Interim Plant Manager

About the company

Our client is a global specialty chemical manufacturer with a long-established production site in Louisville, KY. The facility produces specialty polymer resins and compounds used in residential, commercial and industrial building and infrastructure products.

The site has seen sustained capital investment, including recent process technology upgrades. Leadership is looking for an experienced operator to stabilize and lead the plant through its next phase of performance improvement.

Role summary

The Interim Plant Manager has full accountability for safe, compliant and profitable operation of the Louisville site for a 6-month engagement. You will lead production, maintenance, engineering, quality and EHS teams across a continuous, 24/7 chemical process operation.

The priority is immediate leadership impact: protect safety and process-safety performance, stabilize output and reliability, and build a stronger operating cadence. Strong performers will be considered for conversion to the permanent Plant Manager role.

Key responsibilities

Safety, health and environmental

• Champion a zero-harm culture and own site EHS performance
• Ensure compliance with OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM), EPA and state environmental permits
• Lead incident investigations, root cause analysis and corrective actions
• Oversee management of change (MOC), PHAs and mechanical integrity programs

Operations and production

• Direct day-to-day operation of continuous resin and compounding processes
• Deliver production plans, on-time delivery and inventory targets
• Improve yield, throughput, uptime and conversion cost
• Support commissioning and stabilization of new process technology and capital projects

Maintenance and reliability

• Drive preventive and predictive maintenance to reduce unplanned downtime
• Prioritize the maintenance backlog and plan turnarounds

Quality

• Maintain product quality and consistency to customer and industry specifications
• Uphold ISO 9001 / 14001 and other site quality systems

People and leadership

• Lead a multi-shift workforce of salaried staff and hourly operators
• Coach and develop the site leadership team and front-line supervisors
• Assess organizational capability and recommend changes to structure and talent
• Foster productive employee relations and clear communication

Financial and continuous improvement

• Own the site operating budget, KPIs and monthly performance reviews
• Deploy Lean / Six Sigma tools and tiered daily accountability meetings
• Identify and deliver cost-reduction and productivity initiatives
• Report performance and risks to business unit leadership

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical, Mechanical or Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field
• 10+ years of manufacturing experience, with 5+ years as a Plant Manager or Operations Manager
• Experience leading a continuous-process chemical, polymer, resin or plastics operation
• Working knowledge of OSHA PSM, EPA regulations and environmental permitting
• Proven record of improving safety, quality, delivery and cost metrics
• Experience leading multi-shift hourly workforces and salaried leadership teams
• Ability to start quickly and make an immediate impact in an interim role
• Willingness to work fully onsite in Louisville, KY for the duration of the engagement

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with thermoplastic or vinyl polymer manufacturing
• Background in batch or continuous reactor and compounding operations
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification
• Experience commissioning new process technology or leading major capital projects
• Prior interim, turnaround or site-stabilization assignments
• Experience in a unionized environment
• Familiarity with SAP or a comparable ERP system

Engagement details

• Term: 6-month interim contract, with potential to extend
• Conversion: Opportunity to transition to the permanent Plant Manager role based on performance and mutual fit
• Competitive hourly rate, all reasonable expenses paid, Travel, Lodging, Meals, etc.
• Travel: Onsite in Louisville, KY

The client's name will be shared with qualified candidates later in the process. To be considered, submit your resume with a short summary of your plant leadership and continuous-process experience.