Koppers Holdings

Production Planning Lead

Koppers Holdings • $75K — $95K *
Pittsburgh, PA 15237In-Person
Manufacturing & Automotive
Less than 5 years of experience
Today
Be an Early Applicant
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Engineering, or related; MBA preferred
  • 3 to 5+ years of experience in sales, operations, supply chain, or manufacturing
  • Knowledge of accounting and finance procedures
  • Proven track record of problem solving, order management, and supply-chain experience
  • Multi-site manufacturing, railroad, wood treating, or heavy materials experience preferred

Responsibilities

  • Coordinate with sales and operations to develop a weekly treating schedule at key plants based on demand
  • Forecast future capacity to guide sales on a month-by-month basis
  • Maintain a rolling production plan that translates customer demand, inventory position, and plant capacity into execution priorities
  • Identify and escalate production limits, capacity gaps, and inventory risks, recommending actions to leadership
  • Develop and operate a monthly planning forecast to drive quarterly estimates
  • Leverage operational data to drive inefficiencies out and boost productivity
  • Lead regular planning discussions with stakeholders to ensure decisions are aligned and documented

Benefits

  • Opportunities for professional development and career growth
  • Collaborative and cross-functional team environment
  • Focus on data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement
  • Engagement with key leaders in the industry and exposure to various operational facets
  • Potential for travel to customer sites and industry events
Full Job Description
Job Responsibilities

Production Planning
  • Coordinate with sales and operations to develop a weekly treating schedule at key plants based on demand, capacity, and product availability
  • Forecast future capacity to guide sales on a month-by-month basis
  • Maintain a rolling production plan that translates customer demand, inventory position, plant capacity, and raw material availability into clear weekly and monthly execution priorities
  • Identify and escalate production limits, capacity gaps, and inventory risks, to recommend action to sales, operations, procurement, logistics, and product management leadership


Forecasting & Estimating
  • Develop and operate a monthly planning forecast to drive quarterly estimate and program
  • Utilize data to guide procurement on inbound production for each plant, recommend sorter rates, and develop capacity models to ensure customer's needs and contract terms are met
  • Provide a 12-month forecast to key raw material suppliers (i.e. Creosote, Procurement, etc.)
  • Partner with sales and product management to reconcile demand assumptions, sales forecasts, contractual commitments, and market change to create a monthly planning cycle
  • Support quarterly estimate and annual planning processes by providing production volume assumptions, inventory projections, capacity outlooks, and key operational risks


Data Analytics
  • Leverage operational data to help key leaders in RPS drive out inefficiencies, eliminate waste, increase quality, boost productivity, generate value for the customer, and raise profitability
  • Utilize data analytics to improve demand forecasting and inventory management, minimizing stockouts and excess inventory to optimize working capital
  • Develop and manage Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for various segments of the division
  • Use Excel and PowerBI to design dashboards for internal and external customers
  • Create standardized reporting routines that highlight forecast accuracy, inventory coverage, production attainment, plant utilization, aging inventory, and customer service risk


Cross-Functional Leadership
  • Work closely with manufacturing and operations to align production capacity with demand.
  • Partner with logistics and supply chain teams to ensure efficient fulfillment and distribution.
  • Lead regular planning discussions with plant, sales, procurement, and logistics stakeholders to ensure decisions are aligned, documented, and followed through to completion
  • Communicate planning decisions, tradeoffs, and risks clearly to leadership, including the impact on customers, production efficiency, inventory levels, and financial performance


Planning Process & Operating Cadence
  • Own the weekly production planning cadence, including demand review, capacity review, inventory review, issue escalation, and follow-up on action items
  • Drive alignment between short-term execution needs and longer-term business planning assumptions for sales, procurement, manufacturing, and finance
  • Develop planning standards, templates, and common definitions that improve consistency across locations and reduce reliance on informal or site-specific processes


Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Engineering, or related; MBA preferred
  • 3 to 5+ years of experience in sales, operations, supply chain, or manufacturing.
  • Knowledge of accounting and finance procedures
  • Proven track record of problem solving, order management, and supply-chain experience
  • Multi-site manufacturing, railroad, wood treating, or heavy materials experience preferred
  • Demonstrated ability to convert complex operational data into practical planning decisions, executive-ready summaries, and cross-functional action plans
  • Strong strategic thinking and analytical problem solving skills.
  • Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship building abilities.
  • Proficiency with CRM systems, Excel/Power BI, forecasting tools, and data analysis.
  • Strong working knowledge of ERP (Oracle preferred), inventory management, demand planning, production scheduling, and reporting systems preferred.
  • Ability to manage complex projects and collaborate cross functionally.
  • Ability to influence without direct authority, resolve competing priorities, and create alignment across commercial, operational, procurement, logistics, and finance teams.
  • Entrepreneurial mindset with a results-driven approach.
  • Willingness to travel to customer sites, mills, industry events, and field locations.

About Koppers Holdings

Koppers is a global provider of treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals and carbon compounds. The company was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Koppers operates in three segments: Railroad and Utility Products and Services, Carbon Materials and Chemicals, and Performance Chemicals. The company's products and services are used in a variety of industries, including railroad, specialty chemical, utility, residential lumber, agriculture, aluminum, steel, rubber, and construction.
Learn more about Koppers Holdings
Size
2,088 employees
Market Cap
$602.8 million
Industry
Business Services
Net Income
$122 million
Founded
1988
5 Year Trend
+3.5%
Revenue
$1.6 billion
NASDAQ
KOP
* Ladders Estimates

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