Plant Manager – Corrugated Packaging

Job Title: Plant Manager – Corrugated Packaging

Location: Langhorne, PA

Job Type: Full-Time | On-Site

About the Job:

We are seeking an experienced Plant Manager to lead day-to-day manufacturing operations within a high-volume corrugated packaging and converting environment. The Plant Manager will have overall responsibility for safety, production, quality, maintenance, employee development, operational efficiency, and plant performance.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on manufacturing leader with a strong background in corrugated packaging, converting operations, production management, lean manufacturing, equipment reliability, and KPI-driven performance improvement. This individual should demonstrate an entrepreneurial mindset, strong leadership capabilities, and a proven ability to drive continuous improvement while maintaining a safe, productive, and engaged workplace.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead daily plant operations to achieve safety, quality, productivity, cost, and delivery objectives.

Establish and maintain a strong safety culture through active leadership, training, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Lead production teams and supervisors to ensure operational goals and customer requirements are consistently achieved.

Monitor and improve key manufacturing KPIs, including OEE, throughput, machine utilization, uptime, schedule adherence, downtime, setup/changeover time, waste, and first-pass yield.

Drive initiatives to increase machine uptime, production speeds, throughput, and overall equipment effectiveness.

Reduce setup and changeover times while improving production flow and machine utilization.

Minimize waste, trim, spoilage, and other manufacturing losses through process improvement and employee accountability.

Lead lean manufacturing, problem-solving, housekeeping, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Identify equipment issues and coordinate corrective, preventive, and predictive maintenance activities.

Partner with maintenance teams to improve equipment reliability and minimize unplanned downtime.

Ensure the facility, machinery, equipment, and physical assets are properly maintained, secure, and operational.

Maintain high standards for plant housekeeping, organization, and overall facility appearance.

Ensure compliance with applicable environmental, safety, regulatory, and permitting requirements.

Develop daily and weekly staffing plans based on production requirements and business needs.

Optimize labor utilization through effective scheduling, cross-training, workforce planning, and overtime management.

Ensure production and maintenance expenses remain within established budgets.

Accurately monitor and report production, labor, quality, safety, and operational metrics.

Coach, mentor, evaluate, and develop supervisors, production leaders, and hourly employees.

Build a high-performance culture focused on accountability, teamwork, engagement, and continuous improvement.

Conduct regular production meetings, leadership meetings, performance reviews, and one-on-one discussions.

Partner with Human Resources on recruiting, staffing, employee development, training, and retention.

Support employee skill-development and cross-training programs to strengthen workforce flexibility and production capabilities.

Lead root-cause analysis and corrective-action efforts for operational, quality, and equipment-related issues.

Collaborate with other departments to ensure production schedules and customer commitments are achieved.

Promote a culture of ownership, urgency, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.

Key Performance Indicators:

The Plant Manager will be responsible for driving measurable improvement across key manufacturing performance indicators, including:

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

Machine Utilization

Production Throughput

Schedule Adherence

Equipment Uptime

Downtime Percentage

Setup/Changeover Time

Waste and Spoilage

Trim Waste

First Pass Yield (FPY)

On-Time Delivery

Production Efficiency

Labor Efficiency

Maintenance Performance

Corrugator Uptime

Converting Downtime

Overall Operating Performance

Required Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Industrial Management, Manufacturing, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field preferred; equivalent manufacturing experience may be considered.

4+ years of management experience in a corrugated packaging, paper converting, or closely related manufacturing environment.

Proven experience leading production teams in a high-volume manufacturing facility.

Strong knowledge of corrugated packaging and converting operations.

Demonstrated experience managing production, maintenance, quality, safety, and labor performance.

Experience using manufacturing KPIs to drive operational improvements.

Strong understanding of OEE, uptime, throughput, downtime, waste reduction, setup/changeover reduction, and schedule adherence.

Experience with lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and structured problem-solving methodologies.

Strong knowledge of equipment reliability and preventive maintenance practices.

Demonstrated ability to manage budgets, staffing, scheduling, and labor utilization.

Strong leadership, coaching, communication, and employee-development skills.

Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize multiple operational requirements.

Proficiency with Microsoft Office and standard manufacturing/production management systems.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience with corrugators, sheeters, flexographic printing, die cutting, folding/gluing, or other converting equipment.

Experience managing both production and maintenance functions.

Experience implementing Lean, Kaizen, 5S, TPM, or other continuous improvement initiatives.

Experience in a paper, packaging, converting, or containerboard manufacturing environment.

Mandarin language proficiency is strongly preferred.

Core Competencies:

Operational Excellence

Safety Leadership

Production Management

Corrugated Manufacturing

Lean Manufacturing

Continuous Improvement

Quality Management

Asset Reliability

KPI Management

Cost Control

Workforce Management

Leadership & Employee Development

Strategic Thinking

Problem Solving

Customer Focus

Accountability

Entrepreneurial Mindset