Description

Job purpose: We are seeking a seasoned Production Manager who wants to own and elevate a specialized industrial manufacturing operation — not just maintain it.

This role is built for a hands-on manufacturing leader who thrives on building teams, improving throughput, and driving operational excellence in a technical, heavy-industrial environment. You will directly influence production performance, customer satisfaction, and workforce development while helping scale a growing family-owned industrial services company known for quality and reliability.

If you are the type of leader who prefers solving problems on the floor instead of only from a desk — and who takes pride in running a clean, safe, high-performing shop — this is your opportunity to make a visible impact.

Location: Marathon City, Wisconsin (Central Wisconsin)

A qualified candidates will have the ability to relocate outside of the Wisconsin area to include Minnesota and Illinois. 

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

Technical Production & Process Leadership

• Understand and lead all aspects of industrial painting, blasting, and material handling operations
• Read and interpret customer prints, paint technical data sheets, and Safety Data Sheets (SDS)
• Ensure coating application processes meet customer specifications and quality standards
• Partner with quality resources to improve coating performance and durability

Production Planning & Execution

• Oversee manufacturing and production processes 
• Execute daily, weekly, monthly, and annual production schedules aligned to customer demand
• Optimize labor, equipment, and material utilization to meet delivery commitments
• Monitor production data, KPIs, and throughput metrics to drive continuous improvement

Equipment & Asset Management

• Procure manufacturing production equipment as needed
• Own preventive and corrective maintenance execution and tracking
• Partner with maintenance and vendors to ensure uptime and reliability

Cost & Productivity Improvement

• Drive initiatives to reduce operating costs while improving productivity
• Identify waste, bottlenecks, and process inefficiencies
• Lead continuous improvement and process standardization efforts

Safety, Environmental & Quality Leadership

• Implement and enforce safety, health, environmental, and quality requirements
• Maintain hygienic and organized shop conditions for employees and production environment
• Ensure compliance with company procedures and regulatory requirement   

Team Leadership & Development

• Train, coach, and develop shop employees and frontline leaders
• Build a performance-driven, accountability-focused shop culture
• Monitor productivity rates, standards, and quality control outcomes
• Communicate production challenges and operational risks to leadership early
• All other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Required Experience & Qualifications

• 7+ years manufacturing production leadership experience (industrial or heavy manufacturing preferred)
• Demonstrated success managing production schedules and meeting customer delivery requirements
• Experience supervising production teams in multi-process manufacturing environments
• Strong working knowledge of industrial safety and environmental practices
• Experience with production metrics, ERP/MRP systems, or production tracking tools

Preferred 

• Industrial coatings, surface prep, or blasting experience
• Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement experience
• Experience in job-shop or custom manufacturing environments
• Technical understanding of coatings chemistry or surface prep standard 

 Leadership Traits We Value

• Floor-first leadership style — visible, engaged, and approachable
• Strong mechanical and process curiosity
• Bias toward action and problem solving
• Ability to balance people leadership with operational discipline
• Pride in building strong teams and developing future leaders
• Safety-first mindset
• Collaborative, team-oriented approach to bridging floor to office efficiencies and communication  

What We Offer

• Base salary 60-75K + performance incentives
• Relocation assistance for qualified candidates
• Stable and growing industrial customer base
• High-autonomy leadership role
• Direct visibility with leadership
• Opportunity to shape production strategy and shop culture

Physical Requirements: Be able to work in crouched position at times, work in confined spaces, climb ladders, work in lifts, and stand on concrete floors for long periods as needed to do various job tasks. Be able to lift a maximum of 25 lbs. at times as required by job. 

If you are interested in this role, please reach out to: katieharmoncpcrecruiting@gmail.com