Tool Buyer

ITW•Machesney Park, IL

35d•$27 - $40•Hybrid

About The Position

ITW Shakeproof is seeking a Tool Room Buyer who is responsible for direct oversight and management of the Machesney Park Plant Tool Room. The Tooling Buyer is responsible for sourcing, purchasing, expediting, and managing tooling and related supplies required to support fastener manufacturing operations. This position works closely with Engineering, Tool Room, Production, Quality, Maintenance, and outside suppliers to ensure the timely availability of tooling that meets required specifications, quality standards, cost objectives, and production schedules. The Tool Buyer will have particular responsibility for tooling used in cold heading, forming, threading, secondary operations, and inspection processes. The role requires strong purchasing, supplier-management, technical interpretation, and organizational skills, along with the ability to respond quickly to changing production requirements.

Requirements

Strong purchasing and negotiation skills.
Ability to read and understand basic engineering drawings and tooling prints.
General understanding of manufacturing processes and terminology.
Ability to balance cost, quality, lead time, inventory, and production risk when making purchasing decisions.
Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities.
Excellent attention to detail when working with tooling numbers, drawing revisions, specifications, and purchase orders.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to build productive relationships with suppliers and internal departments.
Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment where priorities may change quickly.
Ability to independently follow up on orders and escalate potential shortages before they affect production.
Basic understanding of inventory-control principles.
Ability to maintain confidential supplier pricing and company information.

Responsibilities

Purchase production tooling including dies, punches, pins, inserts, knockouts, cutters, thread rolls, taps, drills, carbide tooling, gauges, and other manufacturing tooling.
Review purchase requisitions, engineering drawings, specifications, tooling requirements, and historical purchasing information before placing orders.
Obtain and evaluate supplier quotations based on price, quality, lead time, capability, and total cost.
Create and maintain purchase orders and ensure accurate pricing, quantities, revisions, delivery dates, and specifications.
Monitor open tooling orders and proactively expedite critical items to prevent production interruptions.
Coordinate emergency tooling requirements when breakdowns, excessive wear, quality issues, or unexpected demand threaten production schedules.
Identify cost-saving opportunities through competitive bidding, alternative sourcing, blanket orders, volume agreements, standardization, and supplier negotiations.
Develop and maintain effective relationships with tooling manufacturers, machine shops, carbide suppliers, gauge suppliers, and other key vendors.
Evaluate supplier performance related to quality, delivery, responsiveness, lead time, and cost.
Work with suppliers to resolve late deliveries, incorrect tooling, quality concerns, invoice discrepancies, and other performance issues.
Identify and qualify alternate suppliers to reduce single-source risk and improve supply continuity.
Support supplier negotiations and sourcing strategies for high-use and critical tooling.
Coordinate tooling repair, rework, sharpening, recoating, and refurbishment when economically appropriate.
Work closely with Tool Room, Engineering, Production, Quality, and Maintenance personnel to understand tooling requirements and priorities.
Read and interpret tooling drawings, prints, specifications, part numbers, revisions, and basic dimensional requirements.
Develop an understanding of tooling used in cold heading, cold forming, thread rolling, machining, trimming, pointing, and secondary operations.
Ensure suppliers receive current drawings and revision information when sourcing custom tooling.
Assist Engineering and Manufacturing in sourcing tooling for new-product launches, process changes, and continuous-improvement projects.
Support resolution of tooling-related production issues through communication with internal stakeholders and suppliers.
Maintain awareness of tooling lead times and communicate potential shortages or production risks to appropriate personnel.
Help establish appropriate inventory levels for frequently used, long-lead-time, and production-critical tooling.
Review tooling usage and purchasing history to identify opportunities to improve stocking strategies.
Monitor excessive tooling usage, unusual purchasing patterns, and significant cost changes.
Assist in developing min/max, reorder point, safety stock, and/or Kanban systems for commonly used tooling.