Plant Manager

Washington Mills is one of the largest producers of high-quality abrasive and fused mineral products in the world. It has facilities throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe and serves a global customer base. Its principal business is the fusing of oxide and carbide minerals in electric arc and Acheson furnaces, as well as the grinding and classifying of the minerals into grains and powders.

Established in 1868, Washington Mills continues a long history of excellence in supplying raw materials to the abrasive, refractory, ceramic, and industrial abrasive markets.

The Plant Manager is responsible for managing all facets of the manufacturing operation in North Grafton, MA to meet and improve key operational measures such as safety, productivity and service, while meeting and exceeding the plant’s financial targets. This position directs all crushing, grading and maintenance activities for abrasive grain production at the site to produce a quality product within budget guidelines and customer requirements.

This position reports to the VP of Operations. In addition, this position:

• Ensures all operations are performed in compliance with all safety, health and environmental regulations
• Interacts with all departments within the company to set, lead and hit strategic and functional targets
• Works closely with customers, customer service and quality personnel to identify issues and coordinate the implementation of solutions
• Is responsible for planning production schedules based on marketing forecasts and inventory levels and monitoring the plant’s performance vs. forecast
• Establishes and controls manufacturing and production costs as a key responsibility
• Is responsible for safety and housekeeping in all manufacturing and maintenance areas and for ensuring corrective action is taken on safety problems and complaints
• Leads maintenance staff to understand downtime issues and proactively manages production systems and machinery. Leads shipping team to hit OTD and accuracy targets.
• Identifies problem areas and deploys projects to reduce losses and improve functional areas using lean techniques
• Learns the science of abrasive materials and the mechanical alteration of their different properties

• Ensure and enforce that all plant departments are in full compliance with all safety and environmental regulations
• Ensure efficient and orderly production and maintenance operations to meet production, shipping, and inventory requirements with the highest attention to quality and customer service
• Ensure all production equipment is in proper working order by maintaining a regular preventive maintenance program and scheduling repairs in a timely and efficient manner
• Establish and nurture a Continuous Improvement culture
• Utilize Lean Manufacturing tools (i.e. value stream mapping, Kaizen, 5S, Gemba walks, root cause problem solving) to identify and develop solutions that drive operational improvement
• Ensure SOPs are up to date and accurate for all job functions in the plant and office
• Meet product cost objectives including maximizing utilization of manpower, machinery and material and minimizing inventory levels
• Establish raw material needs and communicate same
• Determine capital needs; recommend improvements and capital projects
• Maintain data on costs, budgets, safety, inventory, and continually monitor same vs. budgets/objectives
• Schedule personnel and machinery to best implement production control and marketing requirements
• Provide leadership, training, and direction to manufacturing team to accomplish the Company goals and objectives
• Provide for the personal and professional growth of subordinates through coaching, feedback, and opportunity
• Facilitate the development of strategies and corrective actions to resolve quality issues as necessary
• Responsible for labor relations to include discipline and resolution regarding open issues and concerns
• Assist in the development of a business plan and be responsible for meeting financial objectives set forth in the annual business plan
• Test, measure and study products to understand the manufacturing impacts on material properties
• Deliver weekly, monthly, and quarterly…