We're not looking for a caretaker. We're looking for someone who reads "our Fargo plant is our biggest opportunity and our toughest performer" and gets interested rather than nervous.
FlexScreen/RiteScreen is the largest independent screen manufacturer in the United States - nine facilities, seven states. Our Fargo plant builds window and door screens for one of the most demanding OEM customers in the fenestration industry. The plant runs roughly 80 people across a Monday-Friday schedule in a high-mix, build-to-order discrete manufacturing environment. It is not automated. It is hands-on, fast-moving, and it needs a leader.
The First 90 Days Are About Two Things: Quality and EfficiencyOur challenge here is honest and specific. This plant has the revenue and the customer base to be a top performer, and it isn't there yet. Quality escapes have cost us, and our labor efficiency isn't where engineering standards say it should be. The person who takes this seat owns fixing both - with support from our VP of Operations and a company actively investing in this facility.
What You'll Own- Full site leadership: production, quality, maintenance, shipping, and safety for an ~80-person hourly workforce
- Value stream managers and floor leads reporting to you - coaching them into real supervisors, not just schedulers
- Plant P&L, labor cost, and cost-per-unit performance against margin targets
- The customer relationship - this OEM walks the floor, and you'll host them
- Lean execution on the floor: Gemba, 5S, standard work, kaizen, root cause on scrap and rework
- KPI ownership across safety, quality, delivery, cost, and throughput
- Building a workforce culture in a diverse plant - nine languages are spoken on our floor
What We Require- 7+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership, including full plant, site, or multi-department ownership
- Discrete or assembly manufacturing background - fabrication, assembly, components, building products, industrial equipment, or similar. This is a build-to-order discrete environment, not process, batch, or continuous-flow production.
- Demonstrated turnaround results: you've personally moved quality and efficiency metrics and can show the numbers
- Hands-on leadership style - the majority of your day belongs on the floor
- Experience leading an hourly production workforce, including attendance, accountability, and development
- Lean manufacturing fluency with real applied results (kaizen, 5S, standard work, OEE, scrap reduction)
- Bachelor's degree preferred; equivalent plant leadership experience considered
What Makes This Worth the MoveA small company where your fingerprints show. 560 people nationally, private-equity backed, investing in automation and continuous improvement, and promoting from within. You'll report to a VP of Operations who has run plants himself, and you'll have the autonomy to fix what needs fixing.
Compensation: $120,000-$150,000 base, plus benefits, 401(k), and PTO. Relocation assistance available for the right candidate.
