Our story goes back more than 150 years, to the windy coast where Sweden and Denmark meet.
From our success in Scandinavia, we've grown into the world's leading specialist producer of plant-based oils, employing more than 4000 people all across the globe.
We work with our customers to make the products you love even better. The oils we produce go into making your chocolate extra creamy or putting the crunch into your croissant. And it's not just food - we work across industries to make products that are higher quality, healthier and better for the planet.
Every one of us works towards our shared purpose: Making Better Happen™.
Everything we do is about Making Better Happen together.
Join nearly 4,000 like-minded colleagues globally and build a better future with us.
Build a better future as a Maintenance & Reliability Manager in Louisville, KY
Compensation Range: $126,000 - $140,000
Possible Bonus: 10%
To lead the maintenance and reliability function of the manufacturing plant by ensuring safe, reliable, and cost-effective operation of all equipment and facilities. The role is responsible for maximizing equipment availability and production uptime through preventive and predictive maintenance, effective planning and execution, root-cause analysis, reliability improvement initiatives, and continuous improvement. The manager will develop and lead the maintenance team, optimize maintenance resources and costs, and establish systems that reduce unplanned downtime, improve asset performance, and extend equipment life while maintaining compliance with safety, quality, and regulatory requirements.
Lead and manage all maintenance and reliability activities for plant equipment, machinery, utilities, facilities, and infrastructure.
Develop and execute preventive, predictive, and proactive maintenance programs to maximize equipment reliability, availability, and operating life.
Establish maintenance strategies based on equipment criticality, failure history, risk, and business impact.
Monitor equipment performance and maintenance KPIs, including unplanned downtime, planned vs. unplanned work, PM compliance, MTBF, MTTR, maintenance cost, and equipment availability.
Partner with Production, Engineering, Quality, Safety, and Operations leadership to improve plant performance and eliminate recurring equipment issues.
Lead root-cause analysis (RCA) and failure investigations for significant equipment failures, recurring breakdowns, and chronic losses to improve MTTR and MTBF KPIs.
Develop and implement reliability improvement initiatives, including condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, precision maintenance, and failure prevention.
Ensure maintenance work is properly planned, scheduled, prioritized, executed, and documented through the plant's CMMS/EAM system and establish procedures and systems for PMs and MRO setup.
Manage the maintenance backlog and establish appropriate priorities based on safety, production requirements, equipment criticality, and available resources.
Develop annual maintenance plans, shutdown/turnaround plans, and maintenance budgets; monitor spending and identify cost-reduction opportunities.
Manage maintenance contractors, service providers, and vendors to ensure work is completed safely, effectively, and in accordance with plant requirements.
Ensure adequate availability and control of critical spare parts, maintenance materials, tools, and equipment.
Lead the maintenance team through effective staffing, training, coaching, performance management, and development of technical capabilities.
Establish clear maintenance procedures, standards, work instructions, and equipment care practices.
Ensure compliance with all applicable safety, environmental, regulatory, and company requirements, including safe work practices, lockout/tagout, and permit requirements.
Participate in equipment selection, capital projects, equipment installation, commissioning, and start-up to ensure maintainability and reliability are incorporated into new assets.
Conduct equipment and maintenance assessments to identify reliability risks and opportunities for improvement.
Implement Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Lean Maintenance, or other continuous improvement methodologies as appropriate.
Analyze maintenance data and trends to identify opportunities to reduce failures, downtime, labor costs, energy consumption, and maintenance expenses.
Maintain accurate equipment records, maintenance history, asset information, bills of material, preventive maintenance tasks, and technical documentation.
Ensure maintenance activities are performed in accordance with established quality standards and support plant quality objectives.
Develop and maintain emergency response and equipment recovery plans to minimize the impact of critical failures.
Coordinate planned outages and major maintenance activities with Production and other plant functions to minimize operational disruption.
Identify opportunities to improve equipment design, maintainability, spare parts strategy, and lifecycle cost.
Support continuous improvement projects focused on throughput, OEE, asset utilization, and overall plant performance.
Prepare and present maintenance and reliability performance reports, including trends, risks, action plans, and improvement results, to plant leadership.
Promote a proactive reliability culture focused on preventing failures rather than reacting to breakdowns.
Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by plant or operations leadership.Work with EHSS Site Lead to create world class procedures around Construction Management and High Hazard Work Permitting - embed in site work, for all people working at the facility.
Education/Experience:
Bachelor’s degree preferably in Mechanical/Electrical/Chemical, Manufacturing, or Reliability Engineering degree or related.
7-10+ years of industrial/manufacturing maintenance experience
5-7 years of maintenance supervisory or management experience
Demonstrated success improving equipment uptime, OEE, MTBF, MTTR, and maintenance costs.
Optional certifications: CMRP, CRL, CPE, PMP, and Lean Six Sigma
Technical Knowledge:
Mechanical and electrical systems
Motors, pumps, gearboxes, and pneumatics
PLCs, controls, instrumentation, and automation
CMMS systems (preferably E-Maint)
Refrigeration systems including ammonia and propylene glycol
Root cause analysis (RCA)
Spare parts and inventory management
OSHA, electrical safety, LOTO, and other applicable safety requirements
Leadership and Management:
Ability to lead maintenance and utilities organization and set priorities
Strong communication and conflict resolution skills
Ability to develop technicians and maintenance associates
Budgeting, staffing, contractor management, and capital project experience
Career paths, training and development, e-learning and tuition reimbursement programs offer potential for you to progress your future career
Comprehensive health insurance (medical, dental and vision) starting date of hire
Health Savings Account with AAK annual contribution of $1,000-$1,500
We match 100% of the first 3% you contribute to your 401(k), and 50% of the next 3%
Free Life and Disability insurance
Employee Assistance Program
Supplemental Pet Insurance, Identity Theft Protection and Legal Insurance Plans
Discounts on travel, amusement parks, concerts, movies, and more
Celebrations, events, and activities on site and supporting our communities
Recognition incentives for service and peer to peer recognition
Everything AAK does is about Making Better Happen™. We specialize in plant-based oils that are the value-adding ingredients in many of the products people love to consume. We make these products better tasting, healthier, and more sustainable. At the heart of AAK’s offer is Customer Co-Development, combining our desire to understand what better means for each customer, with the unique flexibility of our production assets, and a deep knowledge of many products and industries, including Chocolate & Confectionery, Bakery, Dairy, Plant-based Foods, Special Nutrition, Foodservice and Personal Care. Our 4,000 employees support our close collaboration with customers through 25 regional sales offices, 15 dedicated Customer Innovation Centers, and with the support of more than 20 production facilities. Listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and with our headquarters in Malmö, Sweden, AAK has been Making Better Happen™ for more than 150 years.
AAK prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, religion, veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law in any aspect of the access to, admission, or treatment of students in its programs and activities, or in employment and application for employment.
Everything AAK does is about Making Better Happen™. We specialize in plant-based oils and fats, the value-adding ingredients in many products people love to consume. We make these products better tasting, healthier, and more sustainable.
At the heart of AAK’s offer is customer co-development, combining our desire to understand what Making Better Happen™ means for each customer with the unique flexibility of our production assets and deep knowledge of products and industries, including Chocolate & Confectionery, Bakery, Dairy, Plant-based Foods, Special Nutrition, Foodservice, and Personal Care.
Our 4,100 employees support our close collaboration with customers through
25 regional sales offices, 16 dedicated Customer Innovation Centers, and with the support of more than 20 production facilities. Listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, AAK has been Making Better Happen™ for 150 years.
