RHH202608

Plant Manager

Packaging

THE COMPANY

Our client is a fourth-generation, family-owned manufacturer of premium packaging with a legacy spanning more than a century. Operating from a state-of-the-art production facility in the Southeastern US, the company employs a skilled, long-tenured workforce that runs three shifts. It has built an enduring reputation as the packaging partner of choice for the world’s most prestigious beauty, fragrance, cosmetics, personal care, and pharmaceutical brands. Names that are household words globally. The company is carbon neutral, FSC certified, and holds EcoVadis Platinum status, placing it in the top 1% of companies globally for sustainability performance. The company culture is caring, family-oriented, and built on a “can-do” attitude.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Our client is seeking a Plant Manager to lead all manufacturing operations at its production facility. This individual will be a key voice in the company’s ongoing investment in operational excellence and technology advancement. It is a technically demanding, well-run, and respected operation where quality standards are driven by the expectations of the world’s most prestigious brands. The Plant Manager will be responsible for the facility’s full operational performance: safety, throughput, quality, cost, culture, and the engagement of the workforce that makes it all possible. The right candidate is a hands-on manufacturing leader who combines strong technical knowledge of print and packaging processes with the management expertise to lead a skilled, experienced team.

This position reports to the owner/CEO and has five direct reports.

JOB DEFINITION

The Plant Manager is the on-the-ground operational leader of this premier manufacturing facility. This is a senior leadership role that requires both deep manufacturing competency and genuine people management skills. This is a high-accountability role at the intersection of precision manufacturing, people leadership, and client-facing quality standards. The facility produces highly decorative, premium products using U.V. offset printing, hot foil stamping, embossing, die cutting, lamination, and specialty finishing processes. The ideal candidate has managed a printing, packaging, or paper converting operation at a comparable level of technical complexity, understands how to drive continuous improvement without disrupting a high-precision production environment, and knows how to lead a skilled hourly workforce with both accountability and respect. A passion for craft and comfort, operating within a family-owned culture, are all important markers of fit. The successful candidate will be energized by the opportunity to lead a well-regarded, long-tenured operation into its next chapter of growth.

SKILLS

The Plant Manager will serve as the senior operational leader, responsible for the plant’s full performance and team development.

  • Production oversight and scheduling: Direct all daily manufacturing operations, including printing, stamping, embossing, die cutting, lamination, and finishing, to ensure output meets volume, quality, and delivery commitments.
  • Establish and implement clear operational KPIs: Communicate the reasoning behind each metric to build team buy-in, and hold supervisors and shift leads accountable to consistent performance standards.
  • Quality management: Own the plant’s quality systems, processes, and outcomes; establish inspection standards; manage client-facing quality expectations; and ensure every product leaving the facility meets customers’ exacting requirements.
  • Safety and regulatory compliance: Lead a culture of workplace safety, ensuring all OSHA and environmental regulations are met and that the plant maintains its strong record of compliance and employee well-being.
  • Plant cost and budget management: Own the facility’s operating budget, identifying efficiency opportunities, managing labor and materials costs, and driving productivity improvements that support the company’s financial performance.
  • Equipment and maintenance management: Oversee the preventive and corrective maintenance program for all press and finishing equipment, ensuring uptime and reliability, and supporting capital planning to meet production demands.
  • Continuous improvement and lean initiatives: Identify and implement process improvement opportunities across the facility to reduce waste, shorten cycle times, and advance the company’s operational and sustainability performance metrics.
  • Lead ERP system optimization: Leverage integrated platforms to improve operational efficiency, data visibility, and cross-functional alignment.
  • Cross-functional collaboration: Partner with the corporate design studio, sales, and client services teams to ensure seamless handoffs from pre-press to production, and that customer expectations are consistently translated into plant-floor execution.
  • Inventory and materials management: Manage the flow of paperboard, inks, foils, and specialty materials through the facility, working closely with procurement to ensure supply continuity and minimize waste.

 

Leadership and Management:

  • Workforce leadership and development: Hire, develop, train, and retain a skilled hourly and salaried workforce. Build a culture of accountability, craftsmanship, and continuous improvement consistent with the company’s family-owned values.
  • Team-building: lead, mentor, guide, and develop future leaders.
  • A visible, floor-present leader who earns the trust of a skilled, long-tenured workforce through consistent engagement, clear expectations, and genuine respect for the craft of manufacturing.
  • Create and manage a formal training program.
  • Proven ability to hold teams accountable to quality and productivity standards while maintaining high morale and low turnover, with experience developing supervisors and building internal bench strength.
  • Comfort operating inside a family-owned culture that is direct, relationship-driven, and values-centered. Where trust is earned over time, and long-term thinking is prioritized over short-term metrics.

BACKGROUND EXPERIENCE

  • Minimum of 10 years of manufacturing experience, with at least 5 years in a plant or production management role with direct P&L accountability.
  • Background in printing, folding carton manufacturing, paper converting, or specialty packaging. Knowledge of ultraviolet printing and cold foiling is a plus.
  • Demonstrated success leading a lean or continuous improvement program in a manufacturing setting.
  • High emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust across a skilled, long-tenured workforce and operate effectively within a relationship-driven, family-owned culture.

 

Education

  • A bachelor’s degree in manufacturing, industrial engineering, printing technology, operations management, or a related field is preferred. An equivalent combination of technical training and demonstrated manufacturing leadership will be considered in lieu of a formal degree.
If you have these qualifications and are looking for a challenging career, please submit your Resume using the button below.
Todd Hohauser
CEO & Lead Consultant
Kate Scott
Director, Executive Recruitment
SUBMIT RESUME