Plant Manager

HTI; Belton (SC); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

HTI is seeking a Plant Manager in Belton, South Carolina to lead the startup and ongoing operations of a new manufacturing plant. You will oversee production, maintenance, quality, safety, and environmental compliance, building strong teams and disciplined processes from the ground up.

The role requires extensive startup experience, hands-on leadership, and a focus on safety, quality, and customer-focused performance.

Qualifications

• Significant progression to leadership in manufacturing operations.
• Experience leading plant startups, expansions, or new line launches.
• Experience leading manufacturing teams through supervisors and frontline leadership.
• Knowledge of manufacturing safety, quality, and operations systems.
• Experience developing or managing manufacturing KPIs and driving results.
• Financial acumen with plant operating costs, budgets, or P&L insight.
• Experience with capital expenditure projects and ROI justification.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to collaborate across operations, engineering, quality, sales, and maintenance.

Responsibilities

• Lead startup, commissioning, and ongoing operation of the manufacturing facility.
• Lead plant operations with accountability for safety, quality, production, maintenance, and costs.
• Coach supervisors and develop staff with clear expectations and accountability.
• Establish safety culture in line with OSHA and environmental requirements.
• Foster a quality-focused culture emphasizing defect prevention and CI.
• Ensure production schedules and customer commitments are met.
• Maintain cross-functional communication across functions.
• Develop and monitor KPIs related to safety, quality, productivity, and cost.
• Drive Lean, Six Sigma, 5S, and disciplined problem solving for CI.
• Evaluate plant performance using financial data; identify corrective actions.
• Manage plant P&L awareness, operating expenses, and cost drivers.
• Develop CapEx proposals with ROI justification and business cases.
• Partner with Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Purchasing, Sales, and leadership.
• Identify opportunities to improve throughput, labor, equipment, and costs.
• Maintain floor presence; understand equipment, processes, and staff.
• Support environmental compliance and wastewater management.

Skills

Leadership

Startup/Launch

Safety & Compliance

Communication

Problem Solving

Cross-functional Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Business/Operations

Woodworking/manufacturing background (preferred)

Tools

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

5S

KPI Development

CapEx ROI/Analysis

Job description

New Manufacturing Plant is seeking a Plant Manager to lead the startup and ongoing operations in Belton, South Carolina. This is a hands-on leadership role for an individual who can help build the operation from the ground up, develop strong teams, establish disciplined manufacturing processes, and create a culture centered on safety, quality, customer service, productivity, and continuous improvement.

The Plant Manager will have responsibility for the overall day-to-day performance of the facility, including production, maintenance, quality, shipping, safety, environmental compliance, operational costs, and capital projects. The position will play a significant role in launching production lines, establishing performance standards, developing the workforce, and supporting future expansion of the operation.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the startup, commissioning, and ongoing operation of the manufacturing facility, including the phased installation and launch of production equipment and processes.
• Provide overall leadership for plant operations, with accountability for safety, quality, production, maintenance, shipping, and operational performance.
• Build, coach, and develop supervisors and plant employees while establishing clear expectations and accountability throughout the organization.
• Establish a strong safety culture that provides a safe and secure environment for employees, contractors, and visitors and ensures compliance with OSHA and applicable environmental requirements.
• Establish a quality-focused manufacturing culture with an emphasis on defect prevention, continuous improvement, and meeting customer expectations.
• Ensure production schedules, customer commitments, quality requirements, and delivery expectations are consistently met.
• Maintain strong communication between manufacturing operations, sales, customers, and other business functions.
• Develop and monitor meaningful plant KPIs related to safety, quality, productivity, efficiency, delivery, cost, and other operational measures.
• Drive continuous improvement through Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, 5S, waste reduction, process optimization, and disciplined problem solving.
• Evaluate plant performance using month-over-month and year-over-year financial and operational data and identify areas requiring corrective action.
• Maintain working knowledge of plant P&L performance, operating expenses, and cost drivers.
• Develop and support capital expenditure proposals, including business justification, ROI analysis, equipment investments, and manufacturing expansion projects.
• Partner cross-functionally with Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Purchasing, Shipping, Safety/EHS, Sales, and company leadership.
• Identify opportunities to improve throughput, labor utilization, equipment performance, material usage, operating costs, and overall plant efficiency.
• Maintain a visible presence on the manufacturing floor and develop an understanding of equipment, processes, employees, and day-to-day operating conditions.
• Support environmental compliance and coordinate appropriately with internal or third-party resources associated with the site's wastewater treatment requirements.

Required Qualifications

• Significant progressive leadership experience in a manufacturing environment, including responsibility for plant operations or a substantial manufacturing function.
• Demonstrated experience leading or participating in a plant startup, manufacturing expansion, new production line launch, equipment installation, or comparable operational ramp-up.
• Experience leading manufacturing teams through supervisors and frontline leadership.
• Working knowledge of manufacturing safety, quality, production, maintenance, and operational performance systems.
• Experience developing and managing manufacturing KPIs and driving accountability for results.
• Financial acumen with experience reviewing plant operating performance, costs, budgets, or P&L information.
• Experience developing or supporting capital expenditure projects, including CapEx proposals and ROI justification.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across operations, engineering, quality, sales, maintenance, and other functions.
• Ability to operate effectively in a startup environment where priorities, processes, staffing, and production requirements will continue evolving.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Operations Management, Manufacturing, or a related discipline.
• Woodworking, millwork, furniture, cabinetry, lumber, or wood-products manufacturing experience is preferred but not required.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, 5S, KPI development, and structured continuous improvement.
• Experience managing plant P&L, operating costs, and capital projects.
• Experience launching highly automated or equipment-intensive manufacturing operations.
• Technical or engineering background with the ability to understand manufacturing equipment and processes while maintaining a broader operational and people-focused perspective.

Leadership Profile

The successful Plant Manager will be a leader, coach, and trainer rather than simply a technical administrator. The company is seeking someone who is proactive rather than reactive and who can combine manufacturing knowledge with strong interpersonal leadership.

This individual should demonstrate strong situational awareness, understanding not only equipment and production performance, but also safety conditions, employee engagement, quality issues, customer requirements, and the overall health of the plant. Technical capability is important, but the Plant Manager must also be able to see the broader picture, communicate effectively with employees, and translate operational objectives into action.

Why This Opportunity

This is an opportunity to take a leading role in establishing a new U.S. manufacturing operation rather than inheriting a mature plant with established systems. The Plant Manager will be involved as production equipment is installed, the first manufacturing lines are launched, the workforce is built, operating standards are established, and additional capacity is added.

The startup will require a leader who is comfortable working through changing priorities, overlapping equipment installations, production ramp-up, and the challenges that come with building a manufacturing operation from the ground up.