VP of Operations — Kellex Corp
Location: Valdese, NC (on-site with plant-floor presence)
About Kellex
Kellex is celebrating 31 years as a leading designer and manufacturer of commercial upholstered furniture, serving hospitality, timeshare, and senior-living customers with short lead times, high customization, and dependable quality. We combine craftsmanship with disciplined operations and deep customer relationships.
Role Summary
The VP of Operations owns end-to-end post-sales performance across manufacturing, customer service, quality, delivery, cost, and people. This leader must have experience in upholstered furniture manufacturing, product costing, and sufficient accounting fluency to partner closely with Finance. The ideal candidate is a hands-on builder of collaborative, accountable teams who can flex processes to meet customer-specific requirements without sacrificing margin or control.
Key Responsibilities
- Operations Leadership
- Lead manufacturing operations – two manufacturing plants.
- Align demand, capacity, labor planning, and inventory to achieve on-time delivery.
- Adapt the factories to product changes.
- Apply creative production concepts to maximize throughput in each facility.
- Help us to say “Yes” more often when creative sales or product opportunities are presented.
- Costing & Margin
- Own standard costs/BOMs/routings; validate labor and material standards; close gaps to standard.
- Partner with Finance on variance analysis (price or cost variance, labor/overhead absorption, scrap/rework) and key metrics; implement corrective actions.
- Support pricing/quote reviews to protect margins.
- Customer Requirements & Customization
- Create the best product development department within the industry.
- High level of product development capability
- Sense of urgency and limited reworks
- Ability to flex capacity based on demand
- Excellent communication and documentation
- Quality & Continuous Improvement
- Proactive focus on quality to prevent issues.
- Reduce defects, rework, and field repairs; strengthen supplier quality and incoming inspection.
- Supply Chain & Materials
- Optimize sourcing (frames, foam, component parts); manage inventory turns, safety stock, and lead time risk.
- Improve inventory accuracy, cycle counts, and material yield (especially fabric).
People & Culture
- Build a performance culture with clear goals, coaching, recognition, and accountability.
- Develop supervisors and managers; workforce planning, skills matrices, and cross-training.
- Champion safety (zero recordables), housekeeping, and respectful teamwork.
- Systems & Data
- Leverage ERP, AI, and dashboards for real-time visibility; metrics, backflushing, and labor reporting.
- Define and publish weekly scorecards and monthly ops reviews.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years in upholstered furniture or closely related manufacturing; multi-area plant leadership strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated product costing expertise (BOMs, routings, labor/overhead rates, variance analysis).
- Working knowledge of accounting (absorption, standard cost updates, inventory valuation, month-end close support).
- Proven track record creating collaborative, accountable teams and improving KPIs through Lean deployment.
- Strong customer and product orientation with experience adapting processes to meet program- or brand-specific requirements.
- Must be able to lead the company in developing the best product development department in the industry while keeping costs within reasonable limits.
- Have an entrepreneurial spirit and passion for business.
Preferred
- Experience with multi-plant networks, outsourcing, and short-lead custom manufacturing.
- Knowledge of hospitality/senior living industry and standards.
Core Competencies
- Builder/coach mindset; clear communicator on the floor and in the boardroom.
- Data-driven problem solving; bias for action.
- Negotiates trade-offs among speed, customization, and cost while protecting margins.
- High integrity; insists on safety and quality.
KPIs You Will Own
- Delivery: On-Time In-Full (OTIF) ≥ 95%; lead-time reduction.
- Quality: First-pass yield; warranty/field returns; rework rate.
- Cost: Labor efficiency vs. standard; material yield (fabric/foam); scrap %; overhead absorption.
- Inventory & Flow: Turns, schedule adherence, changeover time.
- People: Retention of critical roles. Create a culture of caring and welcome while also valuing performance and maintaining a sense of urgency.
Travel
Minimal to moderate between plants and key suppliers/customers as needed.
