Mauser USA LLC

Production Manager – 903 N Kilpatrick Ave. Chicago, Illinois

Mauser USA LLC has an opportunity for a Production Manager at its Chicago, Illinois fiber drum manufacturing location.  Mauser is a leading global supplier of industrial packaging solutions, manufacturing a variety of plastic, steel and fiber containers for a diverse customer base spanning industries including oil & gas, food & beverage, pharmaceutical and chemical, amongst others.  Mauser is experiencing significant growth – both organically as well as through acquisition – therefore the opportunities for successful individuals can be significant.

The Production Manager will be responsible for leading the safety, quality, manufacturing and maintenance operations throughout the facility.  Located in the city of Chicago, the plant is in need of strong, hands-on leader that can manage the facility when the General Manager of the Fiber Division is traveling or dealing with other business matters. The successful production manager should have solid manufacturing management experience, knowledge of lean-manufacturing principles and housekeeping standards, be an employee engagement advocate and have knowledge of financial performance metrics.  A strong safety orientation – our first priority – is a requirement for this leadership position. 

While prior experience in the Fiber / Paper manufacturing business is not required, candidates should be familiar and have experience with manufacturing operations requiring automation combined with critical manual labor and skilled operator knowledge. 

Main Position Responsibilities:

• Plans, organizes and implements the necessary controls and measurements to ensure the efficient, cost effective manufacturing operations that obtain objectives in the areas of Safety, Productivity, Cost, Quality and Customer Satisfaction.
• Assists General Manager in formulating the operating budget, measures results vs. plan and develops actions to correct any gaps or deficiencies.
• Ensure efficient scheduling and operation of operations across a large production line producing fiber drums for various industrial uses
• Partners directly with suppliers and internal Mauser resources to address quality issues and leads action plans to address
• Daily reporting around production efficiency, downtime, scrap and labor usage
• Occasional interface with key customers to address service and quality issues
• Reviews plant results both with division and corporate leadership as well as plant-based personnel.
• Ensures quality standards are met through overseeing testing products as necessary, identifying root cause for any defects and implementing action plans to remove manufacturing deficiencies. Partner with Fiber Division Quality Leader. 
• Customer-service focused including on-time-delivery, personal involvement in any quality issues, customer visits, etc.
• Continually challenges the organization to review waste, reduce costs and improve productivity
• Champion employee engagement to drive improvements in safety performance, plant housekeeping, training and retention
• Short-term priorities include improvements in safety, housekeeping, delivery, reduction in scrap, achievement of financial targets and increased focus on housekeeping, plant organization and visual factory
• Tracking of employee hours in our payroll system along with scheduling vacation, managing attendance records
• Assessment and development of plant supervisory staff; Hiring of production labor followed by proper orientation and onboarding to the plant production environment

Key Attributes / Behaviors

• 5+ years of operations / production management
• Hands-on experience in manufacturing operations – particularly with operations requiring both automation to drive efficiency and skilled operator knowledge. Experience in engineering also helpful
• Bachelor’s degree in related discipline (i.e. engineering) preferred
• Demonstrated at least a basic understanding of financial and operational performance metrics
• Comfortable presenting results, issues and action plans to senior staff
• Experience in implementing elements of lean manufacturing with demonstrated & sustained results
• Energetic with the ability to inspire a sense of urgency in others
• Demonstrated ability to develop and promote subordinates
• Experience in establishing and maintaining a disciplined manufacturing operation with a focus on delivering consistent results with a respect for the individual employee
• Hands on experience in a small operation with a high comfort level in having multi-task responsibilities
• Ability to work effectively across functions including procurement, sales, finance, quality, safety and human resources
• Willingness to engage in front-line activities as necessary to achieve customer requirements
• Comfort using computers including working within a payroll system to ensure hours are properly approved

Production Manager candidates should have the desire and ability to progress into the Plant Management position within a reasonable period of time.  The opportunities for advancement within MAUSER are strong.

About Mauser

The Mauser Group manufactures and supplies plastic, fiber, and steel drums as well as intermediate bulk containers (“IBCs”) for the chemical, industrial and food & beverage industries, among many others. With revenues of $1.5 billion, the company is also the leading provider of reconditioning services for used plastic drums and IBCs of all products. Mauser’s 4,400 employees operate 98 production facilities across 18 countries in Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia. The Mauser Group is globally headquartered in Bruehl, Germany. Mauser North America LLC is the largest business unit of the global organization. 

We are an equal opportunity employer.
Women, minorities, veterans and individuals with
disabilities are encouraged to apply.