Factory Manager

Excellence. Pride. Integrity. Compassion. Trust. Are you ready to plant your career in a place where words like these serve as the foundation for doing business every day? At Michigan Sugar, our purpose is Making Life Sweeter, and our mission is Creating Growth and Opportunity.

Michigan Sugar Company has an immediate full-time opportunity for a Factory Manager, located at the Croswell Factory, 159 S. Howard Ave., Croswell MI 48422.

Job Summary

The Factory Manager is responsible for the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of the factory, overseeing daily production, maintenance, and compliance while fostering a high-performing, people-focused culture. This role balances operational leadership with strategic planning-ensuring product quality, regulatory compliance, asset management, financial performance, and workforce development to support the long-term success of the cooperative.

Primary Responsibilities

Ensure compliance with OSHA, USDA, SQF, and environmental regulations while promoting a culture of safety.

Foster a culture of trust, accountability, and teamwork across all levels of the factory.

Lead all aspects of factory operations including sugar beet processing, juice and extract processing, molasses desugarization, co-products, and wastewater treatment.

Oversee maintenance, reliability, repair, and capital planning to maximize efficiency and minimize downtime.

Manage budgets, control costs, and support financial performance of the plant.

Drive continuous improvement initiatives, empowering employees to identify and implement process enhancements.

Collaborate with quality, customer service, and other departments to maintain product standards and resolve issues.

Build and develop a strong workforce through recruitment, training, performance management, and succession planning.

Mentor supervisors and managers, strengthening leadership capability, accountability, and decision-making.

Communicate performance goals, track key metrics, and provide timely reporting to senior management.

Be available to respond to operational emergencies at all times.

Position Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Chemical or Mechanical Engineering (or related technical field) or Business Degree preferred; advanced certifications a plus.

Demonstrated ability to lead teams, develop talent, and drive operational excellence.

Familiarity with environmental and safety regulations, quality control, and financial management.

Skilled in data analysis, problem-solving, and strategic decision-making under pressure.

Proficiency with Microsoft Office and company data systems; experience in a matrix organization preferred.

Strong knowledge of processing technologies, mechanical equipment, and food safety standards.

Experience in sugar processing or other food industry preferred.

Required Training

General factory safety requirements (Right to Know)

Food-related Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)

Factory-related environmental regulations

SQF certification - principles or SQF

Knowledge of GMP+ standards

Key Competencies

Ability to lead and develop cross-functional teams.

Ability to deliver results working within collective bargaining agreement.

Demonstrated personal leadership and strong conflict resolution skills.

Flexible and able to work in fast paced and varying environments.

Provides model behaviour to demonstrate corporate value.

Leading by demonstrating ethics and integrity, displaying drive and purpose, demonstrated capability to learn, managing self, increasing self-awareness.

NOTE: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by staff assigned to this position. The above statements are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills that may be required. All staff may be required to perform duties outside their normal responsibilities as needed.

Michigan Sugar Company offers competitive salary, opportunity for professional growth, and provides excellent medical insurance 100% company paid. A comprehensive benefits package includes: dental and life insurances, 401k match, paid holidays, vacation, sick leave and more. To learn more visit

Michigan Sugar Company was founded in 1906 when six smaller sugar companies merged their operations. In 2002, Michigan Sugar Company became a grower-owned cooperative and in 2004, it merged with Monitor Sugar Company to form the company that exists today.

Michigan Sugar Company is headquartered in Bay City and has sugarbeet processing facilities in Bay City, Caro, Croswell and Sebewaing, Michigan. Its nearly 900 grower-owners plant and harvest up to 160,000 acres of sugarbeets each year in 20 Michigan counties, as well as Ontario, Canada. Those beets are sliced at the factories and turned into about 1.3 billion pounds of sugar annually.

That sugar is sold to industrial, commercial and retail customers under the Pioneer and Big Chief brands.

Michigan Sugar Company has 930 year-round employees and an additional 1,100 seasonal workers. It is the No. 1 employer in Huron County, the No. 2 employer in Bay and Sanilac counties and the No. 3 employer in Tuscola County. The company's annual payroll is more than $65 million and its annual local economic impact is about $500 million.

Michigan Sugar Company is the third largest of nine sugarbeet processing companies in the United States and Michigan is one of 11 states where sugarbeets are grown in the country.

Michigan Sugar Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer