Plant Manager

Plant Manager

As the only fully integrated maker of premium quality wire, rope, and assemblies, Loos & Co holds a leading position in the global aerospace sector.

A division of the Central Wire (CWI) Group of Companies encompassing 12 locations in three countries, 750+ employees, and over six decades of excellence, Loos & Co solutions are found in mission critical flight control applications. Our precision-manufactured components are also used for defense, med tech, and heavy industry purposes around the world, in large part because of the people behind our products.

Position Summary / Essential Function The Plant Manager plans, directs, and controls plant operations at the Pomfret Center, Connecticut facility to manufacture wire, wire rope and strand, coated cable, cable and mechanical assemblies, and precision-machined components in accordance with safety, quality, cost, quantity, and delivery requirements.

The essential function of the position is to exercise independent managerial judgment and provide sustained leadership of production and maintenance, including directing leaders and employees, allocating labor and equipment, monitoring operational and financial performance, developing workforce capability, and implementing corrective and continuous-improvement actions.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership for Pomfret Center production and maintenance operations across wire drawing, wire rope and strand, extrusion and coating, cable and mechanical assembly, machining, testing, and related material-flow activities; establish clear expectations for safety, quality, delivery, productivity, cost, attendance, conduct, and continuous improvement.
• Direct, coach, and develop production and maintenance leaders and employees; establish accountabilities, review performance, build bench strength, support succession planning, and make or recommend personnel decisions consistent with delegated authority and Company policy.
• Develop and execute integrated production plans that align labor, materials, equipment, tooling, priorities, interdepartmental flow, capacity, and maintenance availability with customer specifications, delivery commitments, and plant objectives.
• Monitor plant performance through daily management systems and key performance indicators, including safety, schedule attainment, on-time delivery, throughput, labor efficiency, scrap, yield, downtime, quality, customer complaints, inventory accuracy, employee retention, and budget performance.
• Maintain a safe work environment; enforce safety requirements; lead observations, incident investigations, corrective actions, risk-reduction efforts, emergency preparedness, and employee participation in safety programs.
• Ensure products and processes conform to customer specifications, Mil-Spec and other contractual requirements, internal standards, documented procedures, and applicable quality-system requirements, with particular attention to mission-critical aerospace, military and defense, medical, industrial, and commercial applications.
• Champion an effective quality culture in partnership with Quality, including process discipline, traceability, change control, inspection and testing effectiveness, nonconformance containment, root-cause analysis, corrective action, and prevention of recurrence.
• Support and sustain AS9100 and ISO 9001 requirements, applicable customer approvals and specifications, product traceability, and audit-ready operating controls; ensure readiness for internal, customer, registrar, and regulatory audits.
• Lead structured problem solving and continuous improvement initiatives using verified data, defined baselines, measurable outcomes, documented controls, and accountability for sustaining gains.
• Identify and remove production constraints, process variation, bottlenecks, non-value-added activity, and sources of quality loss; improve flow, capability, cycle time, yield, reliability, and cost.
• Lead the maintenance function to strengthen preventive and predictive maintenance, equipment uptime, spare-parts controls, work-order discipline, repair prioritization, and long-term asset reliability.
• Partner with Engineering and Maintenance on equipment upgrades, automation, capacity expansion, facility needs, capital projects, and modernization initiatives; develop business cases and ensure safe, controlled implementation.
• Own plant operating budgets and controllable spending; analyze labor, overtime, material usage, yield, scrap, downtime, maintenance expense, and other operating costs; support forecasting, annual planning, and capital justification.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Procurement while maintaining clear role boundaries: communicate production demand, material requirements, supplier-related quality or delivery risks, and inventory constraints, but do not hold functional responsibility for procurement.
• Coordinate with Planning, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, Sales, Customer Service, Finance, Human Resources, and Environmental Health and Safety to resolve constraints, support new-product introduction, and achieve business objectives.
• Provide sitewide operating coordination for a large, technically diverse manufacturing facility, balancing the needs of multiple production value streams, shared equipment and services, customer priorities, and planned or unplanned operational disruptions.
• Lead workforce planning, staffing, training, cross-training, qualification, and skills-development efforts to ensure adequate capability across shifts and critical processes.
• Promote respectful, effective communication across a diverse workforce.
• Communicate operating priorities, risks, resource requirements, performance results, customer concerns, and recovery plans clearly and promptly to leadership and affected stakeholders.
• Maintain accurate and audit-ready records, including work instructions, standard work, training and qualification records, performance documentation, maintenance controls, staffing plans, and evidence of operating controls.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable environmental regulations and permits, including EPA, DTSC, AQMD, and stormwater requirements. Oversee hazardous waste management, pollution prevention programs, environmental reporting, spill response, and continuous improvement initiatives to protect employees, the community, and the environment.
• Perform other related duties consistent with the role, grade, delegated authority, or business needs.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and progressively responsible manufacturing leadership experience.
• Minimum of ten years of progressively responsible manufacturing experience, including at least five years leading managers, supervisors, and production or maintenance personnel in a plant or comparably complex operating environment.
• Demonstrated accountability for safety, quality, delivery, productivity, labor utilization, equipment reliability, cost control, budgets, and employee performance.
• Experience in metals, wire drawing, wire rope or cable, coating or extrusion, cable assemblies, precision machining, or another process-oriented manufacturing environment with rigorous product and process controls.
• Demonstrated use of production data and key performance indicators to identify gaps, establish priorities, implement corrective action, and sustain results.
• Working knowledge of structured root-cause analysis, standard work, process capability, and continuous-improvement methods.
• Experience with ERP or MRP systems and proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel.
• Ability to exercise independent managerial judgment, manage competing priorities, communicate across organizational levels, lead organizational change, and hold others accountable.
• Ability to work regularly in an active manufacturing environment and to be available outside regular business hours as operational needs require, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Plant leadership experience in high-quality or high-reliability manufacturing supporting aerospace, military and defense, medical-device or medical-component, and other mission-critical customers.
• Experience implementing, maintaining, or operating within an AS9100-certified quality management system, including audit readiness, corrective action, risk-based thinking, configuration or change control, and product traceability.
• Demonstrated success improving safety, throughput, schedule attainment, on-time delivery, scrap, yield, labor efficiency, equipment utilization, employee retention, and customer quality performance.
• Experience leading capital projects, equipment upgrades, automation, capacity expansion, facility improvements, and new-product introduction.
• Experience with statistical process control, process capability analysis, value-stream mapping, daily management systems, total productive maintenance, and change management.

Key Skills and Competencies

• Plant and manufacturing operations leadership
• Safety leadership and risk reduction
• Quality systems and customer compliance
• Production planning and resource allocation
• Maintenance and equipment reliability
• Financial and operational analysis
• People leadership and talent development
• Lean Six Sigma and continuous improvement
• High-reliability manufacturing discipline
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Decisive problem solving and sound judgment
• Clear communication, accountability, and follow-through

Work Environment / Physical Requirements The role operates in both office and active manufacturing environments. It requires regular presence on the production floor; frequent walking and standing; observation of machinery, material flow, and production activities; use of a computer and standard office equipment; and communication in areas where hearing protection or other personal protective equipment may be required. The position may require work outside regular business hours to respond to operational needs. Reasonable accommodations will be considered in accordance with applicable