PLANT MANAGER

LOCATION: Ilfov or Prahova, Romania 

THE COMPANY:

Our client is an international preforms made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) products manufacturer with 9 production units across Europe and USA, who serves customers in the food, drinks and non-food sectors. The company is planning a 30% expansion of its factory in northern Bucharest, Romania, with a €3 million investment. This expansion includes a new PET recycled granule production line. The goal is to produce PET granules from recycled plastic materials for use in sterile containers for the food industry. The factory currently has ~65 employees, and this expansion could lead to more job opportunities in the future.

THE ROLE

To support our client’s extension plans, we are looking for a Plant Manager who will manage the existing factory and oversee the successful expansion, ensuring that the new production line and facilities are set up and operating efficiently, maintaining high-quality production standards and ensure that the newly produced PET granules meet industry and regulatory requirements.

In addition to this, building and retaining a high-performing and motivated team is expected. This may entail strategic hiring to meet the demands of the expansion while fostering a safe and productive work environment. The Plant Manager will champion sustainability initiatives, particularly in the realms of recycling and waste reduction, aligning these efforts with our client’s robust environmental and corporate responsibility goals.

The position owner has Plant P&L responsibility and acts to support maximizing EBIT and EBITDA of the company with keeping the plant costs under control and optimizes working capital capability. He / She is responsible for the planning, monitoring as well as adhering of the budgeted plant operation cost, accountable for maximizing customer satisfaction by promoting/monitoring and following up the value proposition to the site organization and lead operational projects and ensure highest level quality to contribute to the company’s value proposition.

Lead a team of ~ 80 people in 2 sites with 7 direct reports: Production Manager, Technical Manager and Quality Manager, Logistic responsible, Finance Controller and HR generalist. Reporting to Regional General Manager.

Key Objectives & Tasks: 

• Oversee the successful implementation, ramp-up, and capacity management of new projects within the manufacturing facility
• Continuously monitor and update machine capacity metrics on a monthly basis to ensure optimal utilization
• Drive the achievement of monthly and quarterly productivity targets for the sector, focusing on enhancing efficiency
• Develop and manage the departmental budget, ensuring effective resource allocation and cost control
• Implement management tools such as 5S, SMED, operation balancing, and cycle time optimization to improve production line productivity
• Strategically plan production tasks and schedules in alignment with customer orders to meet demand efficiently
• Continuously monitor production plan execution, promptly addressing any potential issues to maintain on-time delivery
• Analyze production delays and interruptions, making necessary adjustments to production schedules to meet deadlines
• Lead, train, supervise, and evaluate staff to foster a high-performing and motivated team focused on achieving operational excellence

THE CANDIDATE:

The professional we are looking for should have 10+ years multi-sites plant management experience, preferably in the plastic manufacturing industry, with demonstrated experience overseeing facility expansion projects and excellent leadership skills with focus on team development.

• Experience in production process optimization and lean manufacturing principles (Six Sigma, Kaizen, Kanban, 5S, etc.).
• Demonstrated broad technical experience (for example in building, electrics/ electrical installations, cooling, machine installation, hydraulics, automation…)
• Injection molding or plastic recycling (or affiliated branch like eg extrusion) experience is a strong advantage
• Ability to promote and implement sustainable practices, experience in recycling practices is preferred
• In-depth knowledge of production management, quality control, and process optimization and familiar with industry standard equipment and technical expertise, safety, supply chain
• Experience with ERP (Navision or SAP)
• Problem-solving and decision-making skills in a fast-paced manufacturing environment
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to drive a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence

We welcome resumes or / and recommendations in English Language until latest MONDAY 11.12.2023.

If, this opportunity does not interest you, but you would like to recommend a member of your professional network who might have the right profile and a potential interest in pursuing it, please don’t hesitate to forward them this ad or directly send us their coordinates.

Please consider that only the suitable candidates will be contacted for interview, but we appreciate everyone’s interest in our projects and would like to keep in touch for future projects.

Pendl & Piswanger offers HR and management advisory services in the last 40 years in CEE. As members of InterSearch, a worldwide executive search firm with more than 100 offices in 50 countries, we are amongst the top search firms globally and operate across all major industry sectors. We are experienced, innovative, and totally committed to our clients who gain competitive advantage by hiring great people. For more information, please visit www.ro.intersearch.org.

Apply here!