Plant Head Manufacturing

Role & responsibilities

Commercial Judgment & Costing

• Own quotations end to end: prepare cost sheets covering material, process time, tooling, outsourcing, and overheads.
• Define and apply go/no-go criteria for every order minimum acceptable margin and realistic delivery feasibility and recommend which enquiries to decline.
• Negotiate pricing and timelines with customers within limits agreed with management.

Customer Ownership

• Act as the single point of contact for key accounts on technical requirements, order status, and escalations.
• Own customer complaint resolution with defined closure timelines, root-cause analysis, and corrective action.
• Support business growth by deepening relationships with existing customers and technically qualifying new enquiries.

Delivery & Production

• Plan and control production against committed delivery dates; on-time-in-full (OTIF) delivery is a primary KPI for this role.
• Resolve shop-floor bottlenecks across laser cutting, bending, punching, welding, and assembly.
• Make make-vs-outsource decisions based on capacity, cost, and delivery risk.

Profitability & Cost Improvement

• Drive reduction in scrap, rework, and material wastage; improve nesting and material yield.
• Track order-level profitability and flag loss-making orders and customers to management.
• Identify and implement process improvements that reduce cost or lead time.

Data, MIS & Documentation

• Maintain the order book, cost sheets, dispatch tracker, and complaint register in Excel (or ERP when adopted); present a weekly review to management.
• Maintain engineering documentation, fabrication drawings, BOMs, and revision control.
• Ensure compliance with quality specifications, tolerances, and safety norms.

Team Leadership

• Lead, direct, and develop supervisors and operators; enforce discipline on quality and timelines.
• Coordinate with vendors for raw material and outsourced processes.

Preferred candidate profile

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 10–15 years in sheet metal fabrication or precision manufacturing, with at least 3–5 years running a plant, unit, or large section.
• Strong costing ability: reading drawings, estimating process times, and building cost sheets in Excel.
• Proficient in reading and reviewing fabrication drawings; working knowledge of GD&T.
• Deep understanding of laser cutting, press brake bending, punching, welding, and CNC operations.
• Demonstrated experience handling customers directly – technical discussions, negotiation, and complaint resolution.
• Strong numerical and analytical ability; comfortable owning MIS and reviews.
• Decisive, hands-on leadership style; able to command the shop floor and troubleshoot under pressure.

Preferred

• Hands-on CAD ability (AutoCAD / SolidWorks) for design review and minor modifications.
• Track record of growing business from existing accounts or bringing in new customers.
• Exposure to lean or structured improvement methods (5S, kaizen, OEE).

Perks and benefits

• Competitive salary with performance-linked component.
• Full ownership of plant operations with direct access to the owner.
• Hands-on environment with modern fabrication technologies.