Business Development Manager

Acculabs; United States; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Acculabs is seeking a highly driven Business Development Manager to originate new business across the metal finishing industry, with a focus on captive plating and finishing operations. You'll identify target accounts, conduct discovery, and translate opportunities into production contracts.

You will collaborate with our Technical Sales and Application Engineers, build a strong CRM pipeline, and travel regularly to customer sites and industry events across the Midwest and beyond.

Qualifications

• Meaningful professional sales experience in technical and/or industrial products or services.
• Sufficient technical understanding to become credible quickly with plating and finishing professionals.
• Demonstrated high initiative, urgency, persistence, and personal accountability - a true hunter.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a prioritized target-account list across industries, geographies, and finishing processes; prospect via phone, email, LinkedIn, referrals, trade shows, and direct plant outreach.
• Develop relationships with process engineers, plant managers, plating managers, quality leaders, operations leaders, purchasing teams, and ownership.
• Run first-level technical discovery on process conditions, substrates, pretreatment, plating/finishing steps, specifications, and production economics; quantify commercial potential before committing technical resources.
• Serve as commercial owner of opportunities while coordinating with the Technical Director, laboratory, and technical service team; coordinate samples, lab evaluations, and trials through to close.
• Communicate Acculabs' value beyond price - chemistry performance, process stability, technical support, laboratory capabilities, and total operating economics; manage objections and pricing conversations.

Skills

Technical sales

Metal finishing

Account development

Negotiation

Travel readiness

CRM software

Tools

CRM software

Microsoft Office

Job description

At Acculabs, we operate at the critical intersection of chemistry, engineering, and advanced manufacturing. We are the silent partners behind the world's most demanding industries—from aerospace and defense to medical devices and consumer electronics. Our pioneering chemical formulations are not just products; they are mission-critical solutions that enable manufacturers to build stronger, more durable, and higher-performing components.

Our team, composed of seasoned industry leaders and technical experts, is dedicated to solving complex surface-finishing challenges. We combine end-to-end engineering capabilities with world-class, ISO-certified laboratory services to deliver an unparalleled customer experience and drive tangible advancements in performance and sustainability.

THE ROLE

Acculabs is seeking a highly driven Business Development Manager to develop new business across the metal finishing industry, with a particular focus on captive plating and finishing operations.

This is primarily a new-business development role, not a traditional territory-management position. You'll identify attractive target accounts, open doors, run strong commercial and technical discovery, develop qualified opportunities, coordinate trials and application work with our technical team, and convert those opportunities into long-term production business.

Acculabs sells technically complex specialty chemicals used in electroplating, anodizing, electroless nickel, cleaning and pretreatment, conversion coatings, wastewater treatment, and other surface-finishing processes. Successful selling requires strong technical aptitude and/or knowledge to understand a customer's operation, ask intelligent questions, identify meaningful process or business problems, and know when to bring in deeper technical resources.

You don't need to be the most technically sophisticated person in every customer conversation. You do need to be credible in a manufacturing environment and capable of becoming a trusted commercial partner to plant managers, process engineers, quality leaders, operations teams, purchasing organizations, and business owners - and you'll have a broad bench of Acculabs Technical Sales and Application Engineers backing you up.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Build and maintain a prioritized target-account list across attractive industries, geographies, and finishing processes; prospect consistently through phone, email, LinkedIn, referrals, trade shows, and direct plant outreach
• Develop relationships with process engineers, plant managers, plating managers, quality leaders, operations leaders, purchasing teams, and ownership
• Run first-level technical discovery on process conditions, substrates, pretreatment, plating/finishing steps, specifications, and production economics; quantify commercial potential before committing technical resources
• Serve as commercial owner of opportunities while coordinating with Acculabs' Technical Director, laboratory, and technical service team; coordinate samples, lab evaluations, line trials, and proposals through to close
• Communicate Acculabs' value beyond price - chemistry performance, process stability, technical support, laboratory capabilities, and total operating economics - and manage objections, pricing conversations, and negotiations
• Maintain an accurate CRM pipeline, prioritize opportunities by strategic fit and revenue potential, and provide regular visibility into prospecting, trial status, and forecasted revenue
• Support select existing customer or distributor relationships when strategically important, without displacing the core mandate to create new business

WHAT YOU BRING

• Meaningful professional sales experience in technical and/or industrial products or services
• Sufficient technical understanding to become credible quickly with plating and finishing professionals
• Demonstrated high initiative, urgency, persistence, and personal accountability - a true hunter
• Willingness and ability to prospect aggressively for new business
• Comfort operating in manufacturing plants with both technical and commercial stakeholders
• Ability to learn complex chemistries, processes, applications, and customer economics
• Strong questioning, listening, discovery, communication, and follow-up skills
• Ability to organize and advance multiple complex opportunities simultaneously
• Willingness to travel regularly for customer meetings, plant visits, trials, and industry events

NICE TO HAVE

• Experience in metal finishing, electroplating, anodizing, surface treatment, or a closely related environment
• Direct experience with electroplating chemicals, surface-finishing chemistry, or technical service in the finishing industry
• Existing relationships with captive plating or finishing operations
• Experience managing accounts and/or a territory
• Technical service, application engineering, process engineering, plating management, or lab experience combined with strong commercial aptitude
• Familiarity with cleaning/pretreatment, zinc and zinc-alloy plating, electroless nickel, copper/nickel/chromium plating, anodizing, conversion coatings, wastewater treatment, or surface-finishing process control

LOCATION & TRAVEL

Midwest preferred (Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, or another manufacturing-rich market with practical access to Chicago); remote considered for candidates with meaningful metal-finishing experience. Candidates closer to Chicago with less direct plating experience may be considered for more intensive in-person technical development. Regular customer travel is required.

WHY ACCULABS

Acculabs has significant opportunity to expand beyond its existing geographic footprint and grow within captive manufacturing accounts across the United States. Our technical capabilities, laboratory infrastructure, and broad specialty-chemical portfolio create a strong platform for growth - this role is your chance to help build that next chapter, not just cover an existing territory.

Acculabs is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, work authorization status, military or veteran status, unfavorable military discharge, order of protection status, arrest record, conviction record, criminal history, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.