Production Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Job Description

The Production Manager oversees the full production department at G&W Display Fixtures, including fabrication, assembly, laser operations, cobot welding cells, workflow, labor assignment, quality, safety, material movement, and equipment coordination. This role reports to Co-CEO and serves as the operational leader for the Production Department. The Production Manager is responsible for directing daily manufacturing activities, establishing production priorities, coordinating cross-functional efforts, developing employees, supporting customer commitments, and ensuring products move through production safely, efficiently, and on schedule. This is not a laser-only or automation-only position, but laser operation, laser safety, and cobot welding experience are preferred as G&W continues developing these capabilities.

Role and Responsibilities

• Oversee daily operations of the full production department, including fabrication, assembly, workflow, labor coordination, quality, safety, equipment readiness, and shop-floor follow-through.

• Establish, maintain, and adjust daily and weekly production schedules to ensure customer delivery commitments are met, balancing labor availability, material constraints, equipment capacity, and changing priorities.

• Assign labor, set priorities, monitor production progress, and resolve obstacles affecting schedule, quality, safety, throughput, staffing, or customer commitments.

• Supervise, coach, train, and hold employees accountable for productivity, attendance, quality, safety, housekeeping, teamwork, and workplace expectations.

• Coordinate production priorities with Executive Leadership, Sales, Engineering, Purchasing, Warehouse, Finishing, Shipping, customers, and other departments as needed to support project launches, schedule changes, production concerns, and delivery expectations.

• Review work orders, job travelers, drawings, cut lists, material requirements, specifications, and production instructions to ensure work is properly understood, staged, completed, inspected, and moved through production.

• Maintain quality expectations throughout production, including first-piece checks, in-process inspections, rework prevention, documentation accuracy, and final production readiness.

• Support safe and effective operation of production equipment, including laser cutting systems, automation technologies, cobot welding cells, and related manufacturing processes.

• If properly trained, qualified, and appointed by the company, serve as the designated Laser Safety Officer or assist with maintaining the company’s laser safety program.

• Identify and resolve production problems, staffing needs, training gaps, equipment concerns, bottlenecks, rework issues, process inefficiencies, and workflow constraints.

• Coordinate maintenance activities and equipment repairs by working directly with maintenance personnel, outside contractors, and vendors to minimize production disruptions.

• Coordinate purchasing activities related to production operations, including shop consumables, tooling, equipment, specialty materials, vendor selection, quotation review, and capital equipment recommendations.

• Develop and maintain relationships with suppliers and service providers to support production requirements, maintenance activities, equipment procurement, and operational improvements.

• Review and approve employee time records and support attendance administration processes, including documentation related to vacation requests, appointments, and attendance policies.

• Participate in safety committee initiatives, incident investigations, OSHA-related activities, corrective actions, and continuous improvement efforts supporting a safe work environment.

• Support physical inventory activities, cycle counting initiatives, and production-related inventory accuracy efforts.

• Maintain production records, job status updates, employee-related documentation, and other required shop-floor information.

• Promote a clean, organized, safe, and efficient production environment focused on customer satisfaction and manufacturing performance.

• Perform all other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Education Requirements

Required:

· 5+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience in a custom fabrication, metal manufacturing, or make-to-order environment preferred

· Demonstrated ability to directly supervise employees, manage daily production priorities, and maintain accountability in a manufacturing setting.

· Ability to oversee multiple production functions and coordinate work across departments.

· Ability to read and understand drawings, tolerances, material specifications, work orders, cut lists, and job travelers.

· Working knowledge of production scheduling, labor planning, material flow, quality control, safety practices, equipment coordination, and production documentation.

· Strong practical problem-solving, communication, computer, documentation, and follow-through skills.

· Ability to commute or relocate to Bronson, MI.

Preferred:

· Experience with laser cutting, cobot welding cells, robotic welding, production automation, or related advanced manufacturing equipment is a plus.

Competencies

• Leadership presence with the ability to set expectations, maintain accountability, and earn respect on the shop floor.

• Strong production judgment with the ability to make timely decisions in a custom manufacturing environment.

• Organized and able to balance changing priorities, competing deadlines, labor needs, and customer commitments.

• Communicate clearly and professionally with production employees, leadership, support departments, customers, and vendors.

• Quality-minded with a focus on preventing rework, improving consistency, and meeting customer expectations.

• Safety-minded with the ability to model safe work practices and support a clean, controlled, and compliant work environment.

• Fair, consistent, and direct in coaching, training, correcting, and developing employees.

• Continuous improvement mindset with a focus on efficiency, workflow, equipment utilization, and stronger production performance.

Physical requirements

· Ability to sit, stand, walk, bend, reach, lift, and move throughout the facility during the workday.

· Able to lift up to 50 pounds as needed.

· Ability to move throughout production areas, including fabrication, assembly, warehouse, finishing, shipping, laser operations, and cobot welding cell areas.

· Ability to work safely around manufacturing equipment, forklifts, carts, tools, sharp materials, laser equipment, cobot welding cells, and general shop-floor activity.

· Ability to use required PPE and visually inspect parts, drawings, and production documentation for quality and safety concerns.

Work Environment

Manufacturing, production, warehouse, office, and shop-floor environment with exposure to noise, equipment, forklifts, tools, dust, fumes, welding activity, packaging materials, varying temperatures, finishing operations, metal fabrication, laser cutting equipment, cobot welding cells, and other manufacturing-related hazards.

About G&W Display Fixtures

G&W Display Fixtures, Inc. is a custom manufacturing company located in Bronson, Michigan. We produce retail display fixtures, custom casework, metal components, assemblies, and related manufacturing solutions for retail and commercial customers.

We are seeking an experienced Production Manager to lead our full production department. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who understands custom manufacturing, can manage shifting priorities, and can keep people, materials, equipment, and customer commitments moving in the right direction.

Company Description

About G&W Display Fixtures\r\n\r\nG&W Display Fixtures, Inc. is a custom manufacturing company located in Bronson, Michigan. We produce retail display fixtures, custom casework, metal components, assemblies, and related manufacturing solutions for retail and commercial customers.\r\n\r\nWe are seeking an experienced Production Manager to lead our full production department. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who understands custom manufacturing, can manage shifting priorities, and can keep people, materials, equipment, and customer commitments moving in the right direction.