Plant Manager

Plant Manager

Location: Union, New Jersey

Employment Type: Full-Time | On-Site

About Gavan Graham

Gavan Graham is an established manufacturer of custom electrical power distribution equipment serving commercial, industrial, infrastructure, and mission-critical markets.

Our products include low- and medium-voltage switchgear and switchboards, panelboards, control equipment, and increasingly complex E-House solutions.

We are growing rapidly and transforming how we operate—investing in people, processes, technology, Lean manufacturing, and expanded manufacturing capabilities.

The Opportunity

We are looking for a hands-on Plant Manager to lead the day-to-day performance of our Union, NJ manufacturing operation.

The Plant Manager will have full ownership of plant performance, with primary responsibility for:

Safety | Quality | On-Time Delivery | Productivity | Efficiency

This is not a role for someone who manages manufacturing primarily through reports and meetings. We are looking for a visible, floor-oriented leader who understands what is happening on the shop floor, develops strong frontline supervisors, identifies constraints, and drives problems through to closure.

The Plant Manager will lead an operation of approximately 25–30 employees, with 3 direct

reports and 1 indirect report.

Our environment is high-mix, engineered-to-order manufacturing, where products, configurations, priorities, and customer requirements continually change. Success requires the ability to bring structure, standard work, and disciplined execution to a dynamic manufacturing environment.

The Plant Manager will work closely with Engineering, Project Management, Quality, Purchasing, HR, Finance, and other functional leaders to convert customer commitments into safe, predictable, and efficient execution.

What You Will Own

Safety & Shop-Floor Leadership

• Establish safety as the first priority across the plant.
• Maintain a strong daily presence on the manufacturing floor.
• Drive 6S, workplace organization, visual management, and safe work practices.
• Lead daily operating/QDIP meetings and establish clear accountability for actions and commitments.
• Identify issues early and create a culture where problems are surfaced, understood, and resolved.

Delivery & Production Execution

• Own manufacturing performance against committed customer delivery dates.
• Drive schedule attainment and disciplined execution of the production plan.
• Identify bottlenecks, capacity constraints, and resource conflicts before they affect customer commitments.
• Coordinate priorities across fabrication, assembly, wiring, testing, quality, and shipping.
• Establish clear recovery plans when jobs fall behind schedule.
• Improve flow and reduce unnecessary WIP, waiting, movement, and rework.

Productivity & Lean Manufacturing

• Drive a strong Lean manufacturing culture across the plant.
• Implement practical Lean methods to improve productivity, efficiency, and flow.
• Establish meaningful productivity measures by department and operation.
• Improve labor utilization and manage actual hours against planned/earned hours.
• Develop and implement labor standards and standard work.
• Drive Visual Management and workplace organization.
• Manage overtime based on workload, capacity, and customer requirements.
• Use data to identify problems—but solve them where the work happens.
• Build a culture of continuous improvement rather than isolated improvement projects.

Quality

• Partner closely with Quality to reduce defects, rework, and recurring manufacturing issues.
• Ensure manufacturing teams consistently follow drawings, specifications, work instructions, and established processes.
• Drive root-cause corrective actions for manufacturing-related quality issues.
• Reinforce the principle that quality is built into the product, not inspected into it.
• Maintain clear independence and authority for Quality to stop or reject work that does not meet requirements.

People & Leadership

• Lead and develop frontline manufacturing supervisors and team leads.
• Establish clear expectations, metrics, and accountability at every level.
• Have full ownership and empowerment over plant operations, partnering closely with HR and Finance.
• Build a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and problem-solving.

What We're Looking For

Must Have

• Proven experience managing a manufacturing plant or production operation.
• Strong, hands-on Lean Manufacturing experience with demonstrated implementation on the shop floor.
• Experience leading manufacturing teams and frontline supervisors.
• Ability to read and interpret 3D mechanical drawings/models.
• Demonstrated ability to improve manufacturing flow, productivity, efficiency, quality, and delivery.
• Strong problem-solving and root-cause analysis skills.
• A visible, hands-on leadership style and willingness to spend significant time on the manufacturing floor.

Preferred

• Mechanical manufacturing background.
• Experience in high-mix, engineered-to-order, custom, or job-shop manufacturing.
• Experience implementing Visual Management, 6S, Standard Work, and Labor Standards.
• Experience using ERP/MRP systems for manufacturing operations or production planning.
• Mechanical or Industrial Engineering background.

Work Schedule

The normal schedule is approximately 7:00 AM–4:00 PM.

Some days may extend to approximately 5:00 PM, with occasional Saturdays based on operational requirements.

Why Join Gavan Graham?

This is an opportunity for a Plant Manager who wants real ownership and the authority to make a difference.

You will have the opportunity to directly influence how the plant operates, implement Lean manufacturing practices, improve flow and productivity, develop your leadership team, and drive measurable improvements in Safety, Quality, Delivery, Productivity, and Efficiency.

If you are a hands-on manufacturing leader who believes Lean is a way of operating—not simply a collection of tools—we would like to hear from you.