Maintenance Manager - Extrusion at Melds in Fletcher, NC

About the role

We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Maintenance Manager to lead and develop the maintenance function at our plastics manufacturing facility in Fletcher, NC. Extrusion is the core of our operation, and this role is responsible for maintaining and improving the reliability of our extrusion lines and supporting processes, including grinding and material preparation. The successful candidate will build a capable maintenance team, establish and sustain a disciplined preventative maintenance program, and improve equipment reliability, safety, and uptime across the facility.

A strong electrical background is important, particularly with AC and DC motors and drives. The ideal candidate will also have solid mechanical troubleshooting skills and understand industrial equipment such as gearboxes, bearings, couplings, shafts, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, grinders, conveyors, and material handling equipment. Direct extrusion experience is preferred, but we are also open to a strong industrial maintenance leader with the technical foundation and ability to learn our extrusion processes. We are planning significant equipment and silo installations over the next year, and this person will help lead those projects from planning and installation through startup, commissioning, and ongoing maintenance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, organize, and develop the maintenance department; recruit, train, coach, and hold technicians accountable while building a skilled, dependable team.
• Develop, implement, and continuously improve a comprehensive preventative and predictive maintenance program for extrusion lines, grinders, material preparation systems, pelletizing equipment, silos, conveying systems, utilities, and facility infrastructure.
• Establish PM schedules, inspection routines, equipment standards, and clear ownership; ensure work is completed consistently and documented accurately.
• Provide hands-on electrical troubleshooting and technical leadership involving AC and DC motors, AC/DC drives, VFDs, motor controls, electrical distribution, instrumentation, and industrial automation.
• Lead mechanical troubleshooting and repairs involving gearboxes, bearings, couplings, shafts, chains, belts, pumps, blowers, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, and rotating equipment.
• Support the operation, maintenance, and improvement of extrusion equipment, including extruders, gearboxes, feeders, screen changers, pelletizers, cutters, grinders, shredders, conveyors, and cooling systems.
• Oversee maintenance and reliability of grinding and material preparation equipment, including wear components, screens, blades, rotors, bearings, drives, and associated dust collection and conveying systems.
• Lead maintenance planning and execution for major capital projects, including installation, integration, startup, and commissioning of new production equipment and storage silos planned over the next year.
• Coordinate contractors, OEMs, vendors, and internal teams to ensure installations and repairs are completed safely, on schedule, and to specification.
• Partner with production and plant leadership to prioritize work, plan outages, improve equipment performance, and minimize unplanned downtime.
• Track downtime, PM completion, maintenance costs, repeat failures, and critical spare parts; use this information to identify trends and drive root-cause corrective actions.
• Create and maintain accurate equipment records, maintenance procedures, work orders, electrical drawings, manuals, and repair histories; support effective use of a CMMS.
• Manage maintenance labor, parts inventory, tooling, outside services, and departmental spending while supporting capital and long-range maintenance planning.
• Ensure all maintenance activities follow applicable safety requirements, including electrical safe-work practices, lockout/tagout, machine guarding, and contractor safety.
• Maintain an organized, clean, and safe maintenance shop and equipment areas; promote a culture of urgency, ownership, communication, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of industrial maintenance experience in a manufacturing environment, with 2+ years leading a maintenance team or department.
• Strong electrical experience is essential, including hands-on troubleshooting of AC and DC motors, AC/DC drives, VFDs, motor controls, and industrial electrical systems.
• Experience with plastics extrusion is strongly preferred. Candidates from other industrial or continuous-process manufacturing environments will be considered if they demonstrate the ability and willingness to learn extrusion equipment and processes.
• Experience maintaining grinders, shredders, granulators, or other size-reduction and material preparation equipment is highly valued.
• Strong mechanical aptitude and practical experience with industrial gearboxes, bearings, couplings, shafts, chains, belts, pumps, blowers, hydraulics, pneumatics, and rotating equipment.
• Demonstrated ability to build, lead, train, and develop a maintenance team, establish expectations, and create accountability.
• Proven experience developing and managing preventative maintenance programs, maintenance schedules, and equipment reliability initiatives.
• Experience with equipment installations, capital projects, contractor coordination, commissioning, and startup support.
• Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, mechanical drawings, equipment manuals, and technical documentation.
• Experience with CMMS platforms, work-order systems, maintenance KPIs, and spare-parts management.
• Strong planning, communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills; able to balance hands-on troubleshooting with leadership and long-term planning.
• High school diploma or equivalent required; technical training, associate degree, or relevant electrical/industrial maintenance certification preferred.

What Success Looks Like

• A trained, accountable maintenance team with clear roles, expectations, and coverage.
• A functioning preventative maintenance program that is planned, completed, measured, and continuously improved.
• Improved reliability and reduced unplanned downtime across extrusion, grinding, and material handling operations.
• New equipment and silo projects installed, commissioned, documented, and incorporated into the maintenance program.
• Reliable equipment history, critical spare-parts planning, and clear maintenance performance metrics

Company Details:

• Location: 282 Cane Creek Road, Fletcher, NC 28732

Melds is an equal opportunity employer. The Statements used herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by an employee in this position and are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties and skills required. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the Company.

About Melds

MELDS LLC is a growing plastics recycling and extrusion company focused on producing high-quality post-industrial recycled polypropylene for injection molding applications. As part of our continued expansion and modernization, we are investing in advanced recycling technologies, process improvements, and team development to support long-term growth.

Our team is committed to safety, quality, innovation, and operational excellence. We take pride in creating sustainable materials that help reduce waste while delivering reliable products to our customers.