Plant Manager

Palmer Candy Co. is seeking an experienced Plant Manager at our Hwy 75 location.

The Plant Manager will provide leadership support in all aspects of the production facility. As a member of the Plant Leadership Team, the Plant Manager will be an active leader in support of plant operations and is responsible for continuous improvement, Team Member engagement/retention and maintaining a cost-effective operation. The successful candidate will understand and demonstrate a commitment to safety first.

Who is Palmer Candy?

The Palmer Candy Company is a progressive, innovative, fast-growing company making and selling a broad array of confections in a surprising number of markets. Nationally, we participate in almost all market segments and are one of the top suppliers in more than a few categories including bakery confections, private label bagging, bulk chocolates, and contract manufacturing.

Who are We?

The Palmer family has been making candy together since 1878! We are proud of our unique history that is highlighted by five generations of family ownership and management. As a Team, we have continued to grow together, sharing in one another's triumphs, learning from our mistakes, and enjoying more than a few good laughs. We enjoy challenging conventions and achieving success by delivering to our customers outstanding service, innovative programs, and terrific products.

Why work for us?

Palmer Candy has developed a culture where we treat our Team Members like family. Palmer Candy offers a full range of benefits to our Team Members. Benefits include but are not limited to:

• Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Company Paid Life Insurance
• Company Paid Short Term Disability
• 401(k) with company match
• PTO and Paid Sick Days

Essential Functions

• Maintain a clean and safe plant. Continually improve our safety record by addressing both physical safety issues and Team Member safety behaviors. Maintain and improve housekeeping in all areas.
• Lead a zero-loss culture, assuring a safe working environment and compliance with all EHS and Food Safety Standards.
• Manage operations through Key Performance Indicators (KPI's), including; safety, food safety, product quality, productivity, plant environmental, cost and customer service.
• Initiate plans and processes which minimize manufacturing costs through effective utilization of staffing, equipment, facilities, materials, and capital. Assure attainment of business objectives and production schedules while ensuring product standards will exceed our customers' expectations.
• Operate the site at the highest levels of efficiency by managing equipment reliability and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) while managing site spending and expenses to minimum levels required to meet site strategy.
• Drive continuous improvement activities to achieve world class manufacturing excellence by leading, modeling, and embedding into the culture an innovative, "can do", and LEAN approach.
• Ensure plant sanitation and quality standards are consistent with federal, state, local, and company requirements.
• Ensure the product being manufactured meets Palmer Candy and customer's standards, policies and practices through the proper implementation and maintenance of all aspects of quality systems such as GMP, SQF, etc.
• Build a strong, achievement-oriented team by using the appropriate mix of hiring, delegation, training, monitoring, feedback, development, coaching, motivation, mentoring, and Team Member retention techniques.
• Identify operational discrepancies and provide focused solutions with a timeline for corrective action.
• Support the R&D team in developing new product processes, support production runs, costing of labor and scrap standards for new products.
• Engage and motivate the workforce through an active and strong presence on the production floor.
• Reduce scrap and waste and initiate other cost reduction activities throughout the facility.
• Establish group and individual accountabilities throughout all plant departments.
• Prepares an annual Operating Expense Budget and monthly forecast. Monitors ongoing performance against the budget. Participates in annual business planning and budgeting of the plant.
• Manage spending against budget and in relation to changes in production volume.
• Provide timely information and reports on issues that affect plant performance and other critical matters.
• Additional projects and duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience.

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Engineering, Food Science, or technical field required; MBA is a plus.
• 10+ years of increasingly responsible manufacturing experience, at least 5 years must be in the food industry, candy and/or chocolate manufacturing experience is a plus.
• Demonstrated leadership of safety initiatives that drive a zero-injury culture.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in continuous improvement methodologies, lean manufacturing tools and operational excellence practices.
• Demonstrated leadership skills, independent thinking, strong organizational and planning abilities, and excellent analytical and problem-solving skills are essential
• Ability to lead multicultural teams.
• Excellent communication skills interacting with all levels of staff, including hourly workforce and senior management.
• Ability to demonstrate a strong financial/business acumen is required to be successful in this role.
• Bilingual English/Spanish highly preferred.
• Demonstrated success with project management, including developing capital plans and managing from planning to completion.
• Proficiency in MS Office required, working knowledge of RedZone System strongly preferred.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.