Operations Manager

Actuant Corporation is a $1.2B diversified industrial company with operations in more than 30 countries. The Actuant businesses are market leaders in branded hydraulic and electrical tools & supplies, umbilical, rope and cable solutions, as well as highly engineered position motion control systems. Actuant business operations are divided into four segments focused on the niche markets we serve: Industrial, Energy, Electrical and Engineered Solutions. Actuant trades on the NYSE under the symbol ATU.

Actuant's Sanlo facility in Michigan City, IN is adding an Operations Manager to their team. The Operations Manager oversees production and shipping products to customers, the customer fulfillment process, reducing costs and waste wherever possible while insuring products are safely produced to specifications on time. He/She will hire and direct the manufacturing staff from the following areas: inventory management, personnel, scheduling, quality assurance, engineering and quality documentation. The Operations Manager will work to meet or exceed key objectives in quality, cost, productivity and delivery. This individual will employ the Actuant LEAD process to reduce wastes including the engagement and participation of the hourly workforce. The Operations Manager will also instill a continuous improvement philosophy supported through metrics, i.e. OTD, productivity, material cost reductions, 4 wall cost reductions, inventory turns improvement, scrap and rework reduction, reduction of customer quality complaints, and freight costs reduction.

• Establish operations standards for cost control and reduction, waste reduction, quality, safety, and OTD.
• Establish and improve manufacturing processes for greater efficiencies. Promote and utilize LEAD/Lean Manufacturing concepts to achieve significant improvements in materials usage, shipping and receiving, capacity planning, inventory, scrap reduction, production scheduling, safety, customer satisfaction and performance measures
• Develop the budget and monitor the spending to the plan taking appropriate actions to achieve target profitability and return on assets.
• Work with strategic sourcing personnel to improve suppliers ability to provide best value.
• Maintain and nurture effective working relationships/communications with key support functions (engineering, quality, finance, sales and marketing, etc.) to improve operations and ensure effective support of the manufacturing process to achieve business objectives.
• Work closely with the sales function to understand customer’s expectations and respond when expectations are not being met. Provide estimates on costs to sales for quoting purposes.
• Directs the implementation of major capital projects. Provides instruction and training of personnel to maximize utilization and effectiveness.
• Prepares facility studies for major plant and supplier projects for growth, improvement and maintenance, including specifications, quotes, and justification.
• Insure process are in place to provide required process and quality documentation (PPAP’s, 8D’s, Change Control, etc. ) and they are provided to all customers as required on a timely basis.
• Insure supplier and internal quality assurance systems are in place in conformance with ISO and TS standards, and determine their effectiveness through periodic audits.
• Direct the effective and timely procurement and manufacture of components, products and systems to meet business objectives while ensuring quality, quantity and operations performance standards are met.
• Develop the Supply chain functions and other disciplines, driving the Management by Fact (MBF) cost down process.
• Improve plant utilization/efficiency to achieve continuous improvement in on-time-delivery, operational & performance metrics, bills of materials, and drawing accuracy.
• Execute on all other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
• Be involved with or lead special projects as time or capabilities allow.

• Bachelors Degree in technical discipline highly preferred. Master Degree / MBA desired.
• Minimum of 10 years of broad based experience in a manufacturing - plant operations (manufacturing, purchasing, materials and scheduling management, production control, systems, traffic and distribution). Must have the ability to effectively lead, manage and provide the facilitation of teamwork within the directed functions.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Demonstrated success in lean manufacturing methods.