IPEX is one of the North American leading providers of advanced plastic piping systems. Our mission is to shape a better tomorrow by connecting people with water and energy.
We currently have an exciting opportunity as a Production Supervisor. This role is based in Asheville, NC, and reports to the Production Manager.
Do not miss the opportunity to join a broad family of people-centric professionals, thought leaders and rapid thinkers, entrepreneurs in spirit and status quo-fighters!
The Production Supervisor oversees all aspects of the production process for the assigned shift to ensure high-quality output, operations efficiency, and compliance with health, safety and environmental standards. This position leads a team of production associates and collaborates closely with cross-functional departments and stakeholders to effectively meet production demands. Additionally, the role plays a key part in shaping the people strategy and driving talent development within the Production Department.
Key Responsibilities
Production Operations
- Supervise day-to-day operations for the assigned shift ensure safety, productivity and quality targets are achieved.
- Implement the production schedule as assigned while optimizing labor resources and machine utilization.
- Lead daily pre-shift transition meetings to communicate priorities and updates.
- Plan and assign daily work duties; rotating employees based on job demands to support cross-training and skill development.
- Monitor key production indicators (Hydra MES, shift reports, etc.) to identify and resolve performance issues and operational roadblocks.
- Lead established, efficient, and high-quality manufacturing processes by implementing corrective and preventive actions for quality and performance concerns.
- Identify and troubleshoot issues within the production process and escalate to the proper support teams as necessary, e.g. the Process Management Department/Set up or the Maintenance Department.
- Prepare and analyze operating reports, summarizing production output, downtime, scrap rates, and variances by machine and shift.
- Monitor and manage departmental spending; provide monthly expenditure reports to the Plant Manager.
- Ensure compliance with ISO standards and maintain accurate documentation to support audits and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Oversee the storage and usage of packaging materials, regrind and raw materials to support uninterrupted production.
- Perform additional duties as assigned.
Leadership & Supervision
- Supervise and support production staff, including task assignment, coaching and performance reviews to align with production goals and company values.
- Conduct the required performance evaluations and lead employee development initiatives through training, coaching, and mentoring to support skill growth, succession planning, and talent retention.
- Support the recruitment, hiring and onboarding of production personnel. This includes ensuring all employees receive the proper orientation, training and certification in health, safety and quality procedures.
- Monitor team performance and foster a culture of accountability, engagement and continuous improvement.
Health, Safety and Environmental Compliance
- Champion a strong safety culture focused on zero workplace injuries. Ensure timely reporting of near misses, hazardous conditions, and first aid incidents to the proper HSE staff, and collaborate on preventive initiatives.
- Enforce corporate HSE policies and ensure compliance with ISMS, ISO 9001 standards and facility specific guidelines and all employees complete the proper and required training.
- Support and review accident/incident investigations, implement corrective actions and participate in Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) activities and regular inspections, as needed.
- Lead and continuously improve the 5S program to maintain clean, organized and safe work environment.
- Support the environmental sustainability efforts and metrics in alignment with corporate goals.
Continuous Improvement and Compliance
- Lead and support continuous improvement initiatives focused on safety, quality and productivity.
- Participate in audits, management of change reviews to ensure compliance and drive operations excellence.
- Identify and resolve root causes of non-conformances and discrepancies in production data using structured problem-solving methods.
- Support the development, implementation and enforcement of standardized work instructions and task analyses to promote consistency and reduce variability.
Job Requirements
Education & Certificates:
- High School Diploma, or equivalent, required
- Supervisory or leadership experience, preferred.
Technical Skills & Experience:
- At least 5 years of experience in a manufacturing environment, ideally with a focus safety, continuous improvement and people development, preferred.
- Knowledge of health, safety, and environmental practices in a manufacturing environment.
- Experience in plastics blending and/or processing (extrusion, molding, etc.), preferred.
Competencies
- Critical thinking and problem-solving skills to identify root causes and implement effective solutions.
- Leadership and coaching skills to guide and develop associates.
- Proven ability to make sound decisions in ambiguous or time-sensitive situations
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to engage effectively.
- Solid technical understanding of plastics process (molding, extrusion, and/or blending processes)
Key Relationships
- Production Manager (Internal – Daily):
Provides updates on production performance, discusses variances, and aligns on operational goals and corrective actions. - Production Associates (Internal – Daily):
Assigns tasks, conducts shift transition meetings, and ensures adherence to safety, quality, and production standards. - Maintenance Department (Internal – Daily):
Coordinates on equipment repairs, maintenance scheduling, and minimizing downtime to maintain production flow. - Tooling Personnel (Internal – Daily):
Collaborates on changeovers, tooling issues, and repairs to ensure uninterrupted production. - Quality Control Department (Internal – Daily):
Works closely to monitor product quality, resolve non-conformances, and ensure compliance with ISO and internal standards. - Inventory/Shipping Personnel (Internal – Daily):
Ensures daily shipping requirements are met and coordinates logistics for finished goods. - Manufacturing Excellence Leader (Internal – Daily):
Works on CI initiatives, projects, as needed - HSE (Internal – Frequent):
Collaborates on safety inspections, audits, accident investigations, and implementation of corrective actions. - Human Resources (Internal – Frequent):
Coordinates on staffing, training, performance management, and employee relations.
Working Conditions
- Employee may be exposed to a moderate level of hazards in the work environment, such as chemicals, commercial products, exposure to potential toxins, moving machinery, repetitive motion, excessive noise, powered industrial vehicle fork/reach/ bucket lift/other.
- Nearly always work indoors in corporate office environment with long periods of sitting
- May on occasion be exposed to loud sounds and distracting noise levels.
- Employee may be required to perform a moderate level of specific tasks such as lifting up to 50 lbs, muscular action, body movements, working positions, posture changes, visual attentiveness).
- Employee will be required to wear protective eyewear, laboratory coat, appropriate gloves, hearing protection, respiratory protection, safety shoes, hard hate, and/or other.
Employee may experience progressive degrees of changing factors in the work process such as changing work priorities, deadlines, accuracy, quotas, conflicting demands.
The Production Supervisor oversees all aspects of the production process for the assigned shift to ensure high-quality output, operations efficiency, and compliance with health, safety and environmental standards. This position leads a team of production associates and collaborates closely with cross-functional departments and stakeholders to effectively meet production demands. Additionally, the role plays a key part in shaping the people strategy and driving talent development within the Production Department.
IPEX is committed to providing accommodations for people with disabilities throughout the recruitment process and, upon request, will work with qualified job applicants to provide suitable accommodation in a manner that takes into account the applicant’s accessibility needs due to disability. Accommodation requests are available to candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process for IPEX jobs. To request an accommodation, please contact HR at HR@ipexna.com