Plant Manager – Plastics Recycling

at  aocom

A FEW THINGS ABOUT YOU

We’re looking for someone who is knowledgeable in Plastics. Either an expert or someone with the ambition and drive to become an expert quickly.

You’re also an experienced plant manager with operational and Lean Six Sigma qualifications. You will have experience with working closely with engineering teams, have a demonstrable intellect for solving complex problems, collaboratively with your teams. We’ll also need you to have:

• Experience working within a processing, manufacturing, or similar environment, ideally with a focus on plastics (separation, production, moulding or similar). Competence in evaluating process capability and output variability, supported by process controls and QA procedures.
• A desire to learn about the machinery and equipment we use here at the AO Plastics Recycling Plant, and really understand it’s purpose, parameters, and outputs.
• Broad and deep experience delivering continuous change and improvements across all facets of a production facility, demonstrated by green or black belt Lean 6 Sigma
• Great communication and people skills - making sure everyone is working to their full potential, motivating others, and engaging people across the business.
• Proven track record of dealing effectively with operators, experts, senior leaders, and customers.

A BIT ABOUT US

At AO, we want to make sure our customers are happy. When they have a smile on their face, we know we’ve done a good job. It’s at the heart of everything we do, and it’s why our logo is always smiling.
When it comes to appliances and electricals, we’ve got the lot. Washing machines? Yep. TVs? Check. Laptops? Absolutely. Everything except doorbells (just kidding, we’ve got those too). Over 20 years, we’ve grown to be a £1Billion turnover business, and recycling is a key part of our customer proposition, and our future strategy.
We’re passionate, relentless, and full of beans, determined to make a difference and change the world for the better. From massive changes to tiny tweaks - making a difference is what keeps us driven. The plastics recycling plant is proof of that! Since 2019 we have grown from zero to over 10,000 tonnes processed annually.
We’ll grow this by 50% in 2024, and we need someone ambitious to help us deliver this stratospheric growth. Is that person you?

ABOUT THE ROLE

We’re looking for an experienced Plant Manager to join us at our AO Plastics Recycling plant in Telford. You’ll be delivering continuous change (ideally with Lean Six Sigma experience), delivering brilliant basics and step-change improvements, whilst leading operational and production laboratory teams (2 direct reports and around 20 colleagues in total). You will be supported with a matrix structure incorporating engineering, SHEQ, HR and Commercial functions.
AO is known as the destination for electricals, but we’re also one of the UK’s biggest recyclers of fridges and other Large Domestic Appliances (LDAs). We turn old fridges, washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers into valuable resources, and the plastics are sent to our plastics recycling plant, where you will be the leader on site.
Our plastics recycling plant is a unique design, audited to the highest European standards, and sets a new standard in creating single polymer plastics ready for use in new high-quality products, with our strategic aim to use the plastics in new appliances for sale on ao.com. Since 2018, AO has invested over £6 million in the plastics recycling plant, with projects in flight to enhance and extend the processes, supported by further multi-million-pound investment, with delivery in autumn 2024. This supports the strategy and continued growth of AO Recycling, all underpinned by the commitment and security of AO.

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO BE DOING

• Reporting to the Director of Commercial, lead a robust and proven operational structure (running 24/5) and production laboratory, motivating and developing our people.
• Deliver our strategic objective to use the plastics in new appliances for sale on ao.com.
• Support commercial and business development/sales teams with key accounts, customers, and prospects across all operational facets, including quality and material specification.
• Promote a positive Health & Safety culture across the site.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, utilising techniques such as VSM, SMED, and Kaizen events, empowering colleagues to generate incremental changes, whilst supporting larger scale initiatives, which you will lead or be the business owner for.
• Be our subject matter expert on plastics separation, extrusion, moulding and consistency of output. Be able to understand how plant parameters and input variability impact plant KPI’s and be able to assess and explain complex issues simply to a broad range of colleagues and externally. Be able to then provide potential solutions for collaborative decision making.
• Plan and coordinate project work for the site, making sure we’re on track against schedules and budgets.
• Be AO’s plastics expert and face in UK and European forums on regulatory and legislative change