Industrial Production Manager

Building our Future Together. FXI is a leading producer of foam innovation in the Bedding, Furniture, Industrial, Home & Office, Healthcare, and Transportation markets. We have made it our mission to provide tailored solutions that delight our customers and consumers. With our corporate headquarters, high-tech research and development facility, and multiple manufacturing locations in North America, FXI has built a culture of innovation and achievement that is recognized by customers, suppliers and peers. Our products include finished goods, sub-assemblies, services, and raw materials for OEMs, fabricators, and retailers. You will find FXI’s foam innovations inside, around, and under yourself in countless applications. Everywhere foam goes, FXI’s innovations lead the way! Won’t you join us?

The Industrial Production Manager role will report to our VP of Quality and will be based out of our West Chicago plant with up to 60% travel.

Responsibilities:

• Develop practical & innovative ways to drive in-process & finished product quality improvement for Polyurethane pouring & fabrication products & materials used for specialized medical, technical, automotive & comfort solutions by leveraging experience in complex chemical formulations process via:
• Incorporating VOE, VOC, customer complaint trends, in-process audit data into product & process design & equipment selection plan to improve formulation & process by working cross-functionally with R&D & foam technology team.
• Initiating/facilitating operator training & certification program through effective facilitation & closure of manufacturing quality issues using corrective actions within the parameters of quality management system (QMS) & data driven decision making; & Process standardization across company for core manufacturing & testing processes.
• Apply experience creating technical specs. & design of experiments (DOEs) for foam used in medical, technical, automotive & comfort industry.
• Work closely with Plant Managers & Plant Quality Manager to:
• Improve foam formulation/chemistry & optimize mechanical controls & devices to achieve best possible yield with highest quality of foam to meet regulatory & customer expectations.
• Drive customer focused manufacturing quality improvement projects to eliminate costs of non-conformances, scrap & support realization of improved performance.
• Implement & assure compliance with requirements of FXI QMS, ISO:9001, IATF-16949 at plants.
• Prepare advanced quality planning documents & participate in quality planning activities, including Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA's), Advance Product Quality Planning (APQP), Quality Function Deployment (QFD), production Part Approval Process (PPAP), calibration, process Flow Diagrams, process control plans, Control Charts & Gage R&R studies using Minitab software to improve product specs. & production process.
• Apply understanding of metrology, statistics, & statistical methods for foam physical properties using Statistical Process Control (SPC) methods.
• Independently perform testing of foam IFD, Density, airflow, recovery rate, compression set testing, TB-117 (testing for Federal & California) & leverage skillset to train others, using specialized lab equipment.
• Apply experience & ability to read & interpret third party testing report on CFR1632, CFR1633 & make recommendations to improve product or process performance.
• Using key metrics data, develop improvement plan, present to plant leadership teams & facilitate implementation.
• Provide quality engineering expertise & utilize specialized skills learned in chemical formulations & mechanical controls of foam pouring in large commercial plants in the quality arena.
• Drive corrective & preventive action program, from initiation to resolution of items to enhance customer satisfaction & meet regulatory requirements.
• Work closely with plant quality managers to manage & implement engineering changes, process improvements & new part or product introductions/launches.
• Deliver results as measured by key metrics including defect rates parts per million (PPM), returned credits, cost of quality & corrective action closure, & customer satisfaction. Incorporate Lean Methodology to improve product quality.
• Apply experience creating & interpreting production & quality dashboards using PowerBI platform to improve production process for quality of foam parts.
• Ensure material/component specs exist & are accurate for all foams & components.
• Work closely with customers & suppliers to resolve quality opportunities & drive process improvements in a rapidly changing environment.
• Develop plant/product-specific employee training to build quality awareness.
• Participate in interplant, cross-functional teams to resolve complex technical problems & customer issues.
• Apply engineering expertise to enhance foam product manufacturing across diverse industries, including bedding, automotive, technical, & engineering sectors.
• Participate in Corporate Quality Audits.

Qualifications:

Minimum education & experience requirements:

Master of Science in Mechanical, Chemical or Industrial Engineering, related field or equivalent & 3 years of relevant work experience as Regional Quality Manager, Quality Engineer, or related occupation.

Alternative Requirements:

Applicant must have Bachelor of Science in Mechanical, Chemical or Industrial Engineering, related field or equivalent & 5 years of relevant work experience as Regional Quality Manager, Quality Engineer, or related occupation.

Minimum functional & technical skill requirements:

• Understanding of metrology, statistics, & statistical methods for foam physical properties using Statistical Process Control (SPC) methods & use of Minitab software.
• Knowledge of Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (FMEAs), Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), Advanced Product Quality Control Plan (APQP) & Calibration.
• Creating technical specs. & design of experiments (DOEs) for foam used in medical, technical, automotive & comfort industry.
• Creating & interpreting production & quality dashboards using PowerBI platform to improve production process for quality of foam parts.
• Have earned or must be willing to sit for ISO 9001:2015 Internal/Lead auditor certification.
• Must be based out of the West Chicago plant with the ability for up to 60% domestic travel to FXI production & manufacturing plants, vendors & customers as required.

Location/Travel: Must be based out of the West Chicago plant with the ability for up to 60% domestic travel to various unanticipated worksite locations, including FXI production & manufacturing plants, vendors & customers as required.