Plant Manager

Job Title: Plant Manager

Location: Dunnville, KY

Reports To: Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Company Overview:

Tarter, a Platinum Equity company, is a leading manufacturer in the farm and ranch industry with over 1.1 million square feet of production space across seven plants in Kentucky and Utah. Known for our strong roots in Dunnville, KY, and our commitment to quality and innovation, we proudly serve a wide range of agricultural and industrial customers nationwide.

Position Summary:

As the Plant Manager for Tarter Tube, you will be responsible for the strategic and day-to-day operations of our roll forming facility. Overseeing approximately 70 employees, you will lead efforts to drive safety, quality, cost control, and continuous improvement initiatives to achieve EBITDA growth and operational excellence.

Plant Manager – Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence

Location: Dunnville, KY
Reports To: Chief Manufacturing Officer
Industry: Industrial Manufacturing / Metal Forming

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly driven and hands-on Tube (Steel) Plant Manager to lead operations at our industrial manufacturing campus. This individual will drive a culture of continuous improvement, operational excellence, and employee engagement while ensuring safety, quality, and efficiency in all aspects of plant performance. The successful candidate will bring a track record of transforming manufacturing environments, improving KPIs, and delivering measurable business results.

Key Responsibilities

Continuous Improvement

• Establish a scalable and sustainable continuous improvement culture across the plant within the first six months of hire.

• Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) directly linked to enterprise value creation.

• Implement cost-effective systems of control for capital and operating expenditures, manpower, wages, and salaries.

Plant Performance

• Deliver improved operating results through process optimization and organizational enhancements.

• Execute against the annual operating plan to drive growth, sales, cost reduction, and EBITDA improvement.

• Improve all operational metrics including safety, quality, service, cost, and employee engagement.

Change Leadership

• Energize the plant with a hands-on, positive, can-do approach while maintaining a strong and healthy culture.

• Communicate effectively across all organizational levels, fostering collaboration and transparency.

• Lead change management initiatives, educating and developing team members on key operational priorities.

• Inspire and lead by example with urgency, accountability, and a focus on continuous improvement.

Plant Management & Safety

• Oversee all aspects of plant operations including EHS, production, maintenance, quality, and packaging.

• Promote lean principles and standard practices to minimize waste and drive continuous improvement.

• Collaborate with department leaders to ensure operational goals are met safely, timely, and cost-effectively.

Quality

• Drive quality improvements across all manufacturing processes to meet or exceed industry and customer standards.

• Build a culture focused on zero defects and zero warranty issues.

• Identify and resolve quality challenges including cost of quality, product recall, and scrap reduction.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in manufacturing operations, including production or plant management.

• 5+ years of roll forming experience, with expertise in metal forming processes used to create complex profiles - Preferred

• Experience in a vertically integrated manufacturing environment.

• Preferred understanding of the steel market and the ability to manage commodity-driven input costs.

• Demonstrated knowledge of Lean, Continuous Improvement, and SIOP systems (Six Sigma, TPS, DBS, etc.).

• Proven ability to manage P&L, budgeting, business planning, and capacity planning.

• Track record of executing enterprise-wide transformation and achieving measurable results.

• Hands-on leadership style with a “roll up your sleeves” approach; leads from the production floor.

Core Competencies

• People Leadership: Inspires, motivates, and develops teams to achieve their highest potential. Communicates effectively and builds strong, diverse relationships.

• Analytical Skills: Strong problem-solving, analytical, and quantitative abilities; able to assess situations deeply and act decisively.

• Results Orientation: Driven by achieving measurable outcomes; resilient in overcoming challenges and resistance.

• Change Leadership: Acts as a catalyst for organizational transformation, encouraging innovation and continuous improvement.

Why Join Us

This is a unique opportunity to lead a plant through transformation and growth while shaping a culture of operational excellence. If you thrive in a fast-paced, hands-on environment and enjoy making an impact on performance, people, and profitability, we’d love to hear from you.