Plant Manager

Location: Within 1 Hour of Madison, Wisconsin
Industry: Specialty Chemicals Manufacturing
Confidential Search

About the Opportunity

Our client is a global chemical manufacturing organization with more than 9,000 employees worldwide and a strong reputation for operational excellence, innovation, and sustainable growth. This facility is one of the company's most successful and profitable acquisitions and plays a critical role within its North American manufacturing network.

We are seeking a hands-on, high-impact Plant Manager to lead a highly visible specialty chemical manufacturing site of approximately 90 employees. This is a Process Safety Management (PSM) regulated facility requiring a leader who can drive safe operations, develop talent, improve performance, and ensure world-class manufacturing execution.

This position offers significant visibility with executive leadership and the opportunity to directly influence the future success of a strategically important site.

Position Summary

The Plant Manager will provide overall leadership and accountability for all manufacturing operations, including Safety, Environmental, Production, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and Continuous Improvement initiatives.

The successful candidate will be a strong people leader with a demonstrated ability to build engaged teams, drive accountability, and create a culture centered around safety, operational excellence, and employee development.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for all site operations, ensuring the safe, compliant, and efficient production of specialty chemical products.
• Champion a safety-first culture with a strong emphasis on Process Safety Management (PSM), environmental compliance, and risk mitigation.
• Lead and develop a workforce of approximately 90 employees, including salaried and hourly personnel.
• Drive operational performance through continuous improvement initiatives focused on safety, productivity, quality, reliability, and cost.
• Establish clear performance expectations and develop leadership capabilities throughout the organization.
• Partner closely with engineering, maintenance, quality, supply chain, and commercial teams to achieve business objectives.
• Lead capital projects and strategic investments that support growth and operational excellence.
• Ensure compliance with corporate standards, OSHA regulations, environmental requirements, and process safety expectations.
• Utilize data and key performance indicators to drive decision-making and improve plant performance.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and employee engagement.
• Serve as the primary site leader and representative to corporate leadership.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering is required.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience within chemical manufacturing.
• Prior experience leading operations within a PSM-regulated manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated success leading large manufacturing teams through change, growth, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of chemical processing operations, manufacturing excellence, and plant performance management.
• Experience managing safety, environmental, quality, and operational metrics.
• Proven ability to develop and mentor leaders and build high-performing teams.
• Strong financial and business acumen with experience managing budgets and driving profitability.

Preferred

• Previous Plant Manager, Operations Manager, Site Leader, or Production Director experience.
• Experience within specialty chemicals, industrial chemicals, intermediates, advanced materials, or related process manufacturing environments.
• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Continuous Improvement experience.
• Capital project leadership experience.

Leadership Profile

The ideal candidate will be:

• A visible and engaging leader who thrives on developing people.
• Highly accountable with a strong sense of ownership.
• Capable of balancing strategic thinking with day-to-day operational execution.
• Passionate about safety, employee development, and operational excellence.
• Skilled at influencing across all levels of the organization.
• Respected for building trust, driving results, and creating a positive culture.

Why This Opportunity?

• Lead one of the most profitable facilities within a global chemical manufacturing organization.
• High visibility with executive leadership.
• Significant influence over site strategy and future growth.
• Opportunity to make a lasting impact on a critical manufacturing operation.
• Competitive compensation package including bonus and comprehensive benefits.

This role is especially well-suited for leaders coming from specialty chemicals, industrial chemicals, agricultural chemicals, additives, resins, coatings, performance materials, or other process manufacturing environments.