Plant Manager

Plant Manager
Hickory, North Carolina

We’re working with a successful, growing multi plant operation in the Hickory, NC area to recruit a Plant Manager who can lead a campus with multiple plants, 350 plus employees, and three shifts. This is a high visibility role with clear potential for upward mobility.

The ideal leader is a servant minded Plant Manager who lives on the floor, manages by data and metrics, and has a proven Lean and Continuous Improvement track record.

The Role

In this position you will:

• Lead overall performance for a multi-building campus with 350 plus employees on multiple shifts
• Practice servant leadership, building trust, removing barriers, and winning hearts and minds
• Drive safety, quality, delivery, cost, and morale through clear KPIs and daily management
• Champion Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement with real implementation and measurable results
• Coordinate closely with engineering, maintenance, quality, supply chain, and HR to align around shared goals
• Develop, coach, and hold accountable a strong team of supervisors and managers
• Meet and improve plant budget targets in materials, labor, and maintenance
• Build and sustain 5S, visual management, and standardized work across the campus

What You Bring

• BS in Engineering required, MBA or MS preferred
• At least 10 years of progressive leadership in manufacturing
• Experience leading a large workforce, ideally 250 to 350 plus employees across multiple shifts
• Proven servant leadership style, respected on the floor and credible in the boardroom
• Strong Lean and Continuous Improvement background with clear before and after results
• Data driven mindset, comfortable managing the operation through KPIs and problem solving without getting bogged down
• Strong communicator who can connect with hourly teams and senior leadership alike, having a shop-floor presence
• High sense of urgency, able to push through obstacles and deliver results without burning out the team

Why This Is Attractive

From our perspective, this is a compelling opportunity if you:

• Want ownership of a major operation, not a small piece of one
• Enjoy leading a large, stable, hardworking workforce
• Take pride in servant leadership, Lean, and continuous improvement
• Are ready for a role that can grow into broader multi-site or higher-level responsibility

If you are an experienced Plant Manager or senior Operations leader with an engineering degree and a strong Lean and servant leadership background, open to Hickory, NC, I would like to speak with you confidentially.

Please share your resume and a brief summary of your most impactful plant level improvements, and we will follow up to discuss next steps.