Case Study: Swiftly Filling Duravent's Materials Manager Role in Huntsville, AL

Client Profile Duravent is a recognized leader in the venting industry, known for its innovative solutions and high-quality products. With a history spanning several decades, the company specializes in manufacturing venting systems for a wide range of applications, including HVAC, hearth, and industrial markets. Committed to continuous improvement and excellence, Duravent aims to set industry standards through advanced technology and exceptional talent.

Role Objectives & Challenges Duravent is upgrading its Huntsville, Alabama location to become their flagship facility. This strategic initiative requires elevating the talent within the organization to support advanced operations and drive growth. The company reached out to us to assist in recruiting a Materials Manager who could lead their supply chain efforts and optimize materials management.

Key challenges included:

• Talent Elevation: Finding a candidate with the expertise to lead materials management at a flagship facility.
• Industry-Specific Experience: Candidates needed a strong manufacturing background with an emphasis on metal processing to align with Duravent's operational needs.
• Cultural Fit: Identifying individuals who align with Duravent's culture of innovation and excellence.
• Local Market Constraints: Navigating the Huntsville job market to find qualified candidates, including targeting professionals from Polaris and other companies in the area.
• Urgency: Filling the position promptly to keep pace with the facility's upgrade timeline.

Our prior success in filling multiple Engineering Manager and Quality roles at the Huntsville location gave us deep insights into the company's culture, expectations, and the specific skills required for this role.

Our Approach to Solve the Search Leveraging our expertise and knowledge of both Duravent and the local Huntsville market, we implemented a focused search strategy:

• Targeted Recruitment: We recognized that the Polaris facility in Huntsville was experiencing operational challenges, leading to workforce instability. We specifically targeted candidates from Polaris who possessed strong materials management experience and expertise in metal processing.
• Expanded Candidate Pool: In addition to Polaris, we reached out to candidates from other local companies known for their strong manufacturing operations and metal processing capabilities.
• Industry-Specific Focus: Emphasized the need for candidates with a robust background in manufacturing and metal processing to meet the technical demands of the role.
• Extensive Outreach: Contacted over 20 potential candidates with relevant backgrounds, highlighting the opportunity to join a growing and innovative company like Duravent.
• Thorough Screening: Conducted in-depth interviews with five candidates to assess technical competencies, leadership abilities, metal processing experience, and cultural alignment with Duravent.
• Selective Submission: Presented only the top two candidates to Duravent, ensuring they met all the criteria and could make an immediate impact.

Our tailored approach was designed to quickly identify high-caliber candidates who could thrive in Duravent's dynamic environment and contribute to their flagship facility's success.

The Hire & Results Within two weeks, Duravent hired one of the candidates we presented—a highly qualified professional from the struggling Polaris plant in Huntsville. The candidate brought:

• Relevant Experience: Extensive background in materials management within manufacturing environments, specifically with significant experience in metal processing, which is critical for Duravent's operations.
• Local Expertise: Familiarity with the Huntsville manufacturing landscape and existing relationships with local suppliers and stakeholders.
• Leadership Qualities: Proven ability to lead teams, drive change, and implement best practices in materials management.
• Cultural Fit: Alignment with Duravent's values of innovation, quality, and continuous improvement.

The swift placement allowed Duravent to maintain momentum in upgrading their Huntsville facility. The new Materials Manager immediately began contributing to optimizing supply chain operations and enhancing processes related to metal processing, supporting the company's goal of establishing the location as their flagship.

Conclusion

Our successful partnership with Duravent in filling the Materials Manager position underscores our commitment to understanding our clients' unique needs and leveraging our industry expertise to deliver exceptional results. By tapping into our knowledge of the local market and the client's culture, we efficiently connected Duravent with top-tier talent possessing the necessary manufacturing and metal processing experience. This placement not only filled a critical role but also reinforced Duravent's confidence in our ability to support their strategic initiatives. Our ongoing collaboration continues to help Duravent elevate their team and achieve operational excellence at their Huntsville facility.