Plant Manager at Sun Hydraulics in Buffalo Grove, IL

Job Summary:

Schultes Precision Manufacturing is seeking a hands-on Plant Manager to lead the overall performance of our manufacturing facility. This position has direct responsibility for manufacturing operations, production execution, and plant throughput.

The Plant Manager will lead and work closely with the managers responsible for Operations, Quality/Engineering, Maintenance, and Scheduling/Purchasing. These managers will continue to run the daily activities within their departments. The Plant Manager will align their priorities, remove cross-functional barriers, support improvement activities, and ensure that improvements are implemented and sustained.

This is a highly visible, floor-focused leadership role. The ideal candidate will be willing to roll up their sleeves, engage directly with managers and employees, and solve the operational issues affecting safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and throughput.

Sales, Quoting, and Customer Service are outside the direct responsibility of this position. However, the Plant Manager will collaborate closely with these teams to ensure customer commitments are supported by plant capacity and operational performance.

Duties/Responsibilities:

Operational Leadership

• Lead the facility’s overall manufacturing performance, with direct accountability for production execution and throughput.
• Maintain a strong, visible presence on the manufacturing floor.
• Ensure production priorities are clearly communicated and effectively executed.
• Identify and remove constraints involving labor, equipment, materials, tooling, quality, engineering, or scheduling.
• Drive improvements in throughput, schedule attainment, productivity, equipment utilization, lead time, and on-time delivery.
• Develop and lead recovery plans when production or delivery performance falls behind expectations.
• Reduce reliance on expediting, excessive overtime, and short-term workarounds by addressing root causes.

Functional Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop the managers responsible for Quality and Engineering, Maintenance, and Scheduling and Purchasing.
• Establish plant-level priorities and ensure departmental activities support overall business needs.
• Work directly with functional managers to define actions, ownership, timelines, and expected results.
• Hold managers accountable for departmental performance, employee development, and execution of improvement plans.
• Support functional managers without unnecessarily taking over their day-to-day responsibilities.
• Ensure departments work together effectively to resolve issues and achieve plant objectives.

Continuous Improvement

• Lead cross-functional improvement efforts focused on safety, quality, delivery, cost, and throughput.
• Use performance data and structured problem-solving to identify and address operational issues.
• Ensure improvement activities have clear owners, deadlines, and measurable outcomes.
• Remove barriers that prevent managers and employees from completing priority improvement work.
• Verify that solutions are incorporated into standard work, procedures, training, or maintenance plans.
• Follow up to ensure improvements produce sustainable results.

People and Culture

• Build a culture of accountability, teamwork, urgency, and continuous improvement.
• Set clear expectations for plant leaders and employees.
• Develop the plant’s leadership team and strengthen succession planning for critical roles.
• Partner with Human Resources on staffing, training, retention, performance management, and employee relations.
• Promote a safe, respectful workplace where employees are encouraged to identify problems and recommend solutions.

Education and Experience:

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Manufacturing, Business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• At least 10 years of progressive manufacturing experience, including significant leadership responsibility.
• At least 5 years of experience leading manufacturing operations, multiple plant functions, or an entire facility.
• Experience leading through functional managers in areas such as Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, Scheduling, or Purchasing.
• Demonstrated success improving throughput, productivity, quality, cost, and on-time delivery.
• Experience in machining, metalworking, engineered products, or precision manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of Lean manufacturing, root-cause analysis, and continuous-improvement practices.
• Experience using ERP/MRP systems and manufacturing performance data.
• Strong communication, business judgment, and people-leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a high-mix, low-volume precision-machining environment.
• Working knowledge of CNC mill and lathe operations.
• Experience in a make-to-order or engineered-to-order environment.
• Familiarity with ISO-based quality management systems.
• Lean, Six Sigma, or similar continuous-improvement certification.
• Experience leading a facility through growth, operational improvement, or organizational change.

Leadership Profile

The successful candidate will:

• Lead from the plant floor, not only from an office.
• Take ownership of plant results and follow issues through resolution.
• Work effectively through functional managers while maintaining overall accountability.
• Balance immediate production needs with long-term operational improvement.
• Use facts and data to identify root causes and prioritize actions.
• Create clear accountability and consistently follow through.
• Build sustainable systems rather than depend on repeated expediting or temporary fixes.

Key Measures of Success

Success in this role will be measured through results that may include:

• Safety performance
• Production throughput
• Schedule attainment
• On-time delivery
• Labor productivity
• Equipment uptime and utilization
• Scrap and rework
• Manufacturing lead time
• Overtime usage
• Preventive maintenance completion
• Completion and sustainability of improvement activities
• Leadership and employee development

Physical Requirements:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, use hands and fingers, feel/reach with hands/arms, talk and hear.

The employee frequently is required to sit and walk. The employee is occasionally required to bend and stop, push and pull, reach above shoulder level, kneel, squat, or crouch. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job to include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to moving mechanical parts and fumes or airborne particles. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

ITAR Compliance Notice

Our facility operates in compliance with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and handles export-controlled technical data and materials. Certain positions require access to information regulated under U.S. export control laws.

As a condition of employment for positions requiring such access, applicants must qualify as a U.S. Person, as defined under ITAR (22 CFR § 120.62), or otherwise be authorized to access the applicable export-controlled information under U.S. law.

For ITAR purposes, a U.S. Person generally includes a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or certain individuals granted protected status under U.S. immigration law.