Stock Prep Assistant Superintendent - Pulp

WestRock Company; Dublin (GA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

WestRock Company seeks a Pulp Mill Assistant Superintendent to lead the Pulp Mill Superintendent, production supervisors, and daily operations, ensuring safety, reliability, quality, and environmental compliance for a 7-day, 24-hour operation. The role focuses on optimizing pulp production, profitability, and housekeeping across the Washing/Screening System.

The candidate will develop long-term production plans, supervise equipment maintenance, and drive process improvements while upholding high

Qualifications

• 5–10 years supervisory or management experience in pulp processing.
• Thorough knowledge of department equipment.
• Strong leadership, organizational, and troubleshooting skills with high ethical standards and energy.
• Excellent written and verbal abilities.
• Proficient in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership to the Pulp Mill Superintendent and production supervisors to ensure 24/7 operation.
• Develop plans to maximize uptime with minimal production impact.
• Improve manufacturing processes and evaluate new equipment for cost savings and quality gains.
• Oversee safety and housekeeping programs and enforce safety training.
• Coordinate maintenance scheduling to minimize downtime and environmental impact.

Skills

Supervisory experience

Management experience

Leadership

Organizational skills

Troubleshooting

Written and verbal communication

Word

Excel

PowerPoint

Education

B.S. in Chemical Engineering or Pulp & Paper Technology

Advanced management courses

Tools

PI

Capstone

Job description

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Pulp Mill Assistant Superintendent provides leadership and support to the Pulp Mill Superintendent, and production supervisors, and provides day to day leadership for all department employees; ensures continuity of the operating assets, achieving department objectives and facilitating sound business decisions; Improves safety, environmental compliance, quality, cost control and production for all areas of the Pulp Mill with an individual focus on improving the Washing/Screening System. Major responsibility is for Safely optimizing pulp production, profitability, and quality while ensuring environmental compliance and housekeeping are maintained for the 7-day, 24-hour operation.

HOW YOU WILL IMPACT SMURFIT WESTROCK

• The position has department responsibility for meeting production, cost, quality standards and the operation of a Pulp Production Department to support the Kraft Pulp Mill, ensuring uninterrupted fiber supply to the Paper Mill. The position has the responsibility to develop long-term operational plans for annual production forecasts. Procedures are developed and supervised that closely monitor the operation of the Washing/Screening System. The assistant superintendent is expected to maintain appropriate inventories, provide appropriate corrective actions to minimize production and to take full advantage of changes in production scheduling to eliminate liabilities.
• The position is responsible for developing plans and procedures to allow emergency and routine maintenance of equipment with minimum impact on production, quality, and the environment. This is accomplished by evaluating maintenance requirements and developing single department or system downtimes of eight to ten hours on a monthly or bi-monthly basis for scheduled downtime maintenance. This program maximizes equipment availability by keeping the hours of downtime required to perform repair jobs to a minimum and reducing emergency repairs because of improved maintenance.
• Responsible for improvements in manufacturing processes. The assistant superintendent must keep abreast of new developments in the industry; evaluate their potential and how to apply in the Mill. The position establishes process baselines, determines potential savings, and prepares justifications for new equipment for process modifications. The position also authorizes trials involving defoamers, polymers, composite control agents, and other chemical or raw materials to optimize operations by reducing costs or improved quality.
• The incumbent has departmental responsibility for safety and housekeeping. Managing programs for inspecting equipment and work practices for safety, providing safety training, and providing constructive employee discipline for safety violations are also the incumbent’s responsibility. Providing strong leadership in safety is essential for this position.
• Support front line supervisors with process improvements, training materials & documentation and problem solving. Work with operations teams to increase reliability and productivity. Develops strong relationships with all levels of the organization.
• Responsible for assuring processes and employees comply with state environmental standards. This is accomplished by providing procedures, policies, and supervision for air and water emissions.
• The incumbent assures maximum production and quality of work for planned field days and annual maintenance shutdowns by developing detailed shutdown/startup schedules that maximize production while providing maximum time for maintenance. Schedules also reduce impact on environment and chemical makeup by providing a balanced startup. Schedules are published early enough to provide maximum time for maintenance department planning.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED

Required:

• 5 - 10 years supervisory or management experience. Pulp Processing experience is preferred.
• Must have thorough knowledge and understanding of all equipment within the department.
• Demonstrated excellent leadership, organizational, and troubleshooting skills with high ethical standards and energy levels.
• Must have excellent written and verbal abilities.
• Demonstrated skills in Word, Excel and Power Point.

Desired:

• 10 years supervisory experience in pulp or paper mill industry.

EDUCATION AND FORMAL TRAINING

Required:

• Proficient in process control
• Proficient in Excel
• Proficient in Power Point
• Proficient in PI, Capstone or comparable information

Desired:

• Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering or Pulp and Paper Technology and advanced management courses.