Company Name
Southeastern Container
Search Job Title
Plant Manager
Client Profile
Southeastern Container is a beverage packaging manufacturer producing plastic bottles and related packaging through highly automated manufacturing operations. The company's Bowling Green, Ohio facility operates around the clock with approximately 100 employees and supports major beverage customers through specialized manufacturing processes including injection molding, blow molding, and compression molding.
Role Objectives & Challenges
Southeastern Container engaged SCM Talent Group to conduct a confidential search for a Plant Manager to lead its Bowling Green manufacturing operation.
Unlike many plant leadership searches, the mandate was not centered on correcting significant production problems or turning around an underperforming facility. The plant had an established, experienced workforce and stable operations. Instead, the company needed a leader who could maintain strong operational performance while bringing the communication, relationship-building, and leadership skills necessary to work effectively across the plant and with key external stakeholders.
The technical requirements further narrowed the candidate pool. Southeastern Container needed a leader with experience in beverage packaging and manufacturing processes directly relevant to the facility, including injection molding, blow molding, and compression molding. General packaging experience alone would not provide the technical familiarity required for the operation.
The resulting profile required a relatively uncommon combination: specific manufacturing process expertise paired with the interpersonal skills to lead an established workforce and manage important business relationships.
Our Approach to Solve the Search
SCM Talent Group developed a concentrated regional sourcing strategy, beginning in the local Ohio market and expanding throughout the broader industrial corridor surrounding Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Rather than broadly targeting plant managers across the packaging industry, the search focused on manufacturing leaders with direct experience in the processes used to produce beverage containers. This allowed SCM Talent Group to distinguish candidates with relevant molding and preform experience from executives whose backgrounds were in other forms of packaging manufacturing.
Leadership style was evaluated alongside technical qualifications. Because the incoming Plant Manager would inherit an experienced team and a functioning operation, the search emphasized candidates capable of building credibility, communicating effectively across organizational levels, and maintaining productive relationships with important stakeholders.
SCM Talent Group worked closely with Southeastern Container's HR and operations leadership throughout the search. The client elected to move candidates individually through an extensive interview process that included onsite interaction with the organization, allowing the team to evaluate not only each candidate's manufacturing expertise but also how effectively they engaged with employees in the plant environment.
The Hire & Results
SCM Talent Group presented a highly targeted group of candidates, with three candidates advancing to onsite interviews. All three were located within the region, eliminating the need for relocation.
The first finalist emerged as a strong potential hire but ultimately accepted another opportunity. After continuing the search and evaluating additional candidates, Southeastern Container selected a Plant Manager who combined the specialized manufacturing background required for the facility with the communication and leadership capabilities the organization had prioritized.
The search was completed in approximately two and a half months, from kickoff through placement.
The successful placement provided Southeastern Container with an experienced manufacturing leader equipped to maintain the plant's operational performance, lead a well-established workforce, and strengthen the relationships critical to the facility's continued success.
