General Manager - Healthy Pet

Company Background

Healthy Pet L.P. (https://www.healthy-pet.com) with headquarters in Ferndale, Washington, is a successful, growing and profitable middle market company with ~$60m in annual sales that manufactures natural fiber absorbent products made from sustainably sourced, responsibly rescued plant fiber that helps ensure our planets health. Healthy Pets products all advance the credo of best in home with natural technologies focused on products that deliver a Healthier Clean for every household. Healthy Pet has been the number one brand of small pet bedding made from upcycled cellulose fiber for more than 30 years. They are a wholly owned subsidiary of the J. Rettenmaier & Sohne Group (JRS - https://www.jrs.eu), a +145 year old, privately owned, 4th generation family owned company based in Germany, who are committed to the research, development and processing of high-quality, functional organic ingredients and inclusions made from renewable, plant-based raw materials. JRS is the global leader in natural fiber processing technologies with operations in over 25 countries across 14 business units.

Healthy Pet holds a dominant share of the North American market in small animal bedding and is the fastest growing natural fiber cat litter in the USA, which supports JRS as the global market leader in natural fiber litter. Healthy Pet has strong growth ahead with an additional technical fibers plant in the planning process for its Jesup facility along with currently developing a trade goods business unit to leverage their national brands equity and deep marketing and sales capabilities Healthy Pet embraces a culture where each individuals unique talents, contributions, and character are leveraged to participate in and contribute to the growth of the business. They are currently seeking a General Manager for their Jesup, Georgia production facility, for immediate hiring who will sit on the Executive Committee and report to the Chief Executive Officer based at their Washington State headquarters.

Job Scope

The ideal candidate will oversee all current and planned Jesup plant operations, and have a deep understanding of Continuous Improvement and Lean manufacturing practices in an environment with high raw material (upcycled) variability. They will have 10+ years of experience in successfully managing a continuous manufacturing plant with a hands on approach to processes and leadership while supporting and enhancing subject matter experts who actively participate in management practices. The final candidate will likely have plant management experience with a company in the $75m - $150m range, thus having experience and skills requisite to grow the Jesup facility to over $125mm in output. They will likely have come from a blend of the following industries: pet food and products, CPG, pulp & paper, feed, bedding, wood fiber & pellets, food & beverage and other industries that must keep a keen eye on the consumer. Having worked in a sustainably oriented firm is desirable, but not necessary, but what is required is to steward, develop processes and then refine those SOPs to maximize Safety, Quality, Efficiency, Innovation.

However, they must be able to embrace variability in production and understand the impact that variability has on production and final product quality. Importantly, the final candidate must be a strong leader that people look up to and can trust. This begins with a professional demeanor that is enhanced by well-developed listening skills, outstanding verbal communication skills, a principled approach to team members from all walks of life and the ability to nurture an environment of excellence by example. The ideal candidate will have a strong combination of both strategic and tactical skills and be able to coach, train, and develop those team members in plant operations and enhance a culture of collaboration, cooperation and excellence. A successful track record of transforming Quality, Procurement, and Warehousing operations is desirable. Specifically, they will be able to clearly and concisely outline specific goals and initiatives to their team, as well as to the companys leadership/ownership, and then work effectively to get the job done while improving business processes along the way. This position is the face of Healthy Pet in the Jesup community, and the General Manager will be expected to support community and civic organizations with resources provided by the Company.

Key Accountabilities

• Driving a culture of excellence by exemplary leadership, collaboration, and via systems and processes. Ensuring that Healthy Pet employees are treated with respect, provided the tools to excel and are held accountable to the expectations of professionalism and work product.
• Managing the physical facilities, facility expansion, production equipment and all associated maintenance in accordance with best practices, statutory regulations and all Company policies and procedures.
• Overseeing personnel, equipment and maintenance required to safelyand efficientlyproduce qualityproducts.Maximizes productivity, production to raw material ratios, equipment utilization and throughput. Troubleshoots. Minimizes off-specification product. Evaluates raw materials for variability.
• Executing the companys long- and short-range goals established for the Jesup facility.
• Leading Continual Improvement initiatives to enhance processes in all Jesup facility departments.
• Reviewing and improving operational procedures while dealing with high input variability.
• Managing maintenance programs and personnel to minimize unplanned downtime.
• Developing and refining cost-effective preventative maintenance programs and systems of maintenance accountability
• Developing positive team attributes, leading by example and promoting intra/inter departmental workforce engagement to advance company culture and goals.
• Fostering a positive and collaborative work environment, promoting teamwork and continuous learning.
• Continuously develops and executes a LEAN culture driving to a six-sigma level of compliance.
• Utilizing LEAN, statistical and data-visualization tools to improve processes, cost, quality, safety and sustainability.
• Developing and refining unique and interdisciplinary SOPs associated with teams, tasks, workflows and systems.
• Contributing to cross-functional teams and supports all other functional areas in the accomplishment of non-departmental goals. Participates in R&D and commercialization of new products via product experimentation, trial plan development, plant trials, evaluating results and validating financial analyses.
• Participating in the selection of new employees. Assigns, trains, supervises and evaluates work of staff. Conducts performance evaluations to guide development of employees and provide a record of performance. Initiates, documents and implements disciplinary actions as approved.

Required Skills, Qualifications, and Motivations

• Above all, the candidate must have excellent communication skills, the ability to effectively listen, and show and earn respect with all stakeholders. Strong leadership and training expertise.A bachelor degree in engineering (process, mechanical or chemical) or a related manufacturing operations field is required.
• Previous P&L manufacturing experience in a +$75m middle market company in a senior level operations role is required. Has been a Plant Manager in the recent past if not currently.
• 10-15 years of Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement or Lean manufacturing experience and training.
• Expertise in developing processes and then refine those SOPs to maximize Safety First, Quality, Efficiency, and Innovation.
• Consumer products experience is desirable, but not required. If not, experience in other applicable sectors which dictate attention to end-user expectations and satisfaction. Experience in Pulp & Paper, Animal Feed, Bedding, CPG, Food & Beverage, Fiber, Pellets and/or Absorbents is highly desirable.
• A heart for sustainable products and the impact they have on the environment is important.
• Ability to conceptualize organizational, operational and business development needs.
• Ability to set realistic but challenging goals, measure results and provide leadership to meet or exceed critical deadlines.
• Deep experience with Statistical Process Control, Root Cause Analysis and other tools that will assist in taking low quality raw materials into high quality products.
• Performing the responsibilities of this position with positivity and alacrity!

Reporting Relationships, Location and Benefits

The General Manager is based at the companys Jesup, Georgia facility, is a member of the Executive Team and reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer based in Ferndale, Washington. They will have overall P&L responsibility of the facility and oversee all ~110 staff including five direct reports, 80 FTEs and 15-30 temps. Healthy Pet offers a competitive compensation and benefits package and will relocate the final candidate, as needed.