Director of Manufacturing

PrimeSource Building Products•Earl Township, PA

14d

About The Position

KeyLink, a PrimeSource Building Products company, is a leading manufacturer of aluminum railing and fencing systems serving the Outdoor Living market. Known for innovation, quality craftsmanship, and customer-focused service, KeyLink supports contractors, distributors, and homeowners nationwide. As part of PrimeSource Building Products, one of North America’s largest wholesale distributors of building materials, KeyLink benefits from a strong operational foundation, national distribution strength, and a performance-driven culture grounded in accountability, safety, and growth. We are building tomorrow — together. Position Summary The St. Director of Manufacturing provides executive leadership and full operational oversight for manufacturing plants producing building materials for the Outdoor Living portfolio. Reporting directly to the CEO, this role is accountable for Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost (SQDC) performance across the manufacturing network. This leader will drive operational excellence, build scalable systems, develop strong plant leadership, and tightly connect daily manufacturing execution to the company’s strategic growth and financial objectives. This is a high-impact, executive-level role in a fast-growing, results-driven environment.

Requirements

10–15+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, including multi-site responsibility.
Demonstrated success improving SQDC metrics and delivering strong financial performance.
Experience implementing Lean/Operational Excellence systems at scale.
Strong executive presence with the ability to influence from the plant floor to the boardroom.

Nice To Haves

Building materials or related industrial manufacturing experience strongly preferred.
Experience in a Private Equity–backed or high-growth environment preferred.
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business, or related field preferred.

Responsibilities

Own the design, implementation, and performance of manufacturing processes and systems across all assigned plants.
Standardize best practices, SOPs, and operational playbooks to reduce variation, improve equipment reliability, and increase throughput.
Establish and maintain a culture where safety is the non-negotiable foundation of all activities, ensuring compliance with all EHS regulations and company policies.
Ensure products are produced and shipped on time, to specification, and at or below standard cost while meeting or exceeding quality targets.
Oversee production planning and scheduling processes to balance demand, inventory, capacity, and labor.
Review performance reports regularly to identify gaps, remove constraints, and proactively adjust plans to protect service levels and margins.
Lead enterprise-level continuous improvement initiatives focused on waste reduction, productivity, yield, and working capital optimization.
Implement and sustain Lean and Operational Excellence methodologies including daily management, A3 problem solving, standard work, 5S, and value stream mapping.
Sponsor and actively participate in Kaizen and focused improvement events to ensure measurable, sustained results.
Partner with Sales to align capacity, mix, and inventory with customer commitments and service expectations.
Collaborate with Product Management and Engineering to implement product changes and new product introductions safely and efficiently.
Work closely with Finance to develop operating budgets, monitor cost performance, and drive margin improvement.
Build strong relationships with Supply Chain, Logistics, HR, and IT to ensure manufacturing is aligned with the broader business strategy.
Lead, coach, and develop Plant Managers and key technical leaders.
Build a strong bench of future manufacturing leaders and subject-matter experts.
Set clear expectations, provide regular feedback, and hold teams accountable for performance and alignment with company values.
Partner with HR to assess and elevate leadership, technical capability, and problem-solving effectiveness across the network.
Translate executive priorities into clear plant-level operational plans and KPIs.
Support footprint optimization, automation investments, and capacity expansion initiatives.
Drive initiatives required to sustain 15–20% annual growth in a high-performance environment.
Manage operating and capital expenditure budgets for plants under responsibility.
Develop and implement cost-saving and margin improvement initiatives to support EBITDA and enterprise value growth.