Plant Manager in Bolingbrook, Illinois at Specialized Packaging Group

The Plant Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, safety, operational performance, and financial results of the manufacturing facility. This role oversees production, quality, cost, delivery, maintenance, and workforce performance while ensuring compliance with all safety, environmental, and corporate standards. The Plant Manager drives continuous improvement, operational excellence, and employee engagement to meet business objectives.

• Lead and promote a zero-incident safety culture, ensuring safety is the top priority at all times.
• Enforce all safety policies and procedures, ensuring proper PPE availability and usage.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, CNESST, PSM, RMP, environmental, and corporate safety regulations.
• Lead safety audits, incident investigations, near-miss reporting, and corrective actions.
• Maintain plant security, access control, and facility opening/closing procedures.

• Oversee all daily and long-term plant operations, including production, maintenance, warehousing, logistics, and shipping.
• Develop and execute production schedules and workforce plans to meet customer demand and business requirements.
• Ensure production targets for output, efficiency, quality, delivery, and waste reduction are consistently met.
• Accurately capture and report daily production activity and operational metrics.
• Coordinate with Planning, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, Purchasing, and Logistics to optimize workflow and minimize downtime.

• Own plant performance metrics (KPIs), including safety, quality, cost, delivery, efficiency, and productivity.
• Manage plant budgets, operating expenses, and capital expenditures (CAPEX).
• Drive cost reduction initiatives through efficiencies, process improvements, and continuous improvement programs.
• Maintain responsibility for profit and loss (P&L) performance and required operational reporting.
• Support revenue and AOP targets through operational execution and resource optimization.

• Ensure all products meet internal and customer quality standards.
• Implement, enforce, and improve quality systems and manufacturing standards.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives such as Lean, 5S, Kaizen, and process optimization.
• Analyze production and quality data to identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities.
• Collaborate with Quality teams to resolve non-conformities and customer complaints.

• Provide strong leadership and direction to all plant departments and personnel.
• Recruit, train, onboard, and develop a capable and engaged workforce.
• Set clear performance expectations, conduct evaluations, and hold leaders and employees accountable.
• Foster a culture of teamwork, professionalism, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Encourage open communication, employee engagement, and cross-training.
• Identify and develop future leaders through succession planning.

• Ensure preventive maintenance programs are followed and equipment reliability is maintained.
• Oversee coordination between maintenance, engineering, and production teams.
• Support and lead capital projects, equipment upgrades, and new installations.
• Ensure facilities, equipment, and GMP certifications are maintained where applicable.

• Maintain effective communication with senior leadership on plant performance, challenges, and strategic initiatives.
• Represent the plant in meetings with customers, vendors, and corporate stakeholders.
• Coordinate with other plants or regions as required to align production strategies and standards.

• Strong leadership and people management skills
• Proven experience managing manufacturing operations and KPIs
• Strong financial and cost-management acumen, including experience with PNL statements
• Deep commitment to safety and regulatory compliance
• Ability to drive continuous improvement and change
• Effective communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
• Previous management experience required
• Bilingual a plus