Job Description
Plant Manager
Sanitary Stainless Welding Inc. (SSWI) in Fresno, CA is part of DCI, Inc., a 100% employee-owned engineered to order stainless-steel storage and processing vessels, agitators, and fully integrated skidded systems for the food, dairy and beverage industry. For 70 years, we’ve built our reputation on delivering quality that ensures the integrity of our customers’ products.
The Plant Manager is responsible for all manufacturing, scheduling, quality, material handling, shipping/receiving, and workforce leadership for the Fresno, CA production facility. The leader ensures operational excellence and accountability across safety, quality, delivery, and cost, while maturing plant capabilities to support future ASME and skid fabrication requirements.
This role is expected to implement non-negotiable operating standards, stabilize production performance, and build a strong culture of ownership in alignment with DCI’s ESOP values.
Position Responsibilities:
Operational Leadership & Performance:
- Own plant-level results for on-time delivery, first-pass quality, labor efficiency, cost performance, forecasting, inventory turns, and safety metrics.
- Establish and enforce standard work, 5S discipline, material staging requirements, and labor reporting accuracy.
- Personally lead Daily Tier 1 & Tier 2 operations meetings during the first 90 days before delegating as systems mature.
Capability Growth:
- Lead capability roadmap to Strengthen 3-A and wine tank production, develop ASME pressure vessel capacity, progress toward vessel + piping assemblies and future skid fabrication and prepare staffing, layout, material flow, training, and inspection readiness to support this transition.
Continuous Improvement:
- Lead Lean/CI initiatives: waste elimination, throughput improvements, space optimization, takt-time visibility.
- Install visual performance management boards and tiered accountability reviews.
ERP (Epicor) & Production Information Integrity:
- Ensure transactional accuracy for labor, inventory, routing, BOM, and WIP movements.
- Utilize ERP data to drive forecasting, capacity planning, and material availability.
People Leadership & Culture:
- Directly lead teams in welding, fabrication, fit-up, material handling, shipping/receiving, planning, and local quality.
- Coach and develop team capability, addressing performance gaps through structured feedback and improvement plans.
Position Requirements:
- 5+ years plant management or multi-cell manufacturing operations leadership.
- Proven record achieving delivery, quality, cost, and labor efficiency improvements.
- Experience with fabrication/welding/heavy industrial or sanitary stainless-steel manufacturing.
- Demonstrated success driving non-negotiable operational standards, standard work, and 5S.
- ERP experience required (Epicor strongly preferred).
- Effective change leadership and communication skills.
- Exposure to ASME pressure vessels, food & beverage, sanitary fabrication, or process equipment (highly preferred).
- Lean/CI certification (Green Belt or equivalent, preferred).
- Experience in an ESOP or highly collaborative ownership culture (preferred).
SSWI is committed to a culture that promotes long-term career satisfaction and provides an opportunity for personal and professional growth.
- Competitive compensation
- Profit distribution to employees via ESOP
- A benefits package designed to support our employees’ health, well-being, and financial security
- Work/life programs designed to provide a safe, secure, and balanced environment
- Education and training programs to develop and grow a high-performance workforce