Job Title: Converting Superintendent
Department: Converting
Reports to: Plant Manager
Location: Converting Floor
Position Summary: The Converting Superintendent is the senior leader of the converting department. This role owns the full-shift, full-line performance of converting operations - safety, output, quality, downtime, cost, and people - across all shifts and all converting equipment. The Superintendent directly manages and develops the Converting Supervisors, sets the standard for accountability and performance, and is the primary link between converting operations and plant leadership.
This is not a reactive, floor-walking role. The Superintendent is expected to build and sustain operating discipline: structured shift reviews, supervisor coaching, downtime analysis, quality trend response, and workforce development. Results must be embedded in systems, not driven by personal presence.
Compensation
The actual base pay offered to the successful candidate will be based on multiple factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge/skills, experience, geographical location, and internal equity. At ND Paper, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at the high end of the range for their role, and compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.
About Us
ND Paper is a leading manufacturer of high-quality pulp, paper, and packaging products in the United States, generating over half a billion dollars in annual sales. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited - the largest containerboard producer in the world - ND Paper is part of a global network committed to excellence and innovation. With two integrated pulp and paper mills in Rumford, Maine and Biron, Wisconsin, a packaging plant in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, and two sheeting facilities in Langhorne, Pennsylvania and Fairmont, West Virginia, the ND Paper family produces nearly one million tons of products annually. Our 1,100 dedicated employees are the heart of our operations, and we are committed to fostering positive work environments where individuals can advance and thrive. At ND Paper, we are investing in our future, and that starts with our staff.
Key Responsibilities & Expected Results:
- Demonstrate safety as a core value and establish a safe work environment by actively leading the safe execution of work.
Safety Leadership
- Own the safety culture of the converting department - set the standard, model the behavior, hold supervisors accountable.
- Review all shift safety observations and near-miss reports daily; ensure corrective actions are assigned and closed on time.
- Lead or co-lead incident investigations for any recordable injury or significant near-miss originating in converting.
- Conduct monthly department-level safety walk with supervisors; document findings and follow-through.
- Ensure all converting operators are current on LOTO certification, machine-specific safety training, and forklift/material handling requirements.
- Escalate unresolved hazards to the General Manager same day - no open safety items age more than 24 hours without a documented interim control.
Production Performance
- Own converting department MSF output, run rates, and makeready targets across all shifts - not just your shift.
- Review daily production reports from all three supervisors; identify shift-to-shift variance and drive root cause analysis.
- Monitor machine utilization and unplanned downtime trends at the department level; escalate chronic equipment issues to Maintenance with supporting data.
- Coordinate with Scheduling on order mix, capacity constraints, and priority changes that affect converting throughput.
- Drive consistent shift handoff discipline across all supervisors - open orders, equipment status, crew issues, material shortages must be communicated clearly every shift.
- Identify and eliminate the top recurring production losses each month; track actions and results.
Quality Accountability
- Own converting-process quality at the department level - setup compliance, in-process inspection, and hold management.
- Review quality hold log daily; ensure holds are dispositioned within the required timeframe and root cause is documented.
- Distinguish and correctly code converting process waste versus bad-board waste originating from the corrugator - cross-department accuracy matters for cost and accountability.
- Develop and execute corrective action design for repeat quality failures; verify that fixes are implemented and validated, not just documented.
- Track customer-complaint-linked quality events back to shift and setup; use data to drive targeted coaching with the responsible supervisor.
- Ensure all supervisors enforce setup approval before production release - no exceptions.
Supervisor Development & Accountability
- Directly supervise, coach, and evaluate the Converting Supervisors across all shifts.
- Conduct structured one-on-ones with each supervisor at least biweekly; focus on KPI performance, specific behavioral feedback, and development priorities.
- Review each supervisor's shift reports for completeness and accuracy; provide direct feedback when standards are not met.
- Hold supervisors accountable to the KPI scorecard - celebrate wins explicitly, address misses directly and promptly.
- Identify skill gaps in the supervisor team and build targeted development plans; not all development is formal training.
- Ensure supervisors are developing their own operators - the Superintendent should not be the first escalation point for routine floor issues.
- Support the General Manager in performance management actions involving converting supervisors when warranted.
Training & Workforce Development
- Own the converting department training matrix - know who is qualified on what equipment, and where the gaps are.
- Ensure all new operators complete machine-specific onboarding before running unsupervised; no operator runs a job without documented qualification.
- Partner with supervisors to develop cross-training plans that reduce single-point-of-failure risk on critical equipment.
- Identify and develop high-potential operators for future supervisory roles; build the bench.
- Ensure all training records are current, accurate, and accessible - not stored in someone's head.
- Participate in new hire orientation and onboarding for converting department personnel.
Downtime & Maintenance Coordination
- Review converting downtime logs across all shifts daily - reason code completeness, response time, and recurring patterns.
- Identify the top chronic downtime contributors in converting each month; bring data to the maintenance/operations review.
- Work with Maintenance to prioritize converting equipment PM schedules and ensure operator-level PM tasks are being completed.
- Escalate defects that are aging without resolution; do not allow known equipment issues to persist without a documented plan.
- Ensure supervisors and operators understand the defect tagging process and use it consistently.
Reporting & Communication
- Present converting department performance in the daily operations meeting - output, downtime, quality, and people issues.
- Provide the General Manager with a weekly converting summary: shift-by-shift KPI trends, top issues, and actions in progress.
- Flag any issue that will affect customer delivery commitments or plant cost targets to the General Manager same day.
- Maintain department records: training matrices, corrective actions, incident reports, and supervisor performance documentation.
Key Performance Indicators (KPI's)/Performance Metrics
The Converting Superintendent is evaluated on department-level performance across all shifts, not individual shift output.
Metric
Description
MSF Output vs. Plan
Department output across all shifts vs. scheduled plan
Converting Waste %
Process waste (trim, makeready, in-process rejects) - excludes bad board from corrugator
Unplanned Downtime (hrs/wk)
Department-level unplanned downtime; trended week over week
Safety - Recordable Rate
TRIR for converting department; near-miss reporting rate as leading indicator
Quality Hold Rate
Customer-complaint-linked quality events originating in converting
Supervisor Scorecard Completion
% of supervisor shift reports completed on time and accurately
Training Matrix Currency
% of required qualifications documented and current for all converting operators
PM Compliance Rate
Operator-level and planned maintenance PM task completion rate for converting equipment
Corrective Action Closure Rate
% of open CAs closed by committed due date
Qualifications and Skills/Education and Experience
Required
- High school diploma or GED; associate degree or technical training preferred.
- Minimum 5 years of experience in corrugated or packaging manufacturing, with at least 2 years in a supervisory or lead role overseeing converting operations.
- Demonstrated ability to manage and develop frontline supervisors - not just operators.
- Strong working knowledge of flexo folder gluer, die cutter, bundler, stitcher, and related converting equipment operations.
- Ability to read production data, identify trends, and drive data-informed decisions.
- Clear, direct communicator - up, down, and across the organization.
- Track record of building accountability without creating a blame culture.
Preferred
- 7+ years in corrugated manufacturing with multi-shift supervisory responsibility.
- Experience implementing or sustaining operator-level PM programs, downtime logging, or OEE tracking.
- Familiarity with quality hold management processes and corrective action frameworks.
- OSHA 10 or 30 certification; forklift and LOTO train-the-trainer experience a plus.
- Experience working in a plant turnaround or continuous improvement environment.
- Bilingual English, Mandarin ,Spanish a plus
Physical Requirements
- Ability to spend significant time on the production floor across all shifts as needed.
- Lift up to 50 lbs occasionally; work in environments with noise, dust, and temperature variation.
- Availability to respond to escalations outside of standard hours when plant operations require it.
Core Competencies (Results based)
- Production Management: Plans, coordinates, and manages converting operations to achieve production schedules, throughput, and operational performance goals.
- Operational Excellence: Optimizes equipment performance, minimizes waste and downtime, and drives efficient use of resources to improve productivity.
- Safety Leadership: Promotes a strong safety culture by modeling safe work practices, ensuring compliance, and proactively addressing hazards and corrective actions.
- Quality Focus: Maintains high product quality standards by monitoring processes, reducing defects, and addressing quality concerns to meet customer expectations.
- Equipment Reliability: Partners with maintenance to support preventive maintenance programs, maximize equipment availability, and reduce unplanned downtime.
- Team Leadership & Development: Leads, coaches, and develops employees while maintaining training compliance and building a skilled, accountable workforce.
- Performance Management: Monitors operational metrics, completes required documentation accurately, and holds team members accountable for achieving performance expectations.
- Continuous Improvement: Uses data and root cause analysis to identify opportunities, implement sustainable process improvements, and drive operational excellence.
- Problem Solving & Decision Making: Analyzes operational issues, identifies root causes, and implements timely, effective solutions to improve performance.
- Results Orientation: Focuses on achieving production, safety, quality, and cost objectives while balancing competing priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
Success Profile (What great looks like)
The successful candidate is a safety-focused, results-oriented leader who effectively manages converting operations to achieve production, quality, and efficiency goals. They develop high-performing teams, promote equipment reliability, use data to solve problems, and collaborate across departments to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence.
Working Conditions
Plant site
Attributes for Success
- Hard work - tackle each task with determination, passion and creativity; the willingness to put in whatever effort is required to successfully complete the job at hand.
- Pursuit of Excellence - strive to consistently exceed expectations in our day-to-day work and outperform our competitors in the marketplace, regarding work and company achievements as a collaborative goal with the desire to go above and beyond.
- Integrity - treat the company and teammates with upmost respect, operating on strong moral codes to drive company values and culture.
- Sense of Urgency - drive forward each day with speed, agility, and flexibility to capture unrealized opportunities and avoid potential risks for the business.
- Entrepreneurial Spirit - act like an owner, challenging the status quo, asking the right questions, and actively seeking ways to innovate and improve.
- Adaptability - be fluid with ND Paper's continuous evolution while driving change in a fast-paced environment, equipped with the ability to acclimate quickly.
- Servant Leadership - set an example by implementing meaningful leadership with heart, empathy, foresight and stewardship.