delivery, productivity, cost, inventory, and continuous-improvement performance.
Establish, monitor, and improve operational performance indicators, including workplace safety, on-time delivery, labor efficiency, productivity, quality, inventory accuracy, manufacturing costs, and schedule attainment.
Develop operating plans, capacity plans, staffing strategies, budgets, forecasts, and capital priorities.
Drive scalable manufacturing processes, plant layout, automation, tooling, fixtures, equipment utilization, and material flow.
Drive continuous improvement through Lean Manufacturing processes, eliminating waste and enhancing operational efficiency.
Partner with Engineering on manufacturability, new-product introduction, design-for-manufacturing feedback, production readiness, and technical problem solving.
Lead and ensure accountability for Materials, Inventory, and Production Control, including accurate inventory, effective production scheduling, timely material availability, and coordination among purchasing, manufacturing, and customer commitments.
Build, develop, and hold accountable a strong plant leadership team by establishing clear responsibilities, performance expectations, effective communication, and succession planning, while promoting ownership and independent decision-making.
Provide plant-level leadership for major projects, customer programs, FAT readiness, facility expansion, equipment relocation, and significant product launches.
Monitor manufacturing financial performance, including labor, overtime, operating expense, productivity, manufacturing cost, and gross-margin drivers.
Maintain a visible leadership presence on the manufacturing floor and establish disciplined daily management that drives accountability through supervisors and team leaders, ensuring production schedules, customer commitments, and operational objectives are consistently achieved.