Plant Superintendent

Hampton Lumber • Allendale, SC

1d

About The Position

The Plant Superintendent is responsible for the safe startup, commissioning, and ongoing operation of the Allendale sawmill. This role owns day-to-day production and maintenance execution, leads multi-shift teams, and ensures the mill meets Hampton’s standards for safety, quality, recovery, uptime, and cost control. The Superintendent plays a critical role during construction completion, commissioning, and ramp-up, transitioning the mill from startup mode to stable, world-class performance.

Requirements

• 7+ years’ experience in sawmill or heavy industrial manufacturing.
• 3+ years in a senior operations leadership role (Superintendent, Operations Manager).
• Proven experience in new mill startup, major rebuild, or greenfield commissioning.
• Strong understanding of sawmill processes, equipment, and wood flow.
• Demonstrated ability to lead large, multi-shift teams.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Industrial Technology or similar discipline
• Hampton Lumber or similar high-performance lumber producer experience.
• Experience with: High-speed primary breakdown systems Advanced scanning and optimization PLC-driven production lines
• Lean / TPM implementation experience.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary operational lead during equipment installation, checkout, commissioning, and production ramp-up.
• Partner with Engineering, OEMs, contractors, and the PLC/Controls team to: Validate equipment performance Resolve startup issues and bottlenecks Establish safe operating limits and standard rates
• Lead development and enforcement of: Startup safety procedures Lockout/tagout and machine guarding standards Initial SOPs and work instructions
• Coordinate staffing, shift structure, and training plans.
• Direct all daily sawmill operations from log yard to planer outfeed.
• Ensure production plans meet targets for: Throughout Recovery/yield Grade mix On-time shipments
• Own shift-to-shift handoffs and operating discipline.
• Lead integration of maintenance into operations with a strong reliability-centered mindset.
• Ensure preventive and predictive maintenance programs are established early and followed.
• Coordinate planned outages, major rebuilds, and continuous improvement shutdown work.
• Ensure proper spare parts strategy and critical inventory is in place prior to startup.
• Establish a strong safety culture from day one, consistent with Hampton Lumber values.
• Ensure compliance with: OSHA and applicable state regulations Company safety standards and best practices
• Lead incident investigations, root cause analysis, and corrective actions.
• Reinforce personal ownership of safety at all levels of the organization.
• Build, lead, and develop a high-performance team of: Maintenance Leaders Shift supervisors Hourly operators and maintenance personnel
• Set clear expectations around: Accountability Attendance Job ownership Respectful workplace culture
• Support hiring, onboarding, training, and qualification of operators during startup.
• Partner closely with HR on labor relations and performance management.
• Own daily and weekly operational KPIs including: Safety metrics Throughput and uptime Recovery and Grade Labor and maintenance cost
• Support development and execution of the operating budget.
• Identify and drive cost-reduction and margin-improvement opportunities.
• Champion continuous improvement using Lean, TPM, or Hampton best practices.
• Identify process bottlenecks and lead cross-functional improvement efforts.
• Standardize work procedures, and expectations across shifts.
• Work closely with: General Manager Engineering & Capital Projects PLC/Controls EH&S HR Finance & Supply Chain
• Represent operations during audits, corporate reviews, and OEM meetings.

Benefits

• Substantial company-paid assistance for Medical and Dental insurance premiums; mental health coverage; cost effective co-pays and deductibles
• 401(k) with 5% annual company contribution and generous company matching contributions vested over three years
• Paid time off, including eight paid holidays
• Participation in the employee bonus program
• Employee wellness program that includes free counseling sessions, financial and legal guidance, and more
• Opportunities for paid training to support career advancement and personal development

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees