Plant Manager
Location: Atascosa County, TX
Position Summary:
The Plant Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, performance, and profitability of the manufacturing facility. This role provides strategic and hands-on leadership for all plant operations, including production, safety, quality, maintenance, inventory, shipping, workforce development, and continuous improvement.
The Plant Manager ensures the facility consistently meets production schedules while maintaining APC's commitment to quality, customer satisfaction, employee safety, and operational excellence. This position is responsible for building a high-performing culture focused on accountability, teamwork, innovation, and continuous improvement.
At American Polymer Company (APC), we manufacture innovative underground utility enclosure solutions that protect critical infrastructure across North America. We believe we are only as good as our last production shift, and we continually strive to improve every aspect of our business.
Essential Responsibilities:
Leadership & Operations:
- Lead all day-to-day manufacturing operations to achieve safety, quality, delivery, and financial objectives.
- Develop and execute production plans to meet customer demand while maximizing efficiency.
- Establish plant goals, KPIs, and performance metrics.
- Drive a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement.
- Ensure production schedules are achieved while maintaining flexibility to meet changing customer needs.
- Coordinate activities between Production, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and Shipping.
Production Management:
- Maximize production output and equipment utilization.
- Improve manufacturing efficiency and reduce waste.
- Optimize labor utilization and scheduling.
- Monitor production performance and implement corrective actions when necessary.
- Ensure accurate production reporting and inventory transactions.
Safety & Environmental:
- Champion a safety-first culture throughout the organization.
- Ensure compliance with OSHA and all federal, state, and local regulations.
- Lead safety meetings, audits, investigations, and corrective actions.
- Maintain a clean, organized, and safe manufacturing environment.
Quality:
- Ensure products consistently meet APC quality standards and customer expectations.
- Partner with Engineering and Quality teams to resolve production issues.
- Drive root cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions.
- Promote a culture of "quality built into the process."
Continuous Improvement:
- Lead Lean Manufacturing initiatives.
- Improve throughput, cycle times, and productivity.
- Reduce scrap, rework, downtime, and manufacturing costs.
- Identify automation and process improvement opportunities.
- Utilize data to drive operational decisions.
Maintenance & Equipment:
- Ensure preventive maintenance programs are executed.
- Maximize equipment uptime and reliability.
- Plan capital improvements and equipment investments.
- Coordinate equipment repairs and facility improvements.
People Leadership:
- Recruit, hire, develop, and retain manufacturing personnel.
- Coach supervisors and department leaders.
- Conduct performance evaluations and establish employee development plans.
- Build a positive, high-performance culture aligned with APC's core values.
- Promote teamwork, communication, and employee engagement.
Financial Responsibility:
- Develop and manage plant operating budgets.
- Control manufacturing costs.
- Improve productivity while maintaining product quality.
- Monitor labor, material, and overhead expenses.
- Support strategic growth initiatives.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): The Plant Manager is accountable for achieving measurable improvements in:
- Safety performance.
- On-time delivery.
- Production output.
- Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
- Scrap and rework reduction.
- Inventory accuracy.
- Manufacturing cost per unit.
- Labor productivity.
- Customer quality performance.
- Employee retention and engagement.
Qualifications:
Required:
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, Operations Management, or equivalent experience.
- 7+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience.
- 5+ years managing supervisors and production teams.
- Experience leading a manufacturing facility with multiple departments.
- Strong understanding of Lean Manufacturing principles.
- Experience managing production scheduling and capacity planning.
- Knowledge of OSHA regulations and manufacturing safety practices.
- Strong financial and analytical skills.
- Excellent leadership, communication, and organizational abilities.
Preferred:
- Experience in polymer, composites, precast concrete, plastics, fiberglass, or related manufacturing.
- ERP/MRP system experience.
- Six Sigma or Lean certification.
- Experience with automation and process improvement initiatives.
Core Competencies:
- Leadership
- Accountability
- Continuous Improvement
- Problem Solving
- Strategic Thinking
- Decision Making
- Communication
- Team Development
- Customer Focus
- Operational Excellence
- Change Management
Physical Requirements:
- Ability to work in a manufacturing environment.
- Frequent walking throughout the facility.
- Ability to lift up to 40 pounds occasionally.
- Ability to stand for extended periods.
- Occasional travel to APC manufacturing facilities or customer locations.
Why Join APC:
American Polymer Company is a growing American manufacturer of innovative underground utility enclosure products serving the water, telecommunications, electrical, gas, irrigation, transportation, and infrastructure markets. We are committed to delivering exceptional quality, innovative solutions, and outstanding customer service while investing in our employees, manufacturing capabilities, and the communities we serve.