Interims-Werksleiter, Werksverlagerung und Turnaround, USA

Über unseren Kunden:

Our client is a global Tier-1 automotive supplier, internationally recognised for advanced engineered components. Operating at 10+ locations worldwide with annual turnover of €1bn+, the group partners with industry leaders such as Daimler, Audi, Volkswagen and Tesla. Its US plant is a small to mid-sized site within a wider Americas manufacturing network.

Following a strategic review, the group is relocating production from the USA to its lower-cost sites in Latin America over 12 to 18 months. Tariffs and cost pressure make this a high-stakes period: the US plant must keep delivering to demanding OEM customers while its programmes, tooling and know-how move across borders. A decisive Interim Plant Manager with factory relocation, turnaround and crisis-management experience is now required to hold the plant steady and lead the transfer.

Weitere Einzelheiten zum Auftrag werden qualifizierten Interimsmanagern im Rahmen einer unterzeichneten Geheimhaltungsvereinbarung mitgeteilt.

Beschreibung des Projekts:

An Interim Plant Manager in a factory relocation runs the plant day to day while transferring programmes, tooling and know-how to receiving sites, typically over 12 to 18 months. This assignment sits between the USA and Latin America and needs the calm, fast decision-making of a crisis manager and the discipline of a relocation specialist. CE Interim, a leader in cross-cultural executive interim management, is exclusively managing this transformation.

• Interim Plant Manager with full site leadership (production, quality, logistics, maintenance and site HR), reporting to a senior regional executive of the group
• Crisis-mode stabilisation: restore delivery, quality and cost control in the first weeks, including premium freight and quality-related costs
• Factory relocation: own the plant-level transfer plan covering programme sequencing, customer approvals, tooling and equipment moves, inventory and safety stock
• Lead the handover to the receiving plants in Latin America, with structured knowledge transfer and named owners on both sides
• Bridge US and Latin American ways of working: align sending and receiving teams on accountability, pace and communication
• Protect OEM customer confidence and retain key people through the transition
• First 3 to 6 months: stabilise the site, agree the relocation roadmap and start the first programme moves

Erwartete Ergebnisse:

Success will be judged on a stable plant and a factory relocation completed on schedule, without damage to customer relationships.

• Delivery, quality and safety held or improved against the baseline set in the first weeks, with premium freight and quality-related costs visibly reduced
• Relocation roadmap agreed early, with programmes moved to plan and customer approvals secured
• No avoidable line-down events or loss of customer confidence during the transition
• Knowledge transfer documented and accepted by the receiving sites in Latin America
• A working relationship between the US plant and the receiving teams with clear accountability on both sides
• Key talent retained until planned release, with a compliant and orderly workforce transition
• Assignment completed within 12 to 18 months, or sooner where customer approvals allow

Interim Manager Erforderliche Qualifikationen:

A seasoned operations leader, typically a plant manager or operations director, who stays calm under pressure and decides quickly.

• 15+ years in manufacturing operations, with plant leadership responsibility in automotive supply or a comparable quality-critical, high-volume sector
• Has led a factory relocation or consolidation across borders, ideally between the USA and Latin America
• Turnaround and crisis-management instincts: calm, fast and decisive when delivery, quality or customer confidence is at risk
• Strategic thinker who converts plans into execution, visible on the shop floor and hands on
• Fluent in customer approval and quality processes such as PPAP and customer audits
• Process knowledge of the products is helpful but secondary to relocation and execution experience
• Bridges US and Latin American ways of working with ease, adapting pace, accountability and communication style to each side
• Credible with senior leadership across regions and able to move decisions forward quickly
• Comfortable as an interim: credible from week one, focused on results rather than politics, and clear about when to hand over

CE Interim is a leader in cross-cultural executive interim management, connecting senior Interim Managers with leadership teams across the USA, Latin America and Europe.

Erforderliche Berufserfahrung:

Please provide specific examples of assignments you have personally led, covering:

• The factory relocation or consolidation: scope, number of programmes, sites and countries involved, and timeline
• A turnaround or crisis you stabilised: starting position, actions taken and measurable results
• How you led across regions (USA and Latin America, or comparable) and aligned teams on accountability and pace
• How you secured customer approvals and protected delivery during the move
• Team size, how you retained key people and how you ran knowledge transfer
• Financial impact: cost, freight, quality and service-level outcomes
• How the assignment concluded and what you handed over

Priority will go to Interim Managers who have completed an end-to-end factory relocation between regions in automotive or a comparable high-volume, quality-critical sector.

Wichtige Anforderungen:

• Senior plant manager or operations director experience in automotive supply or a comparable quality-critical manufacturing environment
• Proven delivery of at least one factory, line or programme relocation or consolidation
• Turnaround or crisis-management track record: stabilising a plant under customer or financial pressure
• Proven leadership across the USA and Latin America, or comparable cross-border teams, adapting to different working styles, pace and accountability
• Full-time on-site presence, five days a week, in the United States
• Right to work in the United States, availability to contract on a B2B basis, and immediate or near-immediate availability preferred

Art der Zuweisung:

Interim

Umfang des Interim-Einsatzes:

Factory Relocation and Turnaround

Funktionsbereich des Interim Managers:

Betriebsführung

Standort:

Vereinigte Staaten

Dauer:

12–18 Monate

Anfangsdatum:

Oktober 2026

Why work with CE Interim on a factory relocation between the USA and Latin America??

CE Interim delivers proven executive Interim Managers within 72 hours across borders, cultures and industries. For factory relocations, operational turnarounds and plant crises, we manage the assignment end to end, from stabilising the sending plant to handing over to the receiving sites.

What sets us apart is cross-cultural leadership. CE Interim is a leader in cross-cultural executive interim management: our Interim Managers understand how a US plant and a Latin American plant differ in pace, accountability and communication, and how to bring both onto one plan. The same applies between Europe and the USA. We specialise in high-impact interim management for private equity firms, family offices and global corporations facing moments of transition, including plant transfers, operational turnaround, post-merger integration and crisis.

Every engagement is personally guided by a CE Interim managing partner: former CEOs, CFOs or COOs who have been on your side of the table, steering organisations through high-stakes decisions.

With operational reach across Europe, the USA and the Middle East, we don’t fill roles, we build trust, lead transitions and deliver outcomes. As part of the Valtus Alliance, the world’s largest alliance of Executive Interim Management companies, we ensure seamless international execution through 25+ offices and 80+ senior partners in over 50 countries.

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