Plant Manager

Business: Building Products – Industrial Coatings

Company Overview:

Axalta has remained at the forefront of the coatings industry by continually investing in innovative solutions. We engineer technologies that protect customers’ products – whether they are battling heat, light, corrosion, abrasion, moisture, or chemicals – and add dimension and beauty with colorful finishes. We have a vast and ever-evolving portfolio of brands primed to play an important part in everything from modernizing infrastructure around the world to enabling the next generation of electric and autonomous vehicles.

At Axalta, the strength of our company lies in our people, and our legacy is built on more than 150 years in the coatings industry. With over 12,000 employees globally and $4.5B annual revenue, singular focus on providing brilliant coatings sets us apart. Axalta Coating Systems is the only leading global coatings company dedicated solely to the development, manufacture and sale of liquid and powder coatings. We serve customers in the automotive, transportation, general industrial and architectural and decorative sectors. Our innovative products and services include paint, color matching tools, application technologies and customer training and business management systems.

Role Summary:

The Plant Manager will lead all operations at the Fridley, Minnesota site, a liquid coatings plant serving Axalta's Building Products customers in North America. The Plant Manager will develop and execute the site manufacturing strategy to meet Axalta's business requirements, drive process excellence in every step of the manufacturing process, implement improvements to reduce the cost of goods sold (COGS), and direct Plant Management including Quality, Maintenance and warehousing.

Fridley is one of four sites in the Building Products North America manufacturing network (High Point, NC; Cornwall, ON; Fridley, MN; Sacramento, CA). The Plant Manager is expected to run the site as part of that network: sharing standards, best practices and capacity with sister sites, and supporting network-level programs such as the Lighthouse site assessment, the network EHS plan, SPQDC tier reviews and the business continuity plan.

The Plant Manager is responsible for analyzing local plant requirements and working cross-functionally within operations (internal manufacturing, external manufacturing, supply chain, procurement) as well as with functions outside operations (business, Technology, HR, Finance, Legal). The successful candidate will leverage knowledge of industry best practices and financial analysis to recommend solutions that enhance operations performance and profitability. The position will translate regional and network operations strategy into local execution while ensuring a consistent and efficient flow of product from supplier to customer and best-in-class service to internal and external customers.

The qualified candidate will be a high-energy, self-starter with a strong work ethic who must excel at both day-to-day tactical execution and long-term strategic planning, and who is motivated by a competitive industry and by fulfilling customer requirements while maximizing profitability. Excellent communication and leadership skills, together with deep, relevant experience across multiple functions of a best-in-class manufacturing organization, will be critical to success in this role.

Work Location:

This role requires a 100% onsite presence at Axalta’s plant facility based in Fridley, MN and is not eligible for relocation nor sponsorship.

Expected Compensation:

We consider an individual’s qualifications, skillset, and experience to determine final salary. This role is eligible for benefits such as health insurance and paid time off. The expected compensation range for this position is $135,000 - $150,000 annually. The actual offer will be at the company’s sole discretion and determined by relevant business considerations, including the final candidate’s qualifications, years of experience, skillset, and geographic location.

Key Responsibilities:

• Responsible for all plant operations and facilities at the Fridley site, including production, warehousing and shipping, maintenance, process engineering, quality control and EH&S.
• Direct-line responsibility for the site leadership team (production, quality, maintenance/engineering, EH&S, warehouse) and the full site workforce.
• Full accountability for safety performance and culture: lead the site safety program, drive good-catch reporting and timely incident reporting, and deliver the network EHS plan pillars (safety culture and leadership; training, systems and compliance; health, wellness and ergonomics; engagement and awareness).
• Full accountability for all local site regulatory matters, PSM awareness would be an asset, air and stormwater permits, hazardous waste, DOT and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and OSHA requirements.
• Own the site's Safety, People, Quality, Delivery and Cost (SPQDC) performance: run daily tier meetings, report monthly site metrics into the network operations review, and close gaps to target with structured problem solving.
• Deliver Right-First-Time (RFT) and Hits-per-Batch (HpB) improvement through formula discipline, standard work, operator training and QC capability; sustain the site's schedule attainment and OTIF performance.
• Lead the Fridley Lighthouse site assessment to completion and build the model areas, visual standards, 5S and tier-board discipline that come out of it.
• Ensure the site is ready to take on additional volume as the network requires, with no loss of safety, quality or service.
• Inculcate a continuous improvement mindset that drives improvements in quality, cost, delivery and inventory on a daily basis; bring operational excellence and discipline to the site and execute the AOE strategy.
• Maintain the site's Quality Management System and quality compliance including document control (Qualtrax) and training records (Aspire), and support customer audits and complaint resolution.
• Represent the site in network programs: business continuity planning, standards and SOP harmonization, shared best practices and cross-site support during outages or peak demand.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Customer Service on production scheduling, inventory accuracy, safety stock and on-time delivery to Building Products customers.

Qualifications:

Incumbent must be able to perform each duty satisfactorily and in a safe manner. The items listed below represent the knowledge, skills and experience required.

• High School diploma/GED required with a Bachelor's degree in engineering, chemistry or related discipline preferred. Advanced degree desired.
• Minimum of 7–10 years manufacturing experience in the chemicals, paint or coatings industry (liquid coatings and batch processing experience strongly preferred).
• Minimum of 5 years leading a manufacturing site or department, with direct responsibility for safety, quality, cost and people.
• Experience running a small-to-mid-size plant where the leader is hands-on and personally accountable for multiple functions (EH&S, maintenance, quality, warehouse).
• Working knowledge of site EH&S and regulatory programs, including Process Safety Management, hazardous materials handling and environmental permitting.
• Strong communication and influencing skills required to effectively lead change management and to implement and sustain new initiatives and programs with a small, close-knit workforce.
• Demonstrated success implementing lean manufacturing principles, 5S, visual management, tier-meeting structures and kaizen methodology.
• Data-driven mindset yet able to implement solutions at an appropriately urgent pace.
• Strong financial and analytical skills to manage a site P&L/PFC budget, flex cost with volume and build a capital business case.
• Strong chemical batch processing knowledge, including formula adjustment, color/quality disposition and RFT improvement.
• Proven success gathering and reporting business data and key performance indicators (SPQDC).
• Occasional travel to sister sites and customers (approximately 10–15%).

This is an active opening for which we are recruiting to fill immediately. 

Axalta operates its business in two segments: Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings, which serve four end markets, including Refinish, Industrial, Light Vehicle and Commercial Vehicle, across North America, EMEA, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Our diverse global footprint allows us to deliver solutions in over 140+ countries and coat 30 million vehicles per year. We’ve recently set an exciting 2040 carbon neutrality goal, in addition to 10 other sustainability initiatives, and we take pride in working with our customers to optimize their businesses and achieve their goals.

Our Company:

Axalta has remained at the forefront of the coatings industry by continually investing in innovative solutions. We engineer technologies that protect customers’ products – whether they are battling heat, light, corrosion, abrasion, moisture, or chemicals – and add dimension and beauty with colorful finishes. We have a vast and ever-evolving portfolio of brands primed to play an important part in everything from modernizing infrastructure around the world to enabling the next generation of electric and autonomous vehicles.  

Axalta operates its business in two segments: Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings, which serve four end markets, including Refinish, Industrial, Light Vehicle and Commercial Vehicle, across North America, EMEA, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Our diverse global footprint allows us to deliver solutions in over 140+ countries and coat 30 million vehicles per year. We’ve recently set an exciting 2040 carbon neutrality goal, in addition to 10 other sustainability initiatives, and we take pride in working with our customers to optimize their businesses and achieve their goals.

Axalta may use technology-assisted tools, including artificial intelligence (AI), to support certain aspects of the recruitment and selection process. These tools may be used to help manage applications, identify job-related qualifications, and assist recruiter review. All hiring decisions involve human oversight and review.

Recruitment Fraud Alert: We take candidate safety seriously. If you believe you’ve encountered a fraudulent job posting claiming to represent our company, please include a link or screenshot and report it to TA-Support-Center@axalta.com.

We consider an individual’s qualifications, skillset, and experience to determine final salary. This role is eligible for benefits such as health insurance and paid time off. The actual offer will be at the company’s sole discretion and determined by relevant business considerations, including the final candidate’s qualifications, years of experience, skillset, and geographic location.

This is an active opening for which we are recruiting to fill immediately.