PLANT MANAGER

We are working with a leading U.S. owned and operated manufacturer of bedding and home products. The company is seeking a proven, results-oriented Plant Manager to lead end-to-end operations at one of its manufacturing facilities in South Carolina. Competitive salary and bonus opportunity with strong benefits. Responsibilities Strategic & Financial Leadership: Full P&L Ownership: Own plant financial performance, operating budgets, labor costs, material yield, and capital planning. Translate business priorities into department targets, staffing plans, and accountable improvement actions Margin Improvement: Improve material yield, labor productivity, throughput, and equipment effectiveness while protecting safety, product quality, and customer service Cost Management: Control labor, overtime, maintenance, consumables, scrap, and other operating expenditures. Validate savings with Finance and distinguish recurring savings from cost avoidance and released capacity Capital Planning: Recommend equipment and process investments based on capacity, reliability, customer demand, expected return, and implementation risk Multi-Departmental Operational Execution: Production: Lead the Production Manager and production leadership across facility operations. Maintain schedule compliance and consistent standards Production & Preparation: Lead production planning, material readiness, preparation, and price-ticketing coordination to keep work centers supplied with the correct materials and priorities Inventory, Warehouse & Shipping: Improve receiving, inventory accuracy, material staging, replenishment, internal transfers, WIP-to-finished-goods movement, and outbound shipment execution Maintenance & Sanitation: Lead preventive maintenance, breakdown response, equipment improvement, and facility cleanliness. Prioritize recurring failures and coordinate work with both shifts Reporting Functions & Organizational Leadership: The Plant Manager directly leads the Production Manager, Production Planning Manager, Inventory Manager position, Maintenance Manager, Night Shift Supervisor, and Shipping Clerk. Partner with Quality leadership, the QA Supervisor, and auditors to maintain product standards and resolve quality issues. Coordinate site priorities with Human Resources, Safety, and Corporate leadership. Workforce & Shift Leadership: Lead approximately 150-200 employees across Monday - Thursday day shift (6:00 AM-4:30 PM) and night shift (4:30 PM-3:00 AM), with consistent expectations for safety, quality, staffing, output, and accountability Coach managers, supervisors, and leads in daily management, root-cause problem solving, employee engagement, and performance feedback Use roster boards, skills matrices, cross-training, and labor plans to align qualified staffing with demand and demonstrated capacity Establish clear shift handoffs covering schedule status, material shortages, equipment issues, quality concerns, and open actions Customer & Business Relations: Host customer visits, facility tours, and operational audits, demonstrating organized work areas, disciplined execution, and product quality Partner with Sales, Quality, Customer Experience, and leadership to align customer priorities, order requirements, material readiness, and production capacity Coordinate with Human Resources on recruiting, attendance, employee relations, retention, training, and leadership development Share successful processes with Texas operations and support consistent standards where appropriate Safety, Quality & Continuous Improvement: Safety & Quality: Lead a safety-first culture, address hazards promptly, maintain applicable requirements, and partner with Quality to prevent defects and recurring customer issues SQDIP & Visual Management: Deploy Safety, Quality, Delivery, Inventory, and Productivity boards, tiered meetings, and hour-by-hour boards with targets, actuals, cumulative variance, and loss reasons 5S & Standard Work: Implement workplace organization, visual controls, SOPs, job instruction, leader standard work, Gemba walks, and routine sustainment audits Root-Cause Problem Solving: Use Pareto analysis, 5 Whys, fishbone diagrams, PDCA/A3, and Kaizen to address major losses, assign countermeasures, and verify effectiveness Flow & Labor Productivity: Apply process/value-stream mapping, cycle-time studies, takt analysis, line balancing, Kanban, and FIFO to reduce waiting, handling, WIP, and bottlenecks Equipment & Changeovers: Use SMED, TPM, preventive maintenance, and OEE loss analysis to improve availability, performance, and quality Lean Foundation and Improvement Expectations: Build a Lean manufacturing foundation during the first year through consistent daily management, SQDIP, hour-by-hour tracking, 5S, standard work, leader standard work, employee training, and structured problem solving Deliver 3% quarter-over-quarter improvement during the foundation-building period, followed by 5% year-over-year improvement after the foundation is established. Translate these goals into defined operating performance measures, baselines, department actions, and routine CEO reviews. Validate results with Finance and sustain gains through documented standards and audits Positional Core Values: Contribute to a sustainable future - Own - Safeguard - Engage Be aware of others - Take Care - Work Together - Be Compliant Drive For Results - Take Initiatives - Strive for Improvements - Be Constructive Innovate - Experiment - Be Creative - Think Outside the Box Education / Experience: Required Education: Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business, or a related discipline required Experience in an industrial manufacturing setting. Open to all product manufacturing - bedding, home textiles, or related fiber- and foam-filled products would be a plus Leadership Experience: Seven to ten years of progressive leadership in a manufacturing and operations environment, including at least two years of Plant Manager experience P&L Management: Demonstrated ability to own plant P&L, budgets, labor costs, material usage, manufacturing variances, and capital priorities, with measurable financial and productivity gains Two-Shift Leadership: Experience managing multiple shifts, developing supervisors, aligning staffing, and maintaining reliable handoffs and consistent operating standards Manufacturing Knowledge: Practical understanding of production planning, material flow, inventory control, shipping, maintenance, quality, and capacity planning Lean Implementation: Ability to implement, teach, and sustain SQDIP/daily management, 5S, visual management, standard work, root-cause analysis, process mapping, and Kaizen; apply line balancing, Kanban/FIFO, SMED, TPM, and OEE Systems & Analysis: Proficiency with Excel and ERP/MRP planning and reporting; translate production, labor, downtime, inventory, and quality data into effective actions Preferred: Lean Manufacturing or Lean Six Sigma Green Belt / Black Belt certification Experience building Lean systems in facilities with limited existing standardization and sustaining improvement across shifts Experience with mistake-proofing, statistical process control, FMEA, DMAIC, and layered process audits Experience supporting retail customer requirements, labeling/price-ticketing accuracy, customer audits, and facility tours Competencies, Skills, and Abilities: Floor-Visible Leader: Builds trust through regular engagement with employees and leaders on both shifts, observes actual work, and removes barriers Strategic & Analytical: Links daily production decisions to customer commitments, labor productivity, cost, and long-term capacity People Developer: Coaches leaders, strengthens cross-training, and builds a capable leadership pipeline Customer-Centric: Maintains pride in product quality, facility presentation, inventory accuracy, and reliable delivery Disciplined Execution: Establishes clear standards, accountable owners, due dates, escalation, and verification of completed actions Results-Oriented: Sustains gains in safety, first-pass yield, scrap, delivery, schedule attainment, inventory accuracy, units per labor hour, labor cost per good unit, downtime, and changeovers All Candidates must be able to provide work related references. #J-18808-Ljbffr Rush & Company