Plant Manager

Description

*THIS IS A SAFETY SENSITIVE POSITION*

Role: Plant Manager

Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) Plant

Brantford, Ontario

Position Overview

IKO is building a new state-of-the-art Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) insulation plant in Brantford, Ontario. This greenfield investment represents IKO’s first plant of this type (we currently operate polyiso and polymer transformation facilities).

Job Overview: Plant Manager will be responsible for directing all manufacturing activities to achieve world-class results in safety, quality, productivity, cost, customer service, and employee engagement. The successful candidate will initially focus on project execution, team building, and plant startup, then transition to full operational leadership of a 25–30-person facility.

Benefits

• Competitive salary - up to $140k
• Health Insurance (includes Virtual Health, and HCSA), Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance
• Life Insurance, Long-term Disability, Short-term Disability
• RRSP Match
• Paid Vacation, Floating Days
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employee Engagement Events
• Awards and Recognition, including Service Awards
• Tuition reimbursement
• Employee Perks & Discounts

Job Responsibilities:

• Provide overall leadership and direction for the new XPS plant, including construction support, commissioning, startup, and ongoing operations.
• Drive a strong safety culture with a “zero incidents” mindset, full Process Safety Management (PSM), and compliance with all environmental and regulatory requirements.
• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing team. Transformational leadership style with excellent change management, interpersonal, and communication skills is highly desirable.
• Deliver operational excellence across key metrics: safety, quality, OEE, uptime, yield, cost, and on-time delivery.
• Champion continuous improvement using Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and other systematic approaches.
• Oversee maintenance strategies, equipment reliability, and optimization of automated continuous extrusion processes.
• Manage plant operating budget, raw material usage, and cost control.
• Ensure product quality meets or exceeds customer and industry standards for XPS insulation boards.
• Collaborate with corporate functions (Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, HR) to successfully launch and grow the operation.
• Develop and track operational KPIs and report regularly to senior leadership.

Job Requirements:

• Manufacturing leader with extensive experience in plant operations, engineering, maintenance, and continuous improvement.
• Proven track record of driving operational excellence in safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance.
• Strong background in leading cross-functional teams, including production, maintenance, engineering, and quality.
• Experienced in implementing Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives to increase efficiency and reduce waste.
• Skilled in project management, capital improvements, and execution of plant optimization projects.
• Hands-on leader who maintains a strong presence on the production floor and actively engages with employees.
• Experienced in analyzing operational metrics, identifying performance gaps, and developing corrective action plans.
• Demonstrated success in troubleshooting manufacturing issues and implementing sustainable process improvements.
• Strong people leader with experience coaching, developing, and mentoring supervisors and frontline employees.
• Seeking an opportunity to leverage operational leadership experience to drive plant performance, employee engagement, and business growth.

#LI-RA1

#LI-SN1

Benefits of Employment: IKO recognizes that its success is due to the strength of its employees. A primary goal of IKO is to promote individual employee's sense of accomplishment and contribution so that employees enjoy their association with IKO. The Company invests in its employees so that they are the most knowledgeable in the industry, and undertakes great efforts to nurture loyalty to, and teamwork at, IKO. We are pleased to offer competitive compensation, health care, a progressive and challenging workplace and a commitment to teamwork and integrity.

Diversity and Equal Opportunity Employment: IKO Industries Ltd. is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to diversity and inclusion and are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability. IKO Industries Ltd. encourages and welcomes applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.