Business Unit Manager

Nylok LLC As a part of the global industrial organization Marmon Holdings—which is backed by Berkshire Hathaway— you’ll be doing things that matter, leading at every level, and winning a better way. We’re committed to making a positive impact on the world, providing you with diverse learning and working opportunities, and fostering a culture where everyone’s empowered to be their best. Nylok is seeking a commercially and operationally driven Business Unit Manager to lead the Michigan facility’s next phase of sustainable, profitable growth. This leader will be accountable for business performance, customer development, operational excellence, and building a team capable of profitable sustaining growth. The role requires a hands-on leader who can evaluate the business with a fresh perspective, constructively challenge established practices, and translate opportunities into measurable results. The Business Unit Manager will establish a clear growth strategy and align people, processes, and investments to execute it. The successful candidate will combine strong commercial judgment with practical Lean experience. They will build on the team’s technical knowledge while introducing new capabilities, stronger accountability, and a culture of continuous improvement. Commercial Growth and Market Development · Develop and execute a business growth plan with clear priorities for target customers, applications, revenue, and profitability. · Work with the Business Development team to pursue new business and expand existing accounts through active engagement with automotive fastener manufacturers, OEMs, and other relevant customers. · Work with sales and Nylok Corporate technical teams to translate customer needs into differentiated solutions, compelling proposals, and new program wins. · Establish disciplined opportunity management, including pipeline reviews, quotation follow-up, conversion tracking, and accountability for results. · Evaluate customer and product profitability, pricing, competitive positioning, and lost business to identify opportunities for profitable growth. · Align customer commitments and new business launches with facility capacity, quality requirements, and delivery capabilities. Lean Operations and Continuous Improvement · Work with the plant manager to evaluate the facility’s layout, workflows, scheduling, equipment utilization, and management practices to identify constraints and improvement opportunities. · Apply Lean thinking to improve flow, reduce lead times, eliminate waste, and create capacity for additional business. · Establish practical daily management routines, visual performance measures, standard work, and structured problem-solving. · Engage employees directly in improvement activities and ensure gains are sustained through training, ownership, and follow-up. · Support production, maintenance, and related facility activities to meet safety, quality, delivery, and cost objectives. · Maintain a safe work environment and ensure compliance with applicable requirements and company policies. Change Leadership and Team Development · Evaluate the organization’s capabilities against future business needs and address gaps through coaching, development, recruiting, and performance management. · Respect and capture employees’ accumulated knowledge while encouraging new ideas and challenging practices that limit performance. · Build a culture in which employees identify problems, propose improvements, and take responsibility for customer and business outcomes. · Develop supervisors and future leaders, strengthen cross-training, and establish succession plans for critical roles. · Make timely decisions about roles, processes, and resources needed to improve performance and support growth. Position Qualifications · Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, or a related field, or equivalent education and relevant experience. · Seven to ten years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing or industrial processing. · Demonstrated success growing revenue, winning new customers or programs, and improving profitability. · Strong understanding of the automotive industry and experience developing relationships with industrial customers; fastener or related processing experience preferred. · Proven responsibility for budgets, financial performance, and profit and loss management. · Hands-on experience applying Lean methods with measurable, sustained improvements in productivity, lead time, quality, or capacity. · Demonstrated ability to lead change in an established manufacturing organization and develop its people. · Experience managing production, scheduling, maintenance, and cross-functional teams. Leadership Attributes · Entrepreneurial mindset with strong commercial judgment and a bias toward action. · Willingness to question assumptions, listen to employees and customers, and evaluate alternatives using evidence. · Ability to connect strategic priorities with daily execution. · Direct, respectful communication · Confidence addressing performance gaps. · Strong analytical skills and disciplined follow-through. · Visible leadership on the shop floor and in customer relationships. First Year Success Measures Success will be evaluated against targets, including: · A clear growth plan supported by a qualified pipeline and disciplined commercial execution. · New customer or program wins and profitable expansion of existing accounts. · Improved revenue, operating profitability, and forecast reliability. · Measurable improvements in lead time, on-time delivery, productivity, and available capacity. · Effective daily management and sustained employee participation in Lean improvements. · Stronger leadership capability, clear individual accountability, and development plans for critical roles. · Drive the operation of Michigan facility growth to be part of the growth and long-term success of Nylok Strategic growth Following receipt of a conditional offer of employment, candidates will be required to complete additional job-related screening processes as permitted or required by applicable law . We are an equal opportunity employer, and all applicants will be considered for employment without attention to their membership in any protected class. If you require any reasonable accommodation to complete your application or any part of the recruiting process, please email your request to [email protected], and please be sure to include the title and the location of the position for which you are applying.