About the position
The Plant Manager at Kennametal NA in Huntsville, Alabama, is a pivotal leadership role responsible for overseeing the entire operation of the Huntsville site. This position requires setting a clear vision for the plant to align with and achieve business objectives. The Plant Manager is accountable for performance goals that encompass revenue growth, profitability, customer satisfaction, operational excellence, manufacturing efficiency, strategic planning, and talent development. The ideal candidate will demonstrate the ability to lead by example, implement effective systems and processes, and proactively drive continuous improvement in a fast-paced, multi-process environment. In this role, the Plant Manager will have full responsibility for the plant's profit and loss (P&L) and overall performance. This includes collaborating with leaders across various functions such as Manufacturing, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, EHS, and HR to develop and drive operational objectives. The Plant Manager will ensure that the facilities operate according to plan and within budget, while also developing and managing both operational and capital budgets. A key aspect of the role is to facilitate the pursuit of standardized plant metrics, including safety, quality, supply, and delivery, while measuring and monitoring performance against these targets. Coaching plant leadership in resolving variances is also a critical responsibility. Safety is a top priority, and the Plant Manager will lead and exemplify a culture of safe manufacturing, ensuring accountability for safety across the organization. The role also involves implementing a culture of continuous improvement and employee engagement to enhance all areas of plant operations. This includes optimizing production and maintenance strategies to achieve the lowest total cost while complying with quality standards, meeting or exceeding customer expectations, maintaining equipment reliability, and fostering employee accountability. Additionally, the Plant Manager will focus on advancing the plant's operating capabilities through automation and lean processes, as well as developing the capabilities of frontline leadership through mentoring, training, and coaching.
Responsibilities
- Provide overall leadership of the Huntsville site operations.
- Set the vision for the site to meet business objectives.
- Accountable for the plant's P&L and overall performance.
- Work with plant leaders across various functions to develop and drive operating objectives.
- Develop and manage operational and capital budgets.
- Facilitate the pursuit of standardized plant metrics such as safety, quality, supply, and delivery.
- Measure and monitor performance against metric targets and coach plant leadership in resolving variances.
- Promote a culture of accountability and teamwork within the plant.
- Lead and exemplify a culture of safe manufacturing and ensure safety accountability.
- Implement a culture of continuous improvement and employee engagement.
- Optimize production and maintenance strategies to achieve lowest total cost while complying with quality standards.
- Advance the plant's operating capabilities through automation and lean processes.
- Develop capabilities of frontline leadership through mentoring, training, and coaching.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree required, preferably in engineering or a similar technical field.
- A minimum of 15 years of technical manufacturing experience, with leadership roles of increasing responsibility.
- Operations leadership experience in a manufacturing environment of relevant scale and complexity (e.g., >100 employees, multi-product lines, >$200M in assets).
- Experience leading lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives to reduce costs and improve productivity.
- Production leadership experience with at least two layers of management structure.
- Excellent communication skills, including written and verbal; comfortable and credible with both internal stakeholders and external audiences.
- A flexible, dynamic, self-demanding, and proactive individual; able to motivate self and others; a natural bias for action with a focus on results delivery.
