Foams Operation Manager / New Zealand

Foams Operations Manager

 

Dunlop Foams is NZ’s market leading speciality foams manufacturer who sets the standard for the manufacture, supply and service of foam, fibre and fill solutions for furniture, health care, automotive, marine, packaging and industrial applications.  

 

Dunlop Foams is a division of the New Zealand Comfort Group Limited and has world class manufacturing facilities for foam manufacturing, foam conversion and fibre processing in both Auckland and Christchurch. 

 

The Comfort Group (TCG) is a fourth generation family owned business, TCG has operated for over 80 years.  During this time, TCG has become the largest Australasian bedding and speciality foams company manufacturing products across a range of iconic brands including: Sleepyhead, SleepMaker, Beautyrest, Design Mobel, Serta, Wonderest, Dunlopillo, Dunlop Foams and Sleepyhead Flooring.

 

The Comfort Group is dedicated to building and maintaining a highly skilled and robust local manufacturing capability and are looking for someone to play a pivotal role in leading their specialty foam manufacturing operations in New Zealand.

 

Recently the Comfort Group announced their exciting plan of moving their manufacturing operations to Ohinewai in North Waikato where they are building a purpose built manufacturing plant and developing a community including around 1100 houses for staff members and families.

 

This is a huge and innovative move and they are now looking for a Manager to lead the foam manufacturing divisions within both their Otahuhu and Avondale sites.  The role will initially be based at the Dunlop Foam site in Avondale before relocating to a new purpose built state of the art manufacturing facility in Ohinewai in 2021.

 

Reporting to the National Operations Manager, this is a hands on management role where you would be responsible for leading a small technical and specialist production team (around 10- 15) with a heavy focus on continuous improvement, adhering to strict quality standards and maximising operational efficiency. 

Whilst this role oversees a small number of people, the foams division has a significant impact on The Comfort Group’s entire business due to foam being both an externally sold finished product as well as a major raw material component used to manufacture our bedding products.  As such this position is a critical role within the operations leadership team in NZ.

You will have a real passion for working in a highly specialised manufacturing environment and you must have experience in either; foam (ideally polyurethane), chemical based or wet-to-dry process manufacturing to be considered for this position.  

You must be able to influence, effectively lead and empower your staff to work cohesively as a team to produce optimum quality and high yield production outputs.  Your ability to adjust your approach and style to suit the audience will be essential to your success in building effective relationships across a wide range of people as your role will see you interacting with highly technical chemistry experts, the shop floor production team and senior managers on a regular basis.

You will have a practical approach to managing safety and a demonstrated commitment to driving the best health and safety practices.  Previous experience managing teams within major hazard facility manufacturing environment is ideal.

You must also have experience in working within a manufacturing plant where there is short lead times for high volume production and you will have high complexity production experience in a fast moving and changing environment.

To be successful in this role you will need:

• A tertiary qualification; preferably in chemical engineering, operations, production or business management, or alternatively at least 10 years’ experience leading a production team.
• Intermediate to Advanced Microsoft Office user, including the ability to utilise Excel to analyse data and trends.
• A background in either foam or wet to dry manufacturing, production operations
• A strong understanding of best practice and continuous improvement tools such as Lean, 5S & TOC.

Personal Attributes:

• Have high levels of initiative and excellent communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to motivate and develop your team
• Highly developed planning and organisational skills, with the ability to balance production and maintenance needs
• Proven track record in driving continuous improvement within the production process.
• Be able to operate in a highly agile and mass customisation, make-to-order environment.

In return for your commitment, you will be rewarded with an excellent remuneration package and the opportunity to work within a proven and innovative team that has the reputation of providing the very best in client solutions.

We will consider international applications with the right experience with this position.

Please apply with an updated CV in full confidence or phone me for further information.