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Decatur Plant Manager
Decatur, IL, USA
USD 197,843.2-247,304 / year
Posted on Jul 17, 2026
Decatur Plant Manager | Primient
About Primient
Primient is a century old company with an entrepreneurial spirit. We are a leading producer of food and industrial ingredients made from plant-based, renewable sources. We deliver value through deep technical, commercial, and operational excellence that is backed by our long-standing corn wet milling heritage. Wherever we are in the process, from field to customer, our priorities are focused on ensuring we produce the safest, highest quality products through practices that uphold both our responsibility and commitments to the challenge and drive for excellence, our people and our planet. We are a privately held company with locations across the US, Mexico, Poland, and Brazil. We’re investing in our plants and people to unlock our potential in the industrial and food sectors. Guided by our values of Safety, Excellence, Integrity, and Growth, we’re focused on growing our business, our reputation, and the career of every teammate.
About the Role
The Plant Manager for our Decatur, IL Corn Wet Milling Plant provides the overall strategic leadership and expertise to ensure success in operating the plant safely and efficiently while being a good steward of the environment and generating quality finished goods that exceed customer expectations.
The Plant Manager has overall responsibility for the site to ensure standards for Safety, Environmental, Health, Quality, Food Quality, Security, Cost, and Plant profitability are continually met or exceeded through direct and indirect actions by the local Plant Leadership Staff and the larger Primient network.
The Plant Manager will oversee the entire manufacturing process across the site, from raw materials to shipping finished products to customers. The role is accountable for implementing best practices to improve the plant performance including financial performance and capital implementation.
Key Responsibilities: Plant Manager
Safety and Environmental
Responsible for growing a world class zero harm safety and environmental culture ensuring continuous improvement through dialogue, actions and implementation of successful initiatives.
Ensure full compliance with internal and external regulations, policies, initiatives and procedures.
Ensure all environmental permit limits are being met. Report deviations and expedite any repairs needed to return systems to permit limits. Strong collaboration across the operations network environmental counsels.
Team
Partner with Human Resources to execute workforce and talent strategies that strengthen recruitment, retention, employee engagement, leadership development, and inclusion across the site.
Direct change management through proper communication, dissemination of critical information and overall education of the team on critical plant information.
Inspire a culture aligned with our Primient core values: safety, integrity, excellence and growth as well as our guiding principles.
Serve as the senior site leader in fostering a positive and constructive labor-management relationship while maintaining compliance with the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Partner with HR and Legal to lead CBA negotiations.
Quality
Drive delivery of high-quality finished products for the site.
Ensure compliance with all Food Safety regulatory requirements.
Reduce waste and off specification product and achieve industry best practice performance.
Productivity
Deliver production plans aligned to commercial demand.
Work with continuous improvement team to enhance the Primient Operating Model, and develop a robust pipeline of improvement projects to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
Manage operating costs and productivity improvement initiatives.
Partner with Maintenance team to improve reliability and uptime of plant assets and achieve industry best practice performance.
Partner with Finance on budgeting, forecasting, and cost optimization.
Lead the execution of the capital expenditure plan to improve plant safety, reliability, operational efficiency, and cost structure.
Cost
The Plant Director is accountable for cost performance across areas including CapEx, Fixed & Variable performance. This leader will have a strong financial acumen, with proven experience managing a plant P&L and a mindset for delivering year on year EBIDTA related growth. Key areas within this remit include strategy and KPI ownership centered around:
Annual Operating Plan (AOP): Author the complete plant budget, forecasting labor, material, utility, and maintenance spending for the fiscal year.
Variance Recovery: Conduct weekly and monthly reviews of budget variances (Actual vs. Budgeted cost) and execute immediate recovery plans for overages.
Long-Range Asset Planning: Architect a 3-to-5-year capital lifecycle plan to manage equipment obsolescence, capacity expansion, and technological upgrades.
Loss Elimination: Lead formal Root Cause Failure Analysis for any chronic production or machine issue failures.
Yield Performance: The Plant Manufacturing Director must treat yield optimization as a core financial and technical strategy. A strong understanding of the impacts and countermeasures to control and optimize yield is essential.
Leadership
Effectively communicate and collaborate with all levels and categories of stakeholders both internal and external.
Maintain sharp focus on customers and other appropriate external parties.
Respectfully lead and inspire people while overseeing plant operations.
Be an empowered leader and act decisively.
Energize the site with a positive and team-based approach.
Champion collaboration as a best practice sharing within the local team and larger Primient network.
About You
Required and Preferred Education/Certification
Bachelor's of Science in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering, or related field
Required and Preferred Work Experience
- 10+ years of extensive progressive chemical process and plant experience and 5+ years of manufacturing leadership experience
Excellent leadership and team building skills; able to mentor, lead, drive accountability, and delegate effectively.
Excellent interpersonal skills and communication with all levels of the organization
Significant experience leading large, unionized manufacturing operations.
Experience in planning, design, procurement, labor management, production scheduling, quality control, shipping, and finance.
Able to analyze problems and strategize for better solutions using a continuous improvement technically curious mindset
Solid conflict-resolution and decision-making abilities
Able to multitask, prioritize, and manage time efficiently
In-depth knowledge of industry and its place on the market
Total Rewards
The annual pay range estimated for this position is $197,843.20 - $247,304.00 and is bonus eligible.Please note that while this range reflects the full spectrum of compensation available for this role, individual compensation will be determined based on several factors including your experience, skills, and alignment with the role's responsibilities. During the interview process there will be an opportunity to discuss how your background fits into the pay range.
We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package that our U.S. colleagues and their families can count on, which includes:
Competitive Pay
Multiple Healthcare plan choices
Dental and vision insurance
A 401(k) plan with company and matching contributions
Short- and Long-Term Disability
Life, AD&D, and Voluntary Insurance plans
Paid holidays & vacation
Floating days off
Parental leave for new parents
Employee resource groups
Learning & development programs
Fun culture where you have an opportunity in shaping our future
Career Path & Culture
Primient is committed to a workplace that is all in – ensuring everyone has the opportunity to develop and shape a career that matters in an open culture which embraces equity, diversity and belonging. We challenge old ways of thinking; and encourage employee voices to be a guiding force for ongoing learning.
Primient supports a culture of inclusion that respects individual strengths, views, and experiences. We believe our differences make better decisions, drive excellence, and deliver better business results. Primient employees experience autonomy and accountability in their role. Here, employees control their destiny as there is opportunity for career growth and pathways outside the norm.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
We are believers in the power of difference. We strive to represent the communities in which we operate and to provide an inclusive, welcoming environment for all. We want Primient to be a place where every employee feels they belong and knows they are seen, heard, valued and safe to speak up. Our aspiration is to unlock the full potential in diverse perspectives, while offering everyone an equal chance to grow,
Primient is an equal opportunity employer, committed to the strength of an inclusive workforce.
California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA")
The Company is committed to complying with the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and all data privacy and laws in the jurisdictions in which it recruits and hires employees. We collect the following categories of personal information for the purpose of hiring the best qualified applicants and to comply with applicable employment laws: Name and contact information; Job preference and work availability; Social Security Number and/or other identification information; Education and qualifications; Employment history and experience; Military service; Reference and background check information, including relevant criminal history and credit history; Social media information; Pre-employment test results; Post-offer medical examination information and results, including drug test results; Voluntary self-disclosure information regarding minority, veteran, and disability status; and Information provided by you during the hiring process.