Maintenance Program Lead - Plastics Manufacturing

Our client is a forward-thinking global manufacturer specializing in the design, development, and production of high-quality plastic components and assemblies for the automotive, industrial, and healthcare sectors. With an established international presence and expertise in advanced blow-molding and injection-molding technologies, the company continues to grow through capital investment, strategic acquisitions, and organic expansion. To support its continued development, the company is seeking an experienced Maintenance Manager to lead the maintenance function at its manufacturing facility in Anderson, South Carolina. In this role, you will provide overall leadership for all maintenance activities across the facility, ensuring the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of production equipment, utilities, facilities, and supporting infrastructure. You will lead the maintenance team in maximizing equipment uptime, reducing unplanned downtime, improving Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), and supporting the organization’s wider operational and continuous improvement objectives. Responsibilities Lead, coach, and develop the maintenance team, establishing clear performance expectations, development plans, and succession strategies. Develop and implement preventive, predictive, and condition-based maintenance programs to improve equipment reliability and machine availability. Manage maintenance planning, scheduling, and work-order execution through the site’s Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS). Monitor key performance indicators, including equipment uptime, OEE, Mean Time Between Failures, Mean Time to Repair, planned maintenance compliance, and planned versus reactive maintenance. Lead root-cause investigations into equipment failures and recurring downtime, ensuring effective corrective and preventive actions are implemented. Develop annual maintenance plans and coordinate shutdown activities to minimize disruption to production operations. Oversee the maintenance of production equipment, electrical systems, HVAC, water and cooling systems, compressed air, utilities, and building infrastructure. Lead Total Productive Maintenance and other continuous improvement initiatives to improve reliability, efficiency, safety, and cost performance. Support automation, equipment upgrades, and Industry 4.0 initiatives where appropriate. Participate in capital projects, including the evaluation, installation, commissioning, modification, and optimization of new equipment and manufacturing systems. Ensure maintenance activities comply with applicable health, safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements, including lockout/tagout, machine guarding, risk assessments, and contractor safety. Support applicable management and quality systems, including ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and IATF 16949. Develop and manage the maintenance budget, control spare-parts inventory, and identify opportunities to reduce maintenance and operating costs. Manage external contractors, service providers, equipment suppliers, service agreements, and vendor performance. Work cross-functionally with Production, Engineering, Tooling, Materials Management, Quality, Human Resources, and Environmental Health and Safety to support safe and efficient manufacturing operations. Requirements Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Maintenance Management, Manufacturing, or a related technical discipline is preferred. Equivalent technical training and relevant industry experience will also be considered. Proven maintenance leadership experience within a manufacturing or industrial environment. Experience within plastics, blow molding, injection molding, and/or automotive manufacturing is highly desirable. Strong knowledge of preventive, predictive, and condition-based maintenance practices. Strong multi-craft maintenance management experience spanning mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, PLC and automation systems, injection- and blow-molding machinery, production equipment, utilities, and facility infrastructure. Strong working knowledge of CMMS platforms, maintenance planning, work-order management, and equipment-maintenance records. Demonstrated experience improving equipment reliability, OEE, uptime, MTBF, MTTR, and planned maintenance compliance. Proven ability to diagnose recurring equipment failures, lead root-cause analysis, and implement sustainable corrective actions. Experience supporting automation, controls, robotics, electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic systems is desirable. Experience managing maintenance budgets, spare-parts inventory, contractors, suppliers, and capital improvement projects. Working knowledge of applicable OSHA requirements, lockout/tagout procedures, machine guarding, contractor safety, and environmental compliance standards. Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work effectively across multiple departments. Compensation and Benefits Base Salary: $120,000–$130,000 per annum – Negotiable on Experience Benefits: Generous paid time off (20 Days), comprehensive holiday calendar, family health insurance plan, a strong 401k matched retirement plan, and excellent opportunities for career growth and development. Employment Type: Full-Time, Permanent Location: Anderson, South Carolina #J-18808-Ljbffr