Plant Manager

Job Description Job Description Plant Manager | Food & Nutrition Ingredient Manufacturing
Oct 7, 2026 · @Craig Leach
Location: Southern Minnesota (on-site) · Reports to: Business and operations leadership · Relocation: Available for the right person
The Opportunity
You run the whole plant. One site making extruded and agglomerated food and nutrition products, a full department-head team reporting to you, and ownership of safety, quality, cost, and service from the dock to the customer.
The parent is a publicly traded, science-based nutrition company with a large U.S. manufacturing network. That means real resources behind you, real visibility with leadership, and a next step after this one when you earn it.
This role is for a plant leader who has proven they can run a regulated food operation and is ready to put their name on the results of an entire site.
What You Will Accomplish
First 90 days: Learn the plant and set the plan. Walk every line on every shift. Assess safety, quality systems, asset condition, and the leadership bench. By day 90, present a 12-month site plan with clear targets for safety, quality, cost, throughput, and service.
Year one: Build a safety culture that holds up under audit. Lead OSHA, EPA, and process safety (PSM) compliance. Tighten dust control, materials handling, and waste programs. Close open corrective actions and shift the team from reacting to incidents to preventing them through leading indicators.
Year one: Make quality systems stick. Partner with the Quality team to reduce deviations and customer complaints. When a quality or customer miss happens, make sure the root cause gets fixed in the process so it does not happen twice.
Within 12 months: Get ahead of aging assets. Strengthen preventive and predictive maintenance, build a spare parts strategy, and cut unplanned downtime. Work with Engineering on debottlenecking, automation, and plant upgrades.
Ongoing: Improve throughput, yield, and cost. Run Lean, Six Sigma, or operational excellence work that delivers measurable productivity gains without trading away safety or quality. Staff the plant efficiently and match production plans to customer demand.
Ongoing: Develop your leaders. Coach your department heads, set a succession plan for every key role, and align Operations, EHS, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, and HR around one set of site priorities.
Growth: Support what is next. Lead the plant through expansions, new product introductions, and coordination of R&D production runs.
What You Bring
Bachelors degree in Engineering, Chemistry, Food Science, Manufacturing, or a related field

5 to 10+ years of progressive manufacturing or processing leadership, including leading multiple departments in a food-regulated environment

A track record of raising a plants safety performance, with exposure to OSHA, EPA, and PSM requirements

Strong quality background in food and beverage manufacturing; experience leading a Quality team is a major plus

Results from Lean, Six Sigma, or operational excellence initiatives

Ownership of a budget and cost targets in an asset-intensive operation

A leadership style built on daily example, accountability, and developing people

U.S. citizen or permanent resident (visa sponsorship not available)

Why This Is Worth a Conversation
Full site ownership with direct visibility to business leadership

A multi-site U.S. network, so growth does not require changing companies

Products that support human and animal health and nutrition

Relocation assistance available; interview travel reimbursed

Confidential search conducted by GRN High Plains.