Director of Operations

Our client, R-Way Trailers (R-Way Trailers) is an established manufacturing company located in Long Prairie, Minnesota and owned under the broader Wm. D. Scepaniak family of companies. Wm. D. Scepaniak is a third-generation, family-owned aggregate production and transportation company headquartered in Holdingford, Minnesota. Krain Creek manufactures R-Way aggregate trailers, a well-recognized brand in the aggregate and heavy civil space with a 30-40 year history. WDS purchased Krain Creek 10 years ago after being a longtime user of R-Way trailers. Today, Krain Creek operates with 12-13 employees and roughly $5M in annual sales. The business has strong brand recognition, a loyal customer base, and significant opportunity for growth, but needs a dedicated operational and sales leader to help take the company to the next level. POSITION OBJECTIVE The Director of Operations will provide day-to-day leadership over R-Way/ Krain Creek’s sales, operations, culture, and internal accountability. This person will not replace the existing production leadership, but will serve as the broader business leader responsible for helping the company grow revenue, improve margins, build backlog, strengthen culture, and reduce the operational burden currently carried by ownership and finance leadership. The right candidate will have the opportunity to step into a small, established manufacturing business with real momentum and make a visible impact quickly. Long term, this leader could help shape facility expansion, increase production capacity, strengthen the R-Way brand, and potentially grow into broader responsibility across the Wm. D. Scepaniak family of companies. POSITION KEY Position key RESPONSIBILITIES Lead the overall sales and operations function for Krain Creek Fabrication. Drive new business development for R-Way Trailers through direct sales, dealer relationships, referrals, and customer outreach. Build and maintain relationships with counties, municipalities, aggregate companies, contractors, dealers, and trailer buyers. Oversee day-to-day business operations, including office coordination, quoting, engineering, production communication, customer needs, and facility-related issues. Partner closely with the Production Manager to support production execution without disrupting the current technical leadership structure. Monitor key project and production metrics, including labor hours, sandblasting time, profitability, margins, backlog, and production efficiency. Help create stronger accountability, communication, and operational rhythm across the shop. Improve shop morale by building a more positive, motivating, and team-oriented culture. Serve as a point of authority for internal issues. Support future growth planning, including potential facility expansion, layout design, production flow, and capacity planning. Help grow the current backlog to a consistent 6 month pipeline. Increase revenue with the goal of helping the company double sales. SKILLS & EXPERIENCE NEEDED Manufacturing background, ideally in steel, welding, trailers, equipment, fabrication, metal manufacturing, or adjacent heavy industrial manufacturing. Bachelor’s Degree preferred. Strong understanding of a production environment. Sales ability with a strong comfort level building relationships, networking, and representing the company externally. Operational leadership experience with the ability to manage both people and process. Blue-collar credibility and the ability to communicate well with shop-floor employees. Strong interpersonal skills, both internally with the team and externally with customers. Positive culture builder who can motivate, encourage, and help employees feel valued. Practical, humble, direct, and hands‑on leadership style. Self‑starter who can build the role without needing a detailed playbook. Comfortable in a small rural business environment. Able to lead through influence, build trust, and work well with long‑tenured team members. Strong problem‑solving skills and willingness to own issues before they elevate to ownership. SCHEDULE This is an on-site role based in Long Prairie, Minnesota. The shop currently operates Monday through Thursday from approximately 6:30 AM to 5:00 PM, with Fridays used for overtime or catch-up work as needed. No regular nights or weekends expected. #J-18808-Ljbffr