Plant Head - Foundry & Metal Casting - Manufacturing

We are looking for an experienced and result-oriented Plant Head to lead end-to-end manufacturing and plant operations at its Chakan MIDC facility in Pune. The role requires a strong manufacturing leader with proven experience in high-capacity industrial plants, foundry and metal casting operations, machine-shop manufacturing, plant maintenance, greenfield projects and capacity expansion. The incumbent will be responsible for driving operational excellence across Production, Maintenance, Quality, Engineering, Projects, Safety and Compliance, while ensuring achievement of plant-level P&L, budget, productivity, capacity, cost, quality and ROI objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

Plant & Operations Management:

• Provide overall leadership for end-to-end plant operations and manufacturing performance.
• Drive production planning, capacity utilization, productivity and on-time delivery.
• Establish and monitor plant KPIs covering Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Productivity and Efficiency.
• Optimize manpower, machines, processes and resources to achieve operational targets.
• Build a culture of accountability, operational discipline and continuous improvement.

Foundry, Metal Casting & Machine Shop:

• Lead foundry, metal casting and machine-shop operations with a focus on productivity, quality, yield and cost optimization.
• Improve process capability, OEE, throughput, rejection levels and overall equipment utilization.
• Drive process standardization and manufacturing excellence across casting and machining operations.
• Identify opportunities for automation, process improvement and technology upgrades.

Maintenance & Engineering:

• Lead preventive, predictive and breakdown maintenance strategies to maximize equipment availability.
• Ensure effective maintenance planning for critical production equipment, utilities and infrastructure.
• Drive reduction in machine downtime, breakdown frequency and maintenance costs.
• Ensure reliability and lifecycle management of critical plant assets.

Greenfield Projects & Capacity Expansion:

• Lead and manage greenfield manufacturing projects from concept and planning through commissioning and stabilization.
• Drive plant expansion, capacity enhancement, technology implementation and infrastructure development.
• Coordinate with engineering, procurement, vendors, consultants and internal stakeholders for timely project execution.
• Ensure projects are delivered within approved scope, timelines and budgets while meeting operational and ROI objectives.
• Lead the successful transition from project execution to stable commercial production.

Financial & P&L Management:

• Own plant-level budgets, operating costs and P&L performance.
• Drive cost reduction, productivity improvement and manufacturing efficiency initiatives.
• Monitor CAPEX and OPEX against approved budgets.
• Evaluate investments and capacity-expansion initiatives based on business case, payback and ROI.
• Develop and execute annual operating plans in alignment with business objectives.

Quality, Safety & Regulatory Compliance:

• Ensure adherence to quality systems, statutory requirements, environmental regulations and EHS standards.
• Partner with Quality and EHS teams to strengthen plant-wide compliance and risk-management practices.
• Drive reduction in customer complaints, internal rejection, rework and process deviations.
• Ensure readiness for internal, customer and statutory audits.

Lean Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement:

• Lead Lean Manufacturing and operational excellence initiatives across the plant.
• Implement methodologies such as 5S, Kaizen, TPM, OEE, root-cause analysis and waste elimination.
• Identify opportunities for process optimization, automation and cost improvement.
• Develop a performance-driven culture focused on continuous improvement.

Leadership & People Management:

• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary plant leadership team covering Production, Maintenance, Quality, Engineering, Projects and related functions.
• Build strong succession planning and leadership capability within the plant.
• Establish clear objectives, accountability and performance-management systems.
• Foster collaboration between manufacturing, commercial and corporate functions.

Candidate Profile:

The ideal candidate should have:

• 17+ years of overall experience in manufacturing / plant operations.
• Engineering degree in Mechanical, Production or Metallurgical Engineering.
• Strong experience in plant operations leadership, preferably within foundry, metal casting, machining, engineering, automotive or other high-capacity industrial manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated experience managing large-scale manufacturing plants and cross-functional teams.
• Proven exposure to greenfield projects, plant commissioning and capacity expansion.
• Strong understanding of foundry / casting and machine-shop operations.
• Experience managing plant budgets, P&L, CAPEX, cost optimization and ROI.
• Strong knowledge of maintenance, quality, Lean Manufacturing, EHS and statutory compliance.
• Ability to work closely with senior management and translate business objectives into measurable plant-level results.
• Strong commercial orientation with the ability to balance production, quality, cost, delivery, people and profitability.

Key Performance Measures:

• The Plant Head will be expected to drive measurable improvement in: Production - Capacity Utilization - OEE - Quality - Yield - Cost - Delivery - Maintenance Reliability - CAPEX - P&L - EBITDA/ROI - Customer Satisfaction - People Productivity.

Ideal Background:

• Candidates currently working as Plant Head, Unit Head, Factory Head, Manufacturing Head, Operations Head, Site Head or Senior Plant Operations Leader with substantial exposure to foundry / metal casting / machining and high-capacity industrial manufacturing operations would be considered.