Plant Manager

IKO North America•Brampton, ON

50d•Onsite

About The Position

IKO is building a new state-of-the-art Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) insulation plant in Brantford, Ontario. This greenfield investment represents IKO’s first plant of this type (we currently operate polyiso and polymer transformation facilities). The Plant Manager will be responsible for directing all manufacturing activities to achieve world-class results in safety, quality, productivity, cost, customer service, and employee engagement. The successful candidate will initially focus on project execution, team building, and plant startup, then transition to full operational leadership of a 25–30-person facility.

Requirements

Manufacturing leader with extensive experience in plant operations, engineering, maintenance, and continuous improvement.
Proven track record of driving operational excellence in safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance.
Strong background in leading cross-functional teams, including production, maintenance, engineering, and quality.
Experienced in implementing Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives to increase efficiency and reduce waste.
Skilled in project management, capital improvements, and execution of plant optimization projects.
Hands-on leader who maintains a strong presence on the production floor and actively engages with employees.
Experienced in analyzing operational metrics, identifying performance gaps, and developing corrective action plans.
Demonstrated success in troubleshooting manufacturing issues and implementing sustainable process improvements.
Strong people leader with experience coaching, developing, and mentoring supervisors and frontline employees.
Seeking an opportunity to leverage operational leadership experience to drive plant performance, employee engagement, and business growth.

Nice To Haves

Transformational leadership style with excellent change management, interpersonal, and communication skills is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

Provide overall leadership and direction for the new XPS plant, including construction support, commissioning, startup, and ongoing operations.
Drive a strong safety culture with a “zero incidents” mindset, full Process Safety Management (PSM), and compliance with all environmental and regulatory requirements.
Build, lead, and develop a high-performing team.
Deliver operational excellence across key metrics: safety, quality, OEE, uptime, yield, cost, and on-time delivery.
Champion continuous improvement using Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and other systematic approaches.
Oversee maintenance strategies, equipment reliability, and optimization of automated continuous extrusion processes.
Manage plant operating budget, raw material usage, and cost control.
Ensure product quality meets or exceeds customer and industry standards for XPS insulation boards.
Collaborate with corporate functions (Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, HR) to successfully launch and grow the operation.
Develop and track operational KPIs and report regularly to senior leadership.