Plant Superintendent (Food Manufacturing)

About the Company

Stratas Foods, headquartered in Cordova, TN, is a 50/50 joint venture between ACH Food Companies and Archer Daniels Midland Company, formed in October 2008. With over 200 years of combined experience from its parent companies, Stratas Foods provides value-added, branded, and custom-formulated fats and oils solutions to the Food Service, Food Ingredient, and Retail sectors. The company is committed to being the most valued supplier of fats, oils, dressings, mayonnaise, and salad dressings in the private-label retail bottled oils market in the United States. Manufacturing facilities are located in Dallas and Houston, TX; Decatur and Quincy, IL; Englewood and Hillside, NJ; Fresno, CA; Nashville, TN; and Valdosta, GA. Corporate offices are in Memphis, TN.

About the Role

The Plant Superintendent is responsible for leading the daily operations of a manufacturing facility, ensuring safe, efficient, and cost-effective production of high-quality finished products while meeting customer service expectations and regulatory requirements. This role provides leadership and direction to production personnel and collaborates with Scheduling, Maintenance, Quality, Warehouse, and other support functions to optimize plant performance. The Plant Superintendent drives continuous improvement initiatives, maintains compliance with food safety and quality systems, achieves operational and financial objectives, develops employees, and fosters a positive employee relations environment.

Responsibilities

• Promote and maintain a culture of safety excellence and accountability throughout the facility.
• Ensure compliance with all safety, food safety, environmental, GMP, HACCP, and company policies and procedures.
• Lead and participate in incident investigations, root cause analyses, and corrective action implementation.
• Ensure safe work practices and behaviors are consistently followed.
• Maintain housekeeping standards throughout the operation.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory and customer requirements related to food production and employee safety.
• Support and reinforce food safety programs through employee training, documentation, and process verification.
• Lead the efficient utilization of labor, raw materials, equipment, energy, and utilities in production and packaging.
• Coordinate daily production activities to meet schedules, customer requirements, quality standards, and cost objectives.
• Monitor production performance, yields, labor utilization, downtime, and operational efficiencies; implement corrective actions as needed.
• Develop and execute plans to improve operational performance, reduce waste, and increase productivity.
• Troubleshoot operational issues and resolve production challenges.
• Review manufacturing processes and recommend equipment or process improvements to enhance safety, quality, productivity, and reliability.
• Coordinate production activities during scheduled downtime for cleaning, maintenance, repairs, and capital improvements.
• Ensure effective staffing, shift communications, and production documentation processes.
• Provide operational support and leadership for a 24/7 manufacturing operation, including after-hours support as required.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) related to safety, quality, productivity, cost, and customer service.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on operational efficiency, product quality, cost reduction, and process optimization.
• Assist in developing and managing departmental operating budgets.
• Monitor and control departmental spending, including labor, overtime, operating supplies, and other production-related costs.
• Identify and implement cost-saving opportunities while maintaining operational effectiveness and product quality.
• Provide leadership, coaching, performance management, and development for supervisors and hourly employees.
• Establish clear performance expectations and accountability measures for all employees.
• Conduct performance evaluations and create development plans for direct reports.
• Foster a positive work environment that promotes teamwork, communication, respect, and employee engagement.
• Conduct regular crew and departmental meetings to communicate plant objectives, business initiatives, safety expectations, and operational performance.
• Support succession planning and talent development initiatives within the department.
• Address employee concerns promptly and consistently while maintaining positive employee relations.
• Partner with Scheduling, Maintenance, Quality, Warehouse, and other support departments to optimize plant performance.
• Coordinate preventive maintenance activities with Maintenance to maximize equipment reliability and minimize downtime.
• Communicate operational priorities, production plans, and performance results across all shifts and departments.
• Participate in plant leadership meetings and contribute to the development and execution of plant goals and business objectives.
• Ensure production records, operational reports, and required documentation are completed accurately and maintained appropriately.
• Review operational performance data and prepare reports as required.
• Maintain compliance with company policies and administrative procedures.
• Assume delegated responsibilities of the Plant Manager in their absence.
• Provide leadership coverage for Production and Maintenance supervisory functions as needed.
• Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Food Science, Operations Management, Business, or related field preferred. Equivalent combination of education and manufacturing leadership experience may be considered.
• Minimum 5-7 years of manufacturing leadership experience.
• Previous supervisory experience in a food manufacturing environment preferred.
• Experience leading continuous improvement initiatives and managing production performance metrics.
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access), AS 400.
• Familiarity with PLC, Warehouse Management Systems, Inventory Management Systems, Plant Automation Systems.
• Ability to interface with mainframe, general accounting, MRP, and order processing systems.

Skills

• Communication: Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills. Effectively communicates expectations, operational priorities, and business objectives across all levels of the organization. Actively listens, seeks clarification, and fosters open, productive dialogue.
• Leadership: Provides visible, results-oriented leadership promoting accountability, employee engagement, and operational excellence. Builds trust, develops talent, recognizes performance, and manages change while fostering a culture of safety, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Analytical Thinking: Analyzes complex operational data and business challenges to identify trends, determine root causes, and develop practical solutions. Uses data and performance metrics to support sound decision-making.
• Problem Solving & Continuous Improvement: Applies root cause problem-solving methodologies to identify, resolve, and prevent operational issues. Demonstrates a continuous improvement mindset by challenging the status quo and implementing sustainable solutions.
• Teamwork & Employee Development: Builds high-performing teams through coaching, mentoring, and performance management. Promotes collaboration across departments, values diverse perspectives, and encourages open feedback.
• Business Acumen: Understands the relationship between operational performance and financial results. Effectively manages resources, controls costs, and supports initiatives that improve productivity, efficiency, customer service, and profitability.
• Safety & Food Safety Leadership: Demonstrates an unwavering commitment to safety, food safety, quality, and regulatory compliance. Leads by example and holds employees accountable for maintaining safe work practices and adherence to company standards.

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to walk throughout the plant, including walking and climbing up/down stairs and ladders (portable, fixed).
• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds occasionally.
• Must have appropriate sensory acuity (visual, hearing, speaking, smell, and touch) to identify and react to normal, abnormal, and alarm conditions (e.g., chemicals, temperature).
• Must be able to logically and methodically work through and break down complex problems and processes to enable effective communication at all organizational levels.

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision