Production Manager – Manufacturing Operations

We have an immediate opening for an Production Manager. The Production Manager is responsible for leading and overseeing daily manufacturing operations across three core production departments: Straws, Kitting & Packaging, and Injection Molding within a fast-paced food packaging and plastics manufacturing environment. This role provides direct leadership and oversight to four Shift Supervisors and Maintenance Technicians to ensure safe, efficient, and high-quality production operations across all shifts.

The Production Manager will drive operational excellence by focusing on safety, productivity, quality, employee engagement, equipment reliability, and continuous improvement initiatives. This position plays a key role in achieving production goals, improving efficiencies, minimizing downtime and waste, and supporting a culture of accountability and teamwork throughout the facility. The role reports to the Plant manager.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Lead and oversee daily manufacturing operations for the Straws, Kitting & Packaging, and Injection Molding departments across all shifts.
• Directly manage and support four Shift Supervisors and Maintenance Technicians to ensure operational effectiveness and equipment reliability.
• Ensure production schedules, efficiency goals, quality standards, and customer demands are consistently achieved.
• Monitor and analyze operational metrics including productivity, downtime, scrap, labor utilization, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
• Maintain strong floor presence while providing hands-on leadership and operational support within the manufacturing environment.
• Coordinate staffing, labor allocation, and production priorities to meet changing business needs and customer demands.
• Drive accountability and operational discipline throughout all production departments.

Department Oversight Responsibilities

Injection Molding Operations

• Oversee the production of plastic cutlery products including knives, forks, spoons, soup spoons, soda spoons, taster spoons, and sporks.
• Manage operations involving polystyrene and polypropylene resin materials.
• Support and optimize production performance across three injection molding machines.
• Partner with Maintenance and Engineering teams to improve machine uptime, process consistency, and overall production efficiency.

Straw Manufacturing Operations

• Oversee the manufacturing of multiple straw product lines including Milk, Spike, Stirrer, Jumbo, Super Jumbo, Giant, Flex, and Colossal straws.
• Manage production operations involving both single-head and dual-head extrusion equipment.
• Oversee packaging processes including hand pack, handbag, auto-bag, and chip pack operations.
• Ensure product quality, color consistency, and packaging accuracy for customer-specific straw programs.

Kitting & Packaging Operations

• Lead operations for automated and manual kitting and packaging processes supporting customer-specific product kits.
• Oversee five robotic automated kitting lines supporting single-wrap and 3-piece cutlery kits.
• Manage four Intellifeed kitting machines along with manual, horizontal, and vertical kitting equipment.
• Coordinate production priorities to maximize robotic automation and Intellifeed machine efficiencies while utilizing manual lines during peak demand periods.
• Oversee assembly of customized kits containing cutlery, condiments, straws, moist wipes, napkins, and other customer-required components.

Leadership & Team Development

• Coach, mentor, and develop Shift Supervisors and Maintenance Technicians to strengthen leadership capabilities and operational performance.
• Conduct performance evaluations, corrective actions, and employee development planning.
• Foster a culture focused on accountability, communication, teamwork, and employee engagement.
• Support employee retention initiatives and workforce development efforts.
• Partner with HR regarding staffing, attendance management, employee relations, and performance concerns.

Maintenance & Equipment Reliability

• Oversee Maintenance Technicians to ensure timely preventative maintenance, repairs, and troubleshooting support across all departments.
• Partner with Engineering and Maintenance teams to improve equipment reliability and reduce operational downtime.
• Support root cause analysis and corrective action implementation related to equipment failures and process interruptions.
• Assist with capital improvement projects, equipment installations, and process optimization initiatives.

Safety & Compliance

• Promote and maintain a strong safety-first culture throughout all manufacturing areas.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA regulations, GMPs, food safety standards, and company policies.
• Conduct safety audits, incident investigations, and corrective action follow-up.
• Ensure employees consistently follow safe work practices and PPE requirements.

Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Partner with Quality teams to ensure products meet customer specifications and food packaging standards.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on operational efficiency, waste reduction, scrap reduction, and process optimization.
• Utilize Lean Manufacturing and problem-solving methodologies to improve manufacturing performance.
• Support investigations related to quality concerns, customer complaints, and process deviations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, or related field preferred.
• 7+ years of manufacturing leadership experience required.
• Previous experience managing supervisors, maintenance teams, and multiple production departments required.
• Experience in plastics manufacturing, food packaging, extrusion, injection molding, automated packaging, or related manufacturing environments strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, continuous improvement, and operational metrics.
• Demonstrated leadership, coaching, and employee development experience.
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and decision-making abilities.
• Excellent communication and organizational skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and manufacturing/ERP systems.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Experience overseeing high-speed manufacturing and automated production environments.
• Knowledge of food-grade manufacturing and GMP compliance.
• Experience with extrusion equipment, robotic automation, and injection molding operations.
• Ability to improve production efficiency, reduce downtime, and minimize scrap.
• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.

Working Conditions

• Manufacturing plant environment with exposure to noise, moving machinery, heat, and production equipment.
• Frequent walking, standing, and movement throughout production areas.
• Ability to work flexible hours, including weekends or off-shift support, based on operational needs.

More than a job. Grow, belong, and make a difference.

At D&W Fine Pack, we don’t just make packaging, we build purpose, pride, and strong teams. Whether you’re launching your career or bringing years of experience, this is a place where you can grow, be supported, and make a real impact. Our culture is built on four core values that guide everything we do:

• Dedicated to Excellence– We hold ourselves to high standards in safety, sustainability, quality, and service.
• Winning with Success– We keep improving to deliver more for our customers and community.
• Focused on Service– We listen, act fast, and support both our customers and each other.
• People with Purpose– We work as one team, showing respect, integrity, and care for all.

Benefits That Matter

Taking care of our team is a priority. Our benefits include:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage
• 401k with company match
• Short and Long-Term Disability (STD/LTD)
• Company-paid Life Insurance
• FSA’s for Medical & Dependent Care
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) –counseling, financial tools, legal help & more
• Wellness program
• Cancer Expert Now – access to expert consultations for cancer diagnosis and treatment guidance
• And more!

If this sounds like the kind of company and team you want to grow with, we’d love to hear from you.