Furnace and Batch Engineer

About the role

IKO Industries Ltd. is a market leader in the manufacturing of roofing and building materials. IKO is a Canadian owned and operated business with production facilities worldwide and has many years of unparalleled success in the roofing materials industry. Quality, integrity, and trustworthiness are the values that underlie this success, and we have built this company by hiring people who hold these values.

Responsibilities

• Promote and maintain IKO safety goals and ensure a safe work environment for all employees; lead safety and housekeeping efforts and corrective actions within assigned projects and areas.
• Meet established goals and objectives; act as a technical resource for the organization.
• Utilize SPC methods and six sigma methodology to eliminate special cause and reduce common cause variation while striving for continuous improvement.
• Ensure customer satisfaction through process control and standardization.
• Operate, control, and maintain furnace and forehearth to ensure safe, efficient, and cost-effective operation.
• Monitor energy prices and usage and recommend the most cost-effective energy input.
• Monitor furnace and forehearth condition and take appropriate preventive actions to prevent furnace outage or leaks; know response to power outage procedures, as well as glass leak procedures.
• Write and maintain job instructions, process setup sheets, and process check sheets utilizing coach and primary employee feedback.
• Initiate cost reduction ideas into the fiberglass melting and forming process to further the goal of being the safest, high-quality, low-cost fiberglass producer.
• Conduct production trials with both product and/or process improvement studies that support continued improvement efforts.
• Direct multiple projects simultaneously and prioritize completion according to company objectives; document projects and process changes and communicate updates.
• Ensure process setups are documented, communicated, and adhered to on a daily basis to meet customer and company standards; maximize production efficiency; identify opportunities for productivity improvements and take appropriate action; optimize existing processes and products.
• Maximize furnace life through inspections, repairs, and maintenance as well as proper operational control (temperature, pressure, etc.).
• Order and inventory supplies needed to maintain furnace and forehearth area.
• Train, develop, and work with furnace techs to ensure stable and consistent furnace operations.
• Trial new raw materials and gather data to support or disprove merit.
• Monitor the condition of all equipment in the batch, furnace, and forehearth area and initiate necessary repairs needed to meet performance and production goals.
• Ensure melting temperature profile is maintained in the furnace and forehearth as well as all other important process parameters to ensure high glass quality and high fiber forming efficiencies.
• Maintain and troubleshoot system from batch truck and rail unloading, batch mixing, transporting, and charging through the furnace and forehearth.
• Maintain proper gas to oxygen ratios in the furnace and forehearth using thermox.
• Keep and input all batch formulas; verify calibration on batch weighing system.
• Profile and clean gas/oxy burners and forehearth pencil burners.
• Operate, calibrate, and maintain electric boost system.
• Perform opacity readings.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in ceramic, mechanical, or chemical engineering is preferred along with five years minimum furnace and manufacturing experience.
• Green Belt or Black Belt certification preferred.

Skills

• Excellent communication skills, verbal and written.
• Ability to provide simple and accurate instructions.
• Ability to work at times in a high temperature environment.
• Frequent lifting or moving materials up to 10 lbs; ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
• Regularly required to sit, stand, walk, bend, climb, reach, and grasp.
• Ability to climb stairs, ladders and work from heights.

Work Authorizations and Travel

Some travel; I-9 verification required.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Competitive health and benefit plan
• Competitive matched retirement savings program
• The opportunity to join a continuously growing organization with focus on Diversity and Inclusion
• The opportunity to work with an industry leader in manufacturing