Area Manager - Cleaning Room

The Company

J&L Fiber Services is part of the Industrial Distribution Group within the Airframe Division of Precision Castparts Corp., a multi-billion dollar subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, which produces a wide range of highly engineered mechanical components and subsystems for a variety of general industrial markets including aerospace, power generation, medical, pulp and paper, automotive and housing/construction markets. This global corporation is growing, highly profitable, and highly acquisitive.

This operationally focused Division has multiple (10) locations within the United States, Asia and Europe and produces a range of aerospace fasteners and components, refiner plates, and advanced metal components serving a broad spectrum of industries. Within the markets served, there are opportunities for growth through development of new products and services as well as through geographic market development and product line extensions via acquisitions.

The Business Group

J&L Fiber Services, (J&L), located in Waukesha, Wisconsin is recognized as an international market leader. We are a progressive, team-based organization built on a foundation of continuous improvement and employee engagement.

J&L is the world leader in the design, manufacture, and sales of refiner plates to the pulp and paper industry. A refiner plate is a cast-metal component in the refiner that processes wood chips to develop the necessary characteristics to produce various types of paper. The business’ expertise in plate design and alloy development has been instrumental in the production of better quality paper, the improvement of mill productivity, and the reduction of mill costs.

The Position

J&L induction melts a variety of stainless and low alloy steels, as well as white irons to produce components used to support customers in the pulp and paper making markets, as well as mining, industrial, and agricultural markets. J&L’s Cleaning Room Area Manager is responsible for a multi-shift department comprised of approximately 15-20 total people who are responsible for shake out, degating, snag and finish grinding, and repair welding of castings with pour weights between ~30 and 250 pounds. This position requires early start times (typically 4:45am) and the ability to support production management on Saturdays, as needed.

The Responsibilities

J&L’s Area Managers are responsible for the safe, ethical production of parts to meet our customers’ needs while meeting J&L’s financial and operational targets. An Area Manager is responsible for his area’s P&L (Flex Budget) and throughput (TOC Lines). The Cleaning Area Manager is responsible for adherence to the daily production schedule, employee scheduling and performance, and supplies management. J&L’s Cleaning Room is team based so it is essential that the Area Manager has good leadership skills. Strong communication, conflict resolution, and planning skills are important to ensuring smooth running operations. J&L’s Cleaning Room Area Manager role involves strong problem solving skills, Microsoft Excel proficiency and comfort working in a foundry environment. Typical days will be spent with approximately 60% of your day spent on the floor leading your teams, and working on continuous improvement activities, and 40% spent doing office based work.

Experience

The ideal candidate would have 5+ years of progressive management experience in a stainless steel foundry cleaning room. Understanding that this greatly limits the size of the pool of potential candidates these experiences and characteristics will be considered:

• 5+ years of progressive experience managing in a manufacturing environment


• Background driving a safety culture


• Excellent leadership skills including the ability to on-board new employees, mentor, coach, and develop employees, and drive conflict resolution in a team based work environment.Demonstrable ability to apply company policy in a firm, fair, and consistent manner.


• Must be detail oriented and conscientious in managing daily schedules, weekly supplies purchasing, the monthly inventory process, and purchase plate management


• Strong Microsoft Excel skills are essential to track and analyze data (utilizing pivot tables, v-looks, filtering and sorting, etc) in order to drive continuous improvement activities, make recovery plans and plan production requirements


• Strong planning skills (right to left thinking) in order to minimize the need to fire fight issues


• Self-driven continuous improvement mentality


• Goal oriented


• Hands on


• Strong problems solving skills


• Experience related to mold making or melt shop operations a plus, but not necessary for the right candidate
  
  Education
  
  BS degree or greater in Materials Science, Metallurgy, Mechanical, or Industrial Engineering preferred, but not essential. Other technical/numerical based degrees such as Chemistry, Business, Physics, Electrical Engineering and Mathematics also considered for the right candidate.
  
  Personal Skills and Attributes
  
  Area Manager’s require a wide range of personal skills and attribute in order to be successful at a PCC company. Among the many skills and attributes which are employed here are some of the key characteristics of successful Area Managers:


• Tenacious, optimistic, confident, with a can do attitude


• Solid communication and conflict resolution skills


• Solid data analysis/numerical skills


• Excellent planning and problem solving skills


• Detail and process oriented


• Excellent work ethic

Comfortable with ambiguity and able to work autonomously

Precision Castparts Corp. is an equal opportunity employer committed to recruit, hire, train, and promote in all job categories without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or other status protected by applicable law.