Location: Northern Suburbs
Industry: Plastics Manufacturing

Relocation Assistance:  Yes
Reporting to: Managing Director

A well-established plastics manufacturer is seeking a hands-on Production & Maintenance Manager to take full ownership of factory performance across injection moulding, recycling, and assembly.

This is a high-accountability role responsible for delivering OTIF production, driving cycle efficiencies, and ensuring machine and utility reliability, while maintaining strict cost and operational discipline.

Ideal Profile

• 8-12 years' experience in injection moulding or high-volume manufacturing
• 5+ years in a senior production and/or maintenance leadership role
• Strong technical understanding of:


• Injection moulding machines & processes
• Tooling / moulds
• Plant utilities (air, cooling, power)


• Proven ability to manage cost-focused, performance-driven operations
• Trade qualification (Millwright / Mechanical / Electrical) advantageous

Core Mandate

• Deliver fully completed, dispatch-ready production output (not fragmented WIP)
• Drive cycle efficiency, machine utilisation, and throughput
• Own maintenance reliability across machines, moulds, and utilities
• Embed disciplined preventive maintenance and breakdown management
• Control labour productivity, scrap, and operational costs
• Lead from the floor, ensuring execution, accountability, and stability

Key Focus Areas

• Production Execution: Align moulding, recycling, and assembly to achieve OTIF delivery
• Process Efficiency: Maintain standard cycle times and minimise start-up losses
• Reliability: Maximise uptime across machines, auxiliaries, and critical utilities
• Maintenance Discipline: Drive structured PM and eliminate repeat breakdowns
• Cost Control: Reduce scrap, rework, and non-value-adding activity
• Leadership: Build a high-performance, accountable shopfloor culture. Manage 30 - 40 staff & grow team accordingly. 

Success Metrics

• Output vs Plan & OTIF
• Machine Utilisation & Cycle Efficiency
• MTBF / MTTR
• Preventive Maintenance Compliance
• Scrap (% of Sales)
• Labour Productivity
• Maintenance Spend vs Budget
• Utility Downtime

Person Profile

• Hands-on, factory-floor driven leader
• Strong bias for execution, discipline, and accountability
• Able to balance production pressure with technical integrity
• Driven by output, efficiency, and continuous improvement