Plant Manager (4993)

Plant Manager

Aerofoam USA, LLC | Abbeville, South Carolina

Reports to: President and General Manager

Lead the operation. Build the team. Shape the future.

Aerofoam USA is seeking an experienced, hands-on Plant Manager to lead our NBR rubber manufacturing operations in Abbeville, South Carolina. This is a high-impact leadership role for a manufacturing professional who can translate strategy into daily execution, develop capable leaders, and build a culture of safety, accountability, quality, and continuous improvement.

Reporting to the President and General Manager, the Plant Manager will have broad responsibility for plant performance across production, people, safety, quality, maintenance, delivery, and cost. The successful candidate will be a visible presence on the floor, working closely with supervisors and employees while partnering with leadership and support functions to strengthen the operation.

This is an opportunity to make a measurable difference in a growing manufacturing environment, establish scalable systems, and help develop the next generation of plant leaders.

Leadership Scope

● Lead daily operations across production, staffing, safety, quality, maintenance, delivery, and cost performance.

● Set priorities for supervisors and operating teams, establish clear accountability, and ensure consistent execution across all shifts.

● Develop supervisors and high-potential employees through coaching, feedback, training, cross-training, and structured performance expectations.

● Build a collaborative, high-performance culture grounded in trust, communication, ownership, and follow-through.

● Partner with Quality, Maintenance, Engineering, Supply Chain, and leadership to resolve constraints and improve plant-wide performance.

● Translate business objectives into practical operating plans, measurable goals, and timely action.

● Serve as a visible and credible leader who earns the confidence and trust of employees at every level.

What You’ll Do

● Lead manufacturing operations to meet customer, safety, quality, production, delivery, and cost objectives.

● Maintain an active presence on the floor and engage employees in identifying problems and improving processes.

● Oversee material preparation, mixing, kneading, milling, extrusion, and curing or foaming processes, as applicable.

● Establish production plans, staffing priorities, standard work, visual management, and effective shift handoffs.

● Strengthen safety performance through proactive hazard identification, employee engagement, training, and timely corrective action.

● Partner with Quality to prevent defects, improve process capability, identify root causes, and reduce scrap and rework.

● Oversee maintenance to ensure equipment reliability, preventive maintenance, and corrective maintenance to reduce downtime and improve overall equipment effectiveness.

● Use production, quality, maintenance, and cost data to identify constraints, prioritize resources, and track corrective actions.

● Lead Lean initiatives, structured problem-solving, waste reduction, and operating cost improvement.

● Improve workforce flexibility through cross-training, skills development, and succession planning.

● Communicate plant results, risks, resource needs, and improvement plans to leadership with clear owners, milestones, and deadlines.

How Success Will Be Measured

Success in this role will be reflected in the plant’s ability to consistently improve and sustain:

● Safety performance and employee participation in safe work practices.

● Production attainment, schedule adherence, throughput, and on-time delivery.

● First-pass quality, scrap, rework, customer satisfaction, and corrective-action effectiveness.

● Equipment uptime, preventive-maintenance completion, downtime reduction, and OEE.

● Labor productivity, operating cost control, and material utilization.

● Employee engagement, retention, cross-training, and supervisor capability.

● Execution of continuous-improvement projects with documented, lasting results.

Growth Opportunities

The Plant Manager will have the opportunity to:

● Shape the operating culture and systems of a growing manufacturing facility.

● Build a strong leadership pipeline by developing supervisors and future plant leaders.

● Establish scalable processes, performance routines, and improvement standards.

● Influence capital, capacity, staffing, and operational priorities as the business grows.

● Expand responsibility through demonstrated results and strong partnership with senior leadership.

● Contribute to the continued growth and development of Aerofoam USA and its broader manufacturing organization.

What You’ll Bring

● Bachelor of Science degree in engineering or related field is required.

● Prefer 5+ years experience and demonstrated success leading manufacturing operations with responsibility for production performance, safety, quality, maintenance, cost, and employee development.  Plant Manager experience preferred.

● Experience building effective teams, developing supervisors, and creating a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

● Technical knowledge of rubber, polymer, foam, plastics, or similar process manufacturing; direct NBR experience preferred.

● Experience preferred with mixing, kneading, milling, extrusion, curing, foaming, or related manufacturing processes.

● A track record of improving productivity, reducing scrap and downtime, strengthening quality, and meeting production commitments.

● Experience leading Lean methods, root-cause analysis, standard work, visual management, and structured problem-solving.

● Ability to interpret process data, production schedules, quality specifications, maintenance information, and operating costs.

● Strong communication, coaching, planning, decision-making, and cross-functional collaboration skills  in a cross cultural, global team environment.

● A practical, floor-oriented leadership style combined with the ability to think strategically and manage competing priorities.

● Relevant technical or business education, or an equivalent combination of education and practical experience.

● Experience with manufacturing ERP systems and proficiency with production reporting and performance metrics preferred.

● Availability to support all shifts, planned outages, and urgent plant needs.

Why Join Aerofoam USA

Aerofoam USA offers experienced manufacturing leaders the opportunity to make a visible impact in a growing operation where leadership, initiative, and results matter. You will work closely with senior leadership, influence the plant’s direction, develop people, and help establish the systems and culture that support long-term success.

Aerofoam USA offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes health, dental, and vision insurance; short-term and long-term disability coverage; life insurance; paid vacation and holidays; and a retirement plan.

Aerofoam USA, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.