The Overview

This employer has been building industrial gearboxes in Amarillo, Texas for over a century. It now sits inside a large, Midwest-headquartered holding company made up of roughly 150 manufacturing businesses, which is in turn owned by a well-known conglomerate. Operationally, the footprint includes an OEM plant plus aftermarket work in Amarillo, a separate aftermarket site in the New Orleans area, a wind-machine operation in central California, and internationally run entities that are managed elsewhere. What you'd own here is a multi-site controller position across the domestic units.

The Role

As Plant Controller you'll run the entire finance function for the domestic units — general ledger accuracy, GAAP reporting, cost accounting, inventory controls, internal controls, capex analysis, fixed assets, working capital, and financial planning. The pressing operational item on day one is the costing side of a live BOM and routing overhaul: production and engineering are modernizing long-standing BOMs on a very mature product line, and you'll work hand-in-hand with them to make sure the costing of the revised BOMs and routings lands correctly as it flows through the system. From there, you'll drive the month, quarter, and year-end close, annual cost rolls, budget and forecast cycles, and KPI reporting to the operations leaders.

In Our Words

The reason we're searching: the individual who built this controller role over five years was just elevated to Director of Finance — which says something real about the upward path here. Whoever steps in isn't walking into a mess; they're taking over a solid, stable operation with genuine room to tighten up cost processes and, for the right person, a credible shot at eventually moving into a director seat somewhere within the larger corporate network. The hiring manager is upfront about that succession thinking. That kind of candor is uncommon, and it deserves attention.

Now the real talk: Amarillo isn't a big industrial center, and this position is fully on-site. The ideal candidate is either already in the Panhandle or truly willing to relocate to a mid-sized Texas town with an affordable cost of living, solid schools, and an employer whose people stick around an average of 15 years. That kind of tenure doesn't happen by chance — it says a lot about how this company treats its workforce.

The Hiring Manager

The Director of Finance stepped into that role late last year after five years running this same group of companies as controller. She's spent a decade with the business overall. She's currently the in-house authority on the ERP system — a hat she's keen to pass along — and she carries deep knowledge of how corporate reporting works across the parent network. She's technically demanding, so expect a real technical interview round with her, but she cares just as much about finding someone with the leadership presence and communication ability to partner across GMs and plant presidents. She's honest that hiring locally in Amarillo is tough, which is exactly why she's running a proper search: she'd rather fund a move than compromise.

Your Team

You'll have four direct reports and six people total: three senior accountants, one junior accountant, and two accounting clerks handling AP/AR/payroll who roll up through a couple of the senior accountants.

The Culture

This is a place people don't leave. You'll find several generations working side by side, including one person in their 58th year aiming to reach 60. Turnover is low, transparency is high, and the hiring manager describes it as a "small-town feel" nested inside a global corporation. At the enterprise level, the parent company invests heavily in succession — yearly talent reviews, internal moves across its roughly 150 businesses, and genuine development spend. Inside the plant, the vibe is relaxed but with a strong work ethic and family-first values. For this role, they want someone who can push back constructively, hold operations teams to financial discipline, and handle healthy conflict without backing down.

Systems & ERP

The ERP across every business unit is a niche platform purpose-built for discrete and industrial manufacturing — not something you'll hear about outside that world. The hiring manager treats direct experience with it as an almost automatic leg up; otherwise, general ERP fluency in a manufacturing setting will do. Corporate consolidation and reporting rolls up through a modern financial-close platform, and familiarity there is a nice secondary plus. Advanced Excel is a must.

Travel & Remote

This is an on-site job in Amarillo, TX. Once you're up and running, plan on roughly two trips a quarter — one to the New Orleans-area aftermarket site and one to the California operation — plus the occasional trip to the parent company's Midwest corporate office for budgeting or training. The overseas locations (a China operation and a Mexico JV) stay with the Director of Finance and fall outside this role.

The Location

Amarillo, Texas. The hiring manager keeps it real: it's not a bucket-list city, but it delivers a low cost of living, good schools, and a safe, growing community with a genuine music and arts scene. For anyone weighing a move, the company will fly finalists out for an in-person visit to tour the plant, meet the team, and get a feel for the city before making a call.