Plant Manager

Application Status: We are currently reviewing applications and have paused active consideration of additional candidates.

What’s in it for you?

-Competitive salary with annual salary review and bonus.

-FULLY paid top tier medical, dental, & vision benefits for you and your family.

-Outstanding paid time off policy.

-Flexible work arrangement

-Student Loan Assistance, up to $5,000 annually as eligible.

-Learning and Development Opportunities including Tuition Reimbursement.

-Highly engaged culture, stable workforce, within a strong, growing global company

At Etex, our purpose is “building better together.” We are an international leader in sustainable construction, driven by a passion for excellence, but it's our people that are our top priority. We connect, collaborate, and champion the well-being of our employees, forming partnerships and pioneering change in our ever-evolving industry.

At Etex, we seek to make a meaningful impact on the lives of our customers and our communities. Are you looking for a company where you can learn, grow and lead? Join us as a Plant Manager where you can work at our facility in Maryville, TN.

The mission of the role is to be responsible for the overall leadership, performance, and continuous improvement of the manufacturing operation in Maryville, Tennessee. This role provides strategic and operational leadership across production, maintenance, quality, safety, engineering, and continuous improvement functions to ensure the plant safely delivers high-quality products while meeting customer, productivity, and financial objectives.

The Plant Manager serves as a key member of the site leadership team and partners closely with commercial, supply chain, engineering, finance, human resources, and corporate functional leaders to support business growth, operational excellence, and organizational development.

What you’ll do:

Safety, Health, Environmental & Compliance Leadership

• Champion a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement across the facility.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable OSHA, environmental, and company safety standards.
• Lead safety initiatives, audits, risk assessments, corrective actions, and employee engagement activities.
• Drive continuous improvement in leading and lagging safety performance indicators.

Manufacturing Operations Leadership

• Provide overall leadership for plant operations to achieve production, quality, delivery, and cost objectives.
• Develop and execute manufacturing plans that support business growth and customer requirements.
• Monitor operational performance and implement improvements to maximize productivity, efficiency, and throughput.
• Ensure effective production scheduling and execution to meet customer demand.

Quality & Customer Focus

• Promote a quality-first culture throughout the operation.
• Ensure compliance with established quality management systems and customer requirements.
• Partner with commercial and customer-facing teams to improve service levels and reduce quality-related issues.
• Lead initiatives that improve product consistency, process capability, and customer satisfaction.

Maintenance & Asset Reliability

• Lead preventive and predictive maintenance programs to maximize equipment reliability and plant uptime.
• Support troubleshooting and resolution of critical equipment and process issues.
• Ensure long-term asset management plans are in place to sustain operational performance.

Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Drive World Class Manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives throughout the facility.
• Utilize data and performance metrics to identify opportunities for improvement in safety, quality, productivity, and cost.
• Promote visual management, employee engagement, problem-solving, and waste reduction methodologies.
• Lead cross-functional improvement projects that support business objectives.

Capital Projects & Engineering

• Partner with corporate engineering teams to identify, prioritize, and execute capital investment projects.
• Lead site-level capital planning and project execution activities.
• Ensure projects are completed safely, on schedule, and within budget.

Financial & Business Performance

• Manage operating budgets and financial performance for the plant.
• Drive cost improvement initiatives while maintaining safety, quality, and service standards.
• Monitor key performance indicators and develop action plans to achieve established targets.
• Support inventory management, material flow optimization, and working capital objectives.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead and develop a team consisting of Production, Quality, EHS, Maintenance, Engineering/Projects, and Continuous Improvement leaders.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, inclusion, and employee engagement.
• Support succession planning, talent development, and workforce capability building.
• Maintain positive employee relations and effectively manage a unionized manufacturing environment when applicable.

Direct Reports

• Production/Continuous Improvement Supervisor
• Quality/EHS Manager
• Maintenance Supervisor
• Project Manager
• Engineer

What you’ll bring:

Education

1. Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, or a related technical field required.
2. Advanced degree preferred.

Experience

1. 7+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, including responsibility for plant or large-scale production operations.
2. Experience leading multi-functional manufacturing teams.
3. Demonstrated success driving operational excellence and continuous improvement initiatives.
4. Experience managing capital projects and manufacturing investments.
5. Experience in a fast-paced, growth-oriented manufacturing environment strongly preferred.

Knowledge & Skills

1. Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, maintenance, quality systems, safety programs, and continuous improvement methodologies.
2. Working knowledge of financial management, budgeting, cost control, and operational performance metrics.
3. Strong leadership, communication, coaching, and team development skills.
4. Demonstrated ability to influence across a matrixed organization.
5. Excellent analytical, decision-making, and problem-solving capabilities.
6. Experience with ERP systems and data-driven manufacturing management.
7. Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.

Leadership Competencies

1. Strategic Thinking
2. Customer Focus
3. Collaboration
4. Results Orientation
5. Change Leadership
6. Talent Development
7. Continuous Improvement Mindset
8. Accountability and Execution
9. Working Conditions Manufacturing environment with regular presence on the production floor.
10. Occasional travel, as required, to support business initiatives, training, and corporate meetings.

Physical Requirements

1. Ability to sit, stand, and walk throughout office and manufacturing environments.
2. Frequent movement between plant and office settings.
3. Occasional climbing of stairs and ladders.
4. Ability to lift up to 50 pounds.
5. Occasional travel for meetings, training, supplier visits, and business requirements.

Why join us?

• We are named the world's #1 most trustworthy company in the construction sector by Newsweek and Statista in 2023!
• Our culture – we connect & care about those around us. We nurture teamwork, communities, partnerships and new ways of working, placing the highest importance on the safety and working environment of our people.
• Our ‘Road to Sustainability 2030’ is our plan to help build a better, sustainable future. We work towards this vision by caring about our social and environmental impacts and developing innovative solutions
• We have a strong conviction that diversity of thinking helps us to deliver a strong and sustainable performance. It is also essential for us that everyone feels part of the team. In this spirit, we are committed to equal opportunities and zero tolerance towards discrimination
• Flexibility: For us, hybrid and flexible working is all about trust, and we want you to be able to do your best work.