Production Manager, Steel Wire Manufacturing

Riverdale Mills Corporation•Northbridge, MA

29d•$105,000 - $130,000•Onsite

About The Position

Riverdale Mills Corporation is seeking an experienced, hands-on Production Manager to join our manufacturing leadership team in Northbridge, Massachusetts. This is more than another production management position. We are looking for a strong manufacturing leader with the technical ability, work ethic, people skills, judgment, and ambition to develop into a senior production leadership position within approximately two years. The successful candidate will work closely with one of Riverdale Mills' most experienced senior production managers and learn the equipment, processes, people, operating systems, and management practices required to run a complex steel wire manufacturing operation. This position is part of our long-term succession plan for manufacturing leadership. For the right person, this is an opportunity to assume progressively greater responsibility and ultimately become one of the key leaders responsible for running our manufacturing facility. This is a hands-on manufacturing position, not a desk-management job. Our production managers spend significant time on the factory floor working directly with supervisors, machine operators, maintenance personnel, engineering, quality, and senior management. When a production problem occurs, we expect our managers to go to the floor, understand the problem, organize the appropriate people and resources, and take responsibility for getting it resolved. The successful candidate must be mechanically and technically inclined, comfortable around industrial machinery, and genuinely interested in understanding how equipment, manufacturing processes, and people work together.

Requirements

Approximately 8 to 10 years or more of meaningful manufacturing experience.
Several years of supervisory or management responsibility in a manufacturing environment.
Experience managing hourly manufacturing employees.
Strong mechanical and technical aptitude.
A practical understanding of industrial machinery and manufacturing processes.
Familiarity with equipment and systems such as motors, pumps, hydraulics, compressors, chillers, piping, and industrial electrical systems.
Strong organizational and problem-solving skills.
The ability to establish priorities and manage multiple issues simultaneously.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
The ability to communicate effectively with operators, mechanics, engineers, supervisors, managers, and senior executives.
A demonstrated ability to coach, teach, and develop employees.
A strong work ethic and personal commitment to results.
The ability to make decisions, establish accountability, and follow through.
A willingness to spend significant time on the manufacturing floor.

Nice To Haves

Experience in steel or metals manufacturing.
Wire drawing or wire products experience.
Welding and welded products experience.
Galvanizing or coating experience.
Metal fabrication experience.
Industrial machinery experience.
Automotive manufacturing experience.
Plastics, paper, converting, or other continuous-process manufacturing experience.
Lean manufacturing or Six Sigma experience.
Continuous improvement experience.
Capital equipment and manufacturing process improvement experience.
Experience specifically with steel wire manufacturing.
A bachelor's degree in engineering, manufacturing, operations, business, or a related discipline.
Equivalent combinations of education and significant manufacturing experience.

Responsibilities

Direct and manage the day-to-day operations of assigned manufacturing departments.
Lead, coach, and develop supervisors, line leaders, and production employees.
Organize labor, equipment, materials, and production schedules to meet operating and customer requirements.
Meet production, quality, safety, cost, and delivery objectives.
Monitor productivity, downtime, scrap, quality, labor utilization, and manufacturing performance.
Identify production problems and take responsibility for resolving them.
Work closely with maintenance, engineering, quality, purchasing, shipping, and senior management.
Improve workflow, productivity, equipment utilization, housekeeping, and operating discipline.
Build and maintain a strong safety culture.
Coach supervisors in leadership, communication, accountability, and employee development.
Establish and maintain effective employee training programs.
Support Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and waste-reduction initiatives.
Participate in equipment improvements, installations, modernization projects, and capital planning.
Support budgeting, labor planning, cost control, and operating performance.
Use production data and performance metrics to identify problems and opportunities for improvement.
Maintain high standards for product quality and customer satisfaction.
Develop the technical knowledge and management capability necessary to assume substantially greater production responsibility over time.