Production Manager - ETP

Teknor Apex; Brownsville (TN); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Teknor Apex in Brownsville, TN seeks a Plant Manager with 6–8 years of production management experience to lead manufacturing operations, drive safety, quality and productivity, and manage resources across production lines. The role requires strong leadership, strategic thinking, and a hands-on approach to problem solving.

You will oversee planning, staffing, training, and performance management while ensuring adherence to SOPs, budgets, and regulatory requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or chemistry or equivalent experience.
• 6–8 years of production management experience.
• Strong leadership and change-agent capabilities.
• Clear communication across organizational levels.
• Problem solving and data-driven decision making.
• Strategic thinking to prevent recurring issues.
• Ability to use computer systems required for the role.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, organizing, directing and controlling staff and resources in manufacturing, curing, and finishing operations.
• Promote safety and ensure compliance with environmental regulations; drive safety programs.
• Manage production metrics, analyze trends, and implement corrective actions.
• Develop and deploy improvements to reduce waste, downtime, and costs.
• Coach and develop team, drive 6S, and maintain a safe, clean work environment.
• Ensure training is completed and cross-trained to standard procedures.
• Prepare monthly reports and monitor budget impact.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Problem solving

Strategic thinking

Analytical ability

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or chemistry

Job description

When Alfred Fain founded a small Rhode Island tire store in 1924, at the time no one could have predicted how Teknor Apex would become an international custom compounder sought out by companies around the world. After a nearly hundred-year journey that’s carried us through acquisitions and expansion, we now have nine U.S. locations, as well as operations in Belgium, Singapore, Germany, and China.

Throughout this global expansion Teknor has remained a privately held company, and today Fain’s grandson sits at the helm, maintaining the family’s tradition of fostering deep employee and customer relationships. These relationships are what allow us—together—to deliver customized compound solutions and help our customers create better products.

“Manufacturing is a team sport, and we work together to achieve our goals.” ~Jon Fain, Chairman of the Board

Join the team behind our custom compounds.

General Function:

Responsible for planning, organizing, directing and controlling staff, equipment, materials and activities used in the manufacturing, curing and final finished products. This position secures, organizes, coordinates, and allocates necessary resources to ensure attainment of safety, quality, and production goals.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Promote safety awareness and monitors safety programs and trends. Ensures that safety meetings are conducted, investigates and countermeasures all safety problems and reports results. Develop plans for improvements and maintain compliance with all environmental regulations.
• Ensures fair and consistent practices, recommends promotions, salary increases, demoting, and transfers.
• Manages Production Department staff. Select and develop personnel and identify training needs. Counsels and motivates the team and maintains a clean, safe, working environment.
• Reviews, analyzes, and monitors daily and monthly production results and trends according to man, machine, material methods measured against plant goals. Develop resolutions through troubleshooting which is corrective prevention.
• Direct and lead all departmental activities consistent within plant goals, i.e., safety production, waste, scrap, and employee relations. Counter measures adverse trends, obtains and deploys resources as necessary. Maintain lowest costs for production.
• Educates and trains team in standard practices, process capability, and downgrade defect analysis. Promotes a high level of good housekeeping.
• Audits SOP compliance, establishes plans, and controls points for achieving production requirements, communicates objectives to team. Interacts and coordinates activities with support department, maintenance, technical support, and customer service department. Directs resources to improve and correct deficiencies and initiate countermeasures.
• Submits monthly reports that document results vs. monthly budget expectations.
• Position has budget responsibilities of $5,000,000 to $20,000,000 and no sales revenue responsibilities.
• Work requires the application of a variety of procedures, policies, and/or precedents used in combination.
• Model positive leadership behaviors that align with our Core Values and build relationships and collaboration across the shift, other shifts and cross functionally.
• Actively audit safe conditions and safe behaviors every shift while on the floor – uphold safety rules and policies and proactively addresses safety hazards and unsafe behaviors.
• Actively model setting high Safety standards ( LOTO, proper PPE, no ear buds or phones on production floor, long sleeve shirts, dust masks, etc.)
• Coach and drive 6S principles and improvements across the department and plant
• Drive Safety, Quality, Yield and Productivity Continuous Improvement and lead projects
• Coach, mentor & develop team to successfully operate their assigned production lines
• Work to ensure any needed training is completed on time and strong cross training to standard/work procedures is actively ongoing.
• Be accessible to employees to create an open door and team-oriented culture
• Participate in meetings as needed and be responsive to e-mail & phone communications.
• Be active in your own personal leadership development and attend scheduled leadership & management trainings.
• Passionately drive continuous improvement culture.
• Administer established policies for performance management, staffing, training, employee relations, and compensation management.
• Apply Leader Standard Work principles to maintain process discipline, drive continuous improvement, and support team accountability.
• Performs additional duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Education and/or Work Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in chemistry or engineering is preferred.
• Position requires between 6-8 years of production management experience.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to be a change agent
• Good communicator across various levels of the organization
• Strong problem solving, troubleshooting and communication skills
• Ability to think strategically to prevent re-occurring problems
• Critical thinking and attention to detail
• Strong analytic ability is needed to gather and interpret data where results/answers can be found after analysis of several facts
• Ability to use computer and various systems required to perform role

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to safely and successfully perform the essential job functions consistent with the ADA, FMLA and other federal, state and local standards, including meeting qualitative and/or quantitative productivity standards.
• Ability to maintain regular, punctual attendance consistent with the ADA, FMLA and other federal, state and local standards
• Must be able to stand for long periods of time, squat, bend, twist and turn as needed to perform the job.
• Must be able to climb ladders and stairs multiple times throughout the shift.
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds.
• Must be able to wear required safety equipment.

This description is a summary of principal responsibilities and is not intended to include all duties that may be assigned.

Teknor Apex is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any protected status under state or federal laws. Must be 18 years of age to work at Teknor Apex.