Production Manager, Vinyl Extrusion

The Vinyl Extrusion Manager leads all aspects of the Vinyl Extrusion Department, including safety, quality, production, staffing, maintenance coordination, inventory accuracy, continuous improvement, and cost performance. This role ensures that extrusion operations meet customer requirements while achieving production, quality, and financial objectives. The Production Manager leads supervisors, technical leads, and production employees, driving accountability, operational excellence, workforce development, and continuous improvement initiatives across the department. The Production Manager optimizes vinyl extrusion processes, maximizes equipment utilization, maintains inventory accuracy, and ensures compliance with company safety and quality standards. This position serves as a key liaison among operations, planning, maintenance, quality, and plant leadership to ensure efficient, effective department performance.

Responsibilities

• Lead all daily operations of the Vinyl Extrusion Department to ensure safe, efficient, and cost-effective production.
• Establish and maintain a culture focused on safety, quality, continuous improvement, and employee engagement.
• Manage departmental staffing, scheduling, training, and workforce planning to meet production requirements.
• Partner with Planning to develop and execute production schedules that meet customer demand while maximizing equipment and labor utilization.
• Ensure extrusion lines consistently meet or exceed established production, quality, and efficiency standards.
• Monitor and improve key performance indicators (KPIs), including safety, labor productivity, equipment productivity, scrap, rework, downtime, inventory accuracy, and employee morale.
• Drive operational excellence through Lean Manufacturing, TPM, 5S, visual management, standard work, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Provide leadership, coaching, mentoring, and performance management for supervisors, leads, and production personnel.
• Develop succession plans and build bench strength through employee development and training.
• Collaborate with production personnel to reduce setup times, minimize downtime, and improve overall equipment effectiveness.
• Work closely with Maintenance to prioritize preventive maintenance activities and ensure equipment reliability.
• Ensure compliance with all safety policies, including Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), machine guarding, and safe work practices.
• Partner with Quality to maintain product specifications and customer requirements while reducing defects and nonconforming material.
• Oversee departmental inventory accuracy for raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods.
• Analyze production data and operational metrics to identify trends and implement corrective actions.
• Develop and manage departmental budgets and support overall plant financial objectives.
• Promote workplace organization, cleanliness, and housekeeping standards throughout the department.
• Serve as a communication link between plant leadership and department personnel, ensuring clear and timely communication of expectations, goals, and business objectives.
• Continually identify and implement opportunities to improve efficiency, quality, safety, customer service, and profitability.
• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required; Associates or Bachelors degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum of five (5) years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience in a supervisory or management role.
• Experience in plastics extrusion manufacturing required; vinyl extrusion experience strongly preferred.
• Experience managing production schedules, labor planning, inventory control, and operational performance metrics.
• Experience leading continuous improvement initiatives and Lean Manufacturing programs.
• Demonstrated experience developing and leading teams in a manufacturing environment.
• Working knowledge of manufacturing systems, production reporting, and inventory transactions.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and ERP/MRP systems.
• Required Skills/Abilities:
• Strong understanding of vinyl extrusion processes, equipment, materials, and production flow.
• Proven leadership, coaching, team-building, and employee development skills.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to analyze production data and implement corrective actions.
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Strong organizational, planning, and project management capabilities.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and adapt to changing business needs.
• Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, TPM, 5S, root-cause analysis, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Knowledge of inventory control practices and manufacturing transactions.
• Ability to lead change and drive operational improvements.
• Strong business acumen with an understanding of budgets, labor costs, productivity measures, and financial performance.
• Knowledge of workplace safety practices, including LOTO procedures and regulatory requirements.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• This position requires frequent walking throughout the manufacturing facility, regular standing, and occasional climbing, bending, reaching, and lifting.
• The employee may occasionally lift or move materials weighing up to 50 pounds.
• This role requires regular interaction with manufacturing equipment and production operations and may involve extended periods on the production floor.
• Work is performed in both office and manufacturing environments.
• The manufacturing environment includes exposure to moving mechanical equipment, forklifts, industrial machinery, noise, varying temperatures, dust, and other conditions common to plastics extrusion operations.
• The employee must be able to wear and properly utilize all required personal protective equipment (PPE), including safety glasses, hearing protection, safety footwear, and other required safety equipment.
• Occasional off-shift, weekend, or extended-hour support may be required to meet production and business needs.

M-D Building Products has been a trusted name in American construction for over 106 years. Founded in 1920, we have spent more than a century designing, manufacturing, and distributing the products that builders, contractors, and homeowners depend on to get the job done right. What started as a focused commitment to quality weatherstripping has grown into one of the most recognized and respected product portfolios in the construction industry.

We are proud to be an American manufacturer. Every product bearing the M-D name is made right here in the United States, with production facilities in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, our home and headquarters, as well as Louisville, Kentucky, and Gainesville and Brooklet, Georgia. Our facilities are home to skilled, dedicated teams who bring the same pride and craftsmanship to every product.

At M-D, we dont just compete in our categories, we lead them. Our products are industry leaders or strong contenders for industry leadership across every line we carry. That standard of excellence isnt accidental. It is the result of more than a century of listening to our customers, investing in our people, and refusing to settle for good enough. The people of M-D are guided by five core values that define how we work, how we treat one another, and how we show up for our customers every day.

Integrity~ Honesty doesnt need a policy. We do the right thing when nobody is looking.

Vision~ Tomorrows success is taken by the steps we take today.

Commitment~ Every day, we are accountable to each other and our customers.

Communication~ We listen with intent, communicate with clarity, and speak up for whats right.

Stewardship~ We serve to promote one another, create opportunities, and delight customers.

When you join M-D Building Products, you join a company that has stood the test of time. Not by standing still, but by continuously evolving, improving, and investing in the people who make everything possible. We believe every individual can make a meaningful impact, and we cultivate a culture that recognizes and develops that potential. If you are eager to learn, motivated to grow, and interested in building a career at M-D, we encourage you to apply.

Benefits

M-D Building Products, Inc offers a benefits package that includes Medical, Dental, Vision, On-Site Clinic, Voluntary Life Insurance, Lab Card Program, Group Term Life & AD&D, Flexible Spending Accounts, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability, 401(K) with Company Match, Paid Time Off, Tuition Reimbursement, Education & Development, Mental Wellness (Employee Assistance Program), and Voluntary Benefits including Accident, Critical Illness and Hospital Indemnity Insurance.

M-D Building Products, Inc. provides equal employment opportunities for all current employees and applicants. This policy means that no one will be discriminated against because of race, religion, creed, color, national origin, nationality, citizenship, ancestry, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status, genetic predisposing characteristics, or any other basis prohibited by law.