Vice President of Manufacturing

Organization Overview

Milbank Manufacturing is a long-established, family-owned company based in Kansas City. It designs and produces electrical solutions that support the movement and control of power, including meter sockets, enclosed controls, commercial enclosures, and related products. The company serves a wide customer base across utility, contractor, residential, commercial, industrial, OEM, infrastructure, and transportation markets, supported by a manufacturing and distribution network focused on dependable delivery and changing customer demands.

Its mission centers on building high-quality electrical products while providing excellent service and value. The culture is guided by honesty, integrity, quality, personal safety, financial discipline, and individual accountability.

Role Summary

This is a senior manufacturing leadership role with significant strategic impact in a family-owned business that is growing and improving its operations. The Vice President of Manufacturing will help define manufacturing direction, strengthen scalable operating systems, and improve performance across safety, quality, delivery, and cost. The job includes leadership of complex fabrication, coating, assembly, inspection, and testing activities for products used in power and infrastructure applications. The successful leader will build organizational capability, standardize how work is done, promote Lean and continuous improvement, and develop future leaders for the plants and production teams.

Position Scope

Based in Kansas City, Missouri, this executive will lead manufacturing operations for electrical metering enclosures, switchgear cabinets, metal control housings, and related industrial metal products. The role is expected to report to the Chief Operating Officer and/or Chief Executive Officer, depending on the final organizational structure. It carries responsibility for performance in safety, quality, delivery, cost, people development, and financial results.

Operations under this leader include sheet metal fabrication, CNC punching and laser cutting, bending, welding, coating, assembly, final inspection, and testing, with adherence to customer specifications and applicable standards.

Ideal Background

The preferred candidate is an experienced manufacturing executive with substantial exposure to metal fabrication, electrical enclosures, metering cabinets, or similar regulated industrial products. The person should be credible at the executive level and respected on the shop floor.

The right leader will use data to drive decisions, act as a practical change agent, and deliver improvements in throughput, scrap reduction, lead time, and quality without weakening safety. Strong financial understanding, team-building capability, and experience developing plant managers, production leaders, technical staff, and skilled trades are essential. Fit with a values-led, family-owned environment is also important, with leadership qualities such as accountability, humility, urgency, and respect.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and execute manufacturing plans that support growth, added capacity, margin goals, and customer commitments.
• Direct production of metal electrical enclosures, metering cabinets, switchgear cabinets, and metal control housings.
• Oversee fabrication, CNC punching and laser cutting, bending, welding, powder or paint coating, assembly, final inspection, and testing.
• Lead Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement efforts to raise throughput, lower scrap, improve labor efficiency, and shorten lead times.
• Build consistent manufacturing methods, standard work, scheduling discipline, material flow, and improved floor layouts across operations.
• Ensure products comply with UL, NEMA, ANSI, IEC, ISO 9001, relevant regulations, and customer specifications; drive root-cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Champion safety and environmental programs to support a compliant, incident-free workplace with accountability at all levels.
• Work with Supply Chain on sourcing and supply continuity for steel, copper, coatings, hardware, and electrical components.
• Manage budgets, capital spending, operating costs, cost reduction programs, productivity initiatives, and margin improvement efforts.
• Lead, coach, and develop plant managers, production leaders, and technical teams while strengthening succession planning, workforce planning, training, and skilled-trade capability.
• Partner with Engineering and Quality on new product introductions, design-for-manufacturability, and customer-driven process or product improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Management, Operations, or a related discipline is required; an MBA, engineering master’s degree, or equivalent advanced education is preferred.
• At least 15 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, including substantial responsibility for plant or multi-site operations.
• At least 7 years in senior leadership roles overseeing metal fabrication, electrical enclosure manufacturing, engineered industrial products, or a similar regulated manufacturing setting.
• Experience with electrical enclosures, metering cabinets, switchgear-related metal products, industrial metal products, or comparable high-mix manufacturing environments.
• Strong working knowledge of UL and NEMA standards, regulated manufacturing, quality systems, and customer specification requirements.
• Proven success leading Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, continuous improvement, waste reduction, productivity improvement, and organizational change.
• Strong financial and commercial understanding, including budget ownership, capital planning, operating expense discipline, and EBITDA or margin improvement.
• Excellent communication skills, executive presence, and the ability to work effectively with senior leaders, plant teams, customers, and suppliers.
• Six Sigma Black Belt or an equivalent certification is preferred.

Success Measures

• Safety outcomes such as TRIR, incident rate, near-miss reporting, and safety engagement.
• On-time delivery, shorter lead times, schedule adherence, and customer responsiveness.
• Manufacturing cost per unit, productivity, labor efficiency, and operating expense control.
• Scrap, rework, first-pass yield, customer quality performance, PPM, returns, and corrective action closure.
• Throughput, cycle time, capacity utilization, working capital discipline, and efficient material flow.
• EBITDA contribution, margin improvement, and successful completion of capital projects and cost-reduction work.
• Strength of the leadership bench, retention, workforce capability, engagement, and succession readiness.

Additional Expectations

The role requires a visible presence in Kansas City and across manufacturing sites, balancing executive planning with regular shop-floor involvement. The leader will participate actively in senior leadership discussions and help guide long-range planning, capital investment decisions, and growth priorities.

They will establish a KPI-based operating rhythm to create clarity, accountability, and rapid issue escalation. Strong collaboration is expected with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Sales, Finance, HR, and EHS. The leader must also reflect Milbank’s values through integrity, personal accountability, financial responsibility, product quality, and an unwavering focus on safety. Travel to other facilities, suppliers, customers, or industry events may be required based on business needs.

Extra Information

This role is being sourced by Cornerstone Executive Search for Milbank Manufacturing.