Director of Applications Management - Extrusion
About the job
- A bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field.
- At least 10 years of relevant industrial experience, including technical and direct capital equipment sales experience.
- At least 5 years of sales, commercial, or business leadership experience.
- Strong technical experience with twin screw extrusion equipment, processes, and applications.
- Demonstrated experience with polymer processing, plastics compounding, engineered materials, or related extrusion applications.
- Strong understanding of customer materials, process requirements, production objectives, and equipment specifications.
- Demonstrated ability to evaluate technical applications and translate customer requirements into equipment and process solutions.
- Experience supporting application development, customer trials, process optimization, commissioning, and troubleshooting.
- Experience managing complex engineered capital equipment opportunities and strategic customer relationships.
- Proven success developing commercial growth and market development strategies.
- Experience working cross-functionally with Engineering, Applications, Manufacturing, Operations, and Aftermarket.
- Strong financial and business acumen, including pricing, margins, forecasting, budgets, and profitability.
- Strong technical problem-solving and decision-making skills.
- Excellent presentation, negotiation, communication, leadership, and influencing skills.
- Ability to work independently and lead effectively within a global and matrixed organization.
- Develop and execute the technical strategy for the Extrusion business to achieve sales, growth, market share, and profitability objectives.
- Serve as a key technical leader for complex extrusion applications and customer opportunities.
- Work directly with customers to understand their materials, processes, production objectives, technical specifications, and application requirements.
- Evaluate customer applications and partner with Engineering and Applications resources to develop appropriate extrusion equipment configurations, process concepts, and technical solutions.
- Provide technical leadership throughout the sales process, including application reviews, equipment recommendations, technical proposals, customer presentations, and complex technical discussions.
- Apply strong knowledge of extrusion processes and equipment to support customer process development, optimization, troubleshooting, and equipment selection.
- Support and participate in customer trials, testing, demonstrations, and other application-development activities required to validate proposed solutions.
- Identify new applications and market opportunities where Century Extrusion's technology and process capabilities can provide customer value.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with key customers, strategic accounts, partners, and industry stakeholders.
- Lead and support major capital equipment opportunities from initial application development through commercial negotiation and order.
- Develop and execute strategies for strategic and global accounts.
- Ensure customer technical requirements are clearly defined and effectively transferred to Engineering and Operations during project development and execution.
- Support commissioning, startup, and process optimization activities for strategic projects when additional technical or customer support is required.
- Bring the Voice of the Customer into product development, engineering, innovation, and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Identify recurring application and customer requirements and translate those needs into opportunities for product development, differentiation, and standardization.
- Monitor industry trends, emerging applications, competitive technologies, customer investment, and market conditions to identify opportunities for growth.
- Partner with Aftermarket to identify opportunities for equipment upgrades, rebuilds, process improvements, wear components, replacement parts, and other lifecycle solutions.
- Ensure accurate pipeline management, forecasting, opportunity tracking, and reporting using Salesforce.
- Support pricing strategies that balance customer value, market competitiveness, and company profitability.
- Partner with Marketing on technical content, market positioning, industry events, promotional activities, and lead-generation initiatives.
- Represent Century Extrusion at customer visits, technical conferences, trade shows, industry organizations, and other relevant events.
- Collaborate across Engineering, Applications, Aftermarket, Operations, and other functions to support customers throughout the sales and project lifecycle.
- Lead, coach, mentor, and develop the technical extrusion team, providing the commercial and technical guidance necessary to successfully pursue complex opportunities.
- Lead and influence direct and matrixed resources to execute commercial and customer objectives.
- Travel domestically and internationally up to 50%.
- A bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field.
- Strong experience with co-rotating twin-screw extrusion equipment and processes.
- Experience within polymer, plastics, battery materials, rubber, petrochemical compounding, or engineered materials applications.
- Experience with extrusion process development, optimization, commissioning, and troubleshooting.
- Experience conducting or supporting customer trials and technical demonstrations.
- Knowledge of Engineering and Manufacturing processes.
- Experience supporting global customers and international markets.
About the company
CPM designs and builds highly engineered process equipment for the global food and energy industries. Its core products include equipment for animal feed, oilseed processing, and renewable fuel production, such as pellet mills that turn raw materials into uniform pellets used in various industrial processes. The company operates through a global network called One CPM, formed by steady acquisitions of specialized brands (e.g., Roskamp Manufacturing, Champion Products, Crown Iron Works, Century Extrusion, Innovative Pelleting Solutions) to offer a broad, integrated portfolio under private equity ownership. Unlike firms that rely on single-product lines, CPM combines multiple brands and machinery to serve multiple stages of processing across North America, Europe, and Asia. Its goal is to sustainably feed, fuel, and build a better world by providing reliable equipment that powers critical export, agriculture, and energy supply chains.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
Growth Equity (Non-Venture Capital)
Total Funding
$400M
Headquarters
Waterloo, Iowa
Founded
1883
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- May 2026 CFE acquisition deepens EMEA aftermarket, refurbishment, and local service revenue.
- January 2026 direct-drive pellet mill launch expands biomass throughput and efficiency.
- Rosebank's September 2026 restructuring targets $10 million annualized savings and margin expansion.
What critics are saying
- Rosebank began simplifying CPM in September 2026, closing functions and shrinking manufacturing footprints.
- CPM's former Process Solutions faces potential disposal, signaling portfolio cleanup and execution strain.
- A failed 2026 integration or margin miss threatens earn-out payments and Rosebank ownership.
What makes CPM unique
- CPM owns 35 facilities and serves 100+ countries across feed, oilseed, and renewables.
- Its 1931 pellet mill heritage still anchors market-leading pellet and biomass equipment.
- Rosebank valued CPM at $2.1 billion in May 2026, signaling durable strategic relevance.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Paid Holidays
Paid Vacation
Tuition Reimbursement
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
45%1 year growth
49%2 year growth
49%CPM has acquired CFE, its long-standing EMEA partner, to strengthen aftermarket services and refurbishment capabilities across the region. The acquisition integrates CFE's team, customer relationships and specialised refurbishment expertise into CPM's operations. CFE has built a reputation for service, parts and equipment support, including die and roller shell refurbishment and refurbished equipment offerings across EMEA. The deal allows CPM to expand service and refurbishment support available to regional customers. "CFE brings the kind of practical technical knowledge, local support, and customer focus that fits well with CPM's aftermarket strategy in EMEA," said Dave Webster, CPM's CEO. The acquisition aligns with CPM's broader strategy of expanded local service, stronger lifecycle support and continued investment in operational reliability.
CPM Holdings Inc. (CPM) acquires Germany-headed Innovative Pelleting Solutions GmbH and its high-capacity, direct-drive pellet mill technology invented by Graf Equipment GmbH.
/PRNewswire/ -- CPM Holdings, Inc. ("CPM" or the "Company"), a leading global supplier of engineered process equipment for animal feed, oilseed processing,...