Chief Operating Officer

The COO will take ownership of scaling and stabilizing operations across the company. Reporting directly to the CEO, this individual will serve as a hands-on operational leader responsible for closing the gap between sales and production, improving throughput, increasing equipment effectiveness, and building the processes and leadership cadence required to deliver on time and profitably.This is not a “corner office” COO role. It demands a leader who is highly engaged on the shop floor, someone who can quickly diagnose constraints, professionalize scheduling and capacity planning, and drive measurable performance improvements with urgency and discipline.The COO will partner closely with the CEO, plant leadership team, and an operations consultant currently supporting the business to ensure a strong handoff and sustained continuity of improvement initiatives. This includes direct oversight of production, scheduling, and production control, while refining staffing strategies in a union environment and strengthening urgency, accountability, and cross-functional alignment—particularly in quality and other supporting functions.This is a high-impact executive role with board-level visibility. Success will be measured by the ability to increase daily output, improve OEE, enhance operational predictability, and build an operations organization capable of supporting the company’s growth trajectory.What you will do:Establish an Operational Baseline and Performance Measurement SystemConduct a comprehensive operational diagnostic within the first 90 days across stamping, secondary operations, material flow, changeovers, scheduling, maintenance, and supply chain.Establish accurate baseline metrics, including OEE, press speed, downtime, quality yield, and throughput by machine, product family, and shift.Implement plant-wide KPI dashboards with visibility from operator level through executive leadership.Baseline inventory levels, supplier performance, and materials availability to ensure supply chain does not constrain throughput.Define Forward-Looking Production Targets Aligned with GrowthTranslate commercial growth objectives into clear operational capacity requirements.Establish machine-level throughput targets including strokes per minute, uptime expectations, and changeover standards.Build labor and staffing models tied directly to throughput and product mix.Develop forward-looking capacity plans and capital expenditure roadmaps aligned with ROI and throughput impact.Close the Performance Gap Through Targeted Operational ImprovementExecute initiatives to close the gap between current performance and target capacity including dynamic de-bottlenecking.Increase press speeds toward rated specifications while maintaining quality and tool life.Improve changeover discipline, scheduling effectiveness, and material flow.Strengthen preventative and predictive maintenance to improve availability.Improve PPM and Quality Performance through disciplined root cause analysis.Embed visual management systems that make performance gaps visible and actionable.Build the Talent, Culture, and Accountability Systems Required for ScaleEvaluate plant leadership and supervisory talent density and upgrade where required.Build cross-training depth to reduce dependence on key individuals.Implement clear role-level KPIs tied to measurable operational outcomes.Establish strong daily, weekly, and monthly operating cadence and accountability reviews.Create a culture of ownership where supervisors and operators are accountable for throughput, quality, and safety performance.What you have:You are a hands-on Operations leader with manufacturing experience who can own operations, efficiency, and staffing in a fast-paced private equity–backed environment.Floor-oriented leader who commands respectDirect communicator with high accountability standardsComfortable making decisive personnel decisions when requiredWilling to work on-site in WarrenBachelor’s degree in Business, Operations, or a related fieldManufacturing leadership experience within a high-volume manufacturing environmentDemonstrated success improving OEE and throughput, particularly in environments where revenue growth is outpacing operational capacityHands-on deployment of Lean manufacturing or operational excellence frameworksExperience developing press-level KPIs and implementing visual management systemsSIOP (Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning) and capacity planning implementation experienceDeep ERP expertise leveraging system capabilities to drive disciplined production planning, scheduling optimization, and operational predictability.Advanced Excel and data analysis capabilitiesExperience leading supply chain redesign initiatives and managing supplier performanceDetail-oriented and analytical, with the ability to work hands-on in a fast-paced, shop-floor-driven environment