Own the numbers for a multi-plant food packaging operation — and a seat at the leadership table.
The Overview
Huhtamaki is a $4B global leader in sustainable food packaging — the cartons, cups, and molded fiber you see in every grocery store. Their Coleman, Michigan operation anchors a multi-plant footprint in the upper Midwest, producing high-volume molded fiber packaging for national food brands. They're hiring a Plant Controller to own the finance function across the site: standard costing, plant P&L, and a real partnership with operations.
The Role
This is full-scope plant finance: standard cost maintenance and annual roll-ups, variance analysis you present (not just email), inventory integrity across raw, WIP, and finished goods, month-end close, and the annual operating plan. You'll drive CapEx justification alongside engineering and be the finance voice in daily production meetings. The plant runs SAP, and the BOM structures are deep — this is real product costing, not summary-level reporting.
In Our Words
We've placed with this team before, and here's what stands out: the plant leadership actually uses the numbers. Variance reviews here aren't a formality — when the Controller flags a material usage trend, the production manager walks the line the same day. If you've worked places where finance was a back-office function, this is the opposite. It's a plant where the Controller is a co-pilot.
The Hiring Manager
The Director of Operations Finance came up through cost accounting herself — she's direct, numbers-fluent, and allergic to surface-level answers. What she told us she wants: someone who walks the floor without being asked, who can defend a standard to an operations VP, and who develops their team instead of hoarding the work. She promotes from within; her last two Controllers moved up.
Your Team
Two direct reports: a sharp early-career Cost Accountant who needs a mentor, and a seasoned AP/AR specialist who keeps transactional work off your desk. Dotted-line support from a shared-services center for payroll and tax.
The Culture
Coleman is a small plant by headcount and it feels like it — people know each other, tenure is long, and the leadership team eats lunch in the same break room as the line operators. Decisions are made on the floor, not in a corporate tower.
Systems & ERP
SAP S/4HANA, deployed two years ago and stable. Power BI dashboards for plant KPIs. If you're coming from a different ERP, they'll train — they care about costing fundamentals, not keystrokes.
Travel & Remote
This is an on-site role — the job is on the floor as much as at the desk. Expect roughly 10% travel: quarterly trips to the sister plant and an annual finance summit. We'll be straight with you: if you're looking for hybrid, this isn't the one.
The Benefits
Career development first: Huhtamaki funds CMA certification and has a real track record of promoting plant controllers into multi-site and director roles. Beyond that — strong 401(k) match, full medical from day one, annual bonus at 15% target, and relocation assistance for the right candidate.
The Location
Coleman sits in the heart of mid-Michigan, twenty minutes from Midland — a genuinely affordable place to put down roots. Housing costs that coastal candidates won't believe, four real seasons, lakes in every direction, and one of the best small school districts in the region.
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