Plant Manager

Balchem; Minnesota; On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Balchem in Minnesota seeks a Plant Manager to direct daily operations while ensuring safety, quality, and efficiency. The successful candidate will lead continuous improvement initiatives and develop a high-performing team.

This role requires a Bachelor’s degree in a technical field and over 10 years of production management experience. The plant environment can be demanding, with some exposure to high temperatures and chemicals. Balchem offers a competitive salary and a commitment to a diverse, inclusive workplace.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of production management experience in manufacturing.
• Ability to lead and develop a high-performing team.
• Experience with production logistics and scheduling.

Responsibilities

• Direct daily plant operations maintaining safety and quality.
• Lead continuous improvement in safety and food safety culture.
• Own plant capacity and ensure adherence to production schedule.

Skills

Production Management

Leadership

Change Management

GMP Systems

Lean or Six Sigma

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering, chemistry, food manufacturing, or related field

Job description

Company Overview

Balchem is committed to making the world a healthier place by delivering trusted, innovative, and science-based solutions for the health and nutritional needs of the world. Balchem employs approximately 1,400 employees worldwide who provide the service, quality, and technology that enables our customers to win with their customers. We have built a reputation for delivering results to all of our stakeholders. Founded in 1967, Balchem, a Maryland corporation, became a publicly-traded company in 1970 and is listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “BCPC.” Our corporate headquarters is located in Montvale, New Jersey, and we have a broad network of sales offices, manufacturing sites, and R&D centers, primarily located in the U.S. and Europe. The Company consists of three business segments: Human Nutrition and Health, Animal Nutrition and Health, and Specialty Products.

Position Summary

The Plant Manager directs daily plant operations while maintaining a safe, professional, and positive work environment. They are expected to make the most effective use of available work force and equipment, ensuring an efficient and coordinated work effort among all personnel. This position will be challenged to balance costs versus what is necessary to safely and reliability meet customer demand.

Essential Functions

• Lead continuous improvement in the safety and food safety culture throughout the local site and Balchem. Maintain high standards of performance, ensure regulatory compliance, and facilitate corrective action and preventive action plans at the site. Establish and continually improve a procedures-based culture.
• Facilitate an agile, effective, and engaged work force through strong change management, communication, and training efforts.
• Cultivate a high performing team with a customer-focused mindset.
• Develop key individuals for succession planning and organizational development.
• Maintain production at desired level while adhering to strict safety, food safety, and quality standards.
• Own the plant capacity plan and continually update operating plans based on inputs from Demand Planning and the Sales and Operating Planning Process.
• Ensure adherence to the production schedule to meet sales and commercial commitments to customers.
• Maintain goal alignment between the plant, the manufacturing function, the business, and the corporation. Maintain key performance indicators and metrics scorecards to monitor performance against established goals. Continually review and ensure improvement plans are in place for all performance gaps.
• Conduct periodic informal & annual formal employee evaluations.
• Create & maintain a positive work environment where success is celebrated, along with communicating company policies and directives to employees.
• Develop and adhere to an annual operating & capital implementation plan.
• Lead and own sustainability including waste reduction and value enhancement initiatives for the site.
• Effectively utilize communicate with regional, corporate, and approved outside expertise to drive learning and continuous improvement into the plant organization.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in a technical field of study such as engineering, chemistry, food manufacturing, microbiology/food science or a closely related field.
• 10 + years Production Management & Supervisory/Leadership; experience in a fast paced manufacturing environment is highly recommended.
• Ability to Facilitate & Lead in a Team Environment. Demonstrated ability to coach, mentor, develop and train a strong facility team. Demonstrated strong execution capacity. Ability to create sustained change to more effective systems.
• Production logistics & scheduling, GMP systems. APICS, Lean, or Six Sigma training is a plus.

Working Conditions

• Office and plant environment.
• Some work in Production area which periodically reaches temperature above 100 degrees, noise above ambient levels, proximity to moving mechanical parts, potential exposure to chemicals which is constantly monitored, and wears respirator when manufacturing specified products.

Balchem Corporation, and its subsidiaries, offers a competitive salary and benefits package and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Balchem is committed to a workplace culture that values and promotes diversity, inclusion, equal employment opportunities, and a work environment free of harassment and hostility.