Transforming Underperforming Manufacturing Operations
Plant Turnaround Leadership
Walking into a struggling manufacturing plant feels different. The energy is off. The equipment runs rough. People keep their heads down. Safety incidents pile up, quality complaints increase, and production numbers slide month after month. Most executives see a mess. Jeffrey Naegle sees a turnaround opportunity.
Plant turnaround leadership isn’t about quick fixes or motivational speeches. It’s about systematic change: diagnosing root causes, building leadership capability, fixing broken processes, and creating a culture where people want to do good work. Over 15 years managing food manufacturing facilities across the Pacific Northwest and beyond, Jeffrey has turned around multiple underperforming plants — each time using the same disciplined approach that addresses safety first, then quality, then productivity.
McCain Foods Othello: Export Facility Transformation
The McCain Foods french fry plant in Othello, Washington needed help. The export facility was running, but not well. With 650 full-time employees and 12 direct reports in a non-union environment, the operation had potential that wasn’t showing up in the numbers.
Jeffrey’s plant turnaround leadership approach started with the fundamentals. He established equipment centerlines — baseline standards for how machines should perform under normal conditions. Most plants skip this step and wonder why performance varies. With clear centerlines in place, operators could identify problems immediately when equipment drifted off standard.
OEE increased by 5% within months. That might not sound dramatic, but in a large-scale food manufacturing operation, 5% OEE improvement translates to millions of pounds of additional production capacity. The gain came from reducing downtime through CID (Continuous Improvement Daily) practices. Instead of waiting for supervisors or maintenance to solve problems, operators on the shop floor learned to identify and address small issues before they became line stoppages.
First-time quality improved through in-process checks. Jeffrey built quality into the process rather than inspecting it in at the end. Catching defects early — before they reach the packaging line or the customer — saves money and protects the brand. The capital plan he developed replaced outdated equipment that was holding back performance, positioning the facility for sustained improvement beyond his tenure.
Kraft Heinz Fremont: Ketchup Plant Turnaround
The Heinz ketchup facility in Fremont, Ohio was struggling when Jeffrey arrived as plant manager in July 2022. Managing 340 full-time employees in a union environment, he inherited low OEE, quality issues, and a culture that had lost its edge.
This plant turnaround leadership challenge required union partnership and workforce engagement. Jeffrey established equipment centerlines and introduced pitstops — scheduled maintenance windows that prevented unplanned downtime. Performance boards went up on the shop floor, giving operators real-time visibility into line performance. When people can see the score, they care about improving it.
OEE climbed as downtime dropped. The quality improvement plan Jeffrey developed reduced packaging complaints, foreign material complaints, and overall quality issues. He didn’t blame the workforce for quality problems — he gave them the tools and systems to build quality into their work.
The capital plan addressed aging equipment that limited throughput. Jeffrey identified bottlenecks, justified investments with solid business cases, and managed implementation while maintaining daily production. Turnaround leadership means fixing today’s problems while preparing for tomorrow’s challenges.
Kraft Heinz Ontario: Ore-Ida Scale Turnaround
The Ore-Ida facility in Ontario, Oregon represented Jeffrey’s largest plant turnaround leadership challenge: 720 full-time employees in a union environment, multiple production lines, and a $30 million capital investment project running simultaneously with operational improvements.
Jeffrey introduced Leader Standard Works throughout the facility, from operator level to plant manager. LSW creates predictable routines that free managers from firefighting so they can focus on improvement. Everyone knew their daily, weekly, and monthly responsibilities. Accountability became clear.
Production performance increased as changeover times dropped by 50%. Jeffrey didn’t just tell operators to work faster — he developed clear procedures for changeovers and trained supervisors to coach execution. Reducing changeover time from four hours to two hours adds meaningful production capacity without spending capital.
Semi-finished goods inventory fell by more than half through better production planning and clear rules for adding back out-of-specification product. Frozen waste decreased 60% through process improvements and tighter operational control. Every pound of waste saved drops straight to the bottom line.
Packaging equipment OEE improved through daily Gemba walks and restoring equipment to base condition. Jeffrey walked the floor every day, looking at machines with operators and maintenance techs. They cleaned equipment, fixed small problems, and established standards. That’s how you improve OEE — one machine, one shift, one day at a time.
Pacific Coast Producers: Multi-Site Regional Turnaround
Managing two food manufacturing facilities simultaneously — Pacific Coast Producers and Oregon Cherry Growers in The Dalles, Oregon — Jeffrey demonstrated plant turnaround leadership at a regional scale. With 275 full-time employees across both union sites and 10 direct reports, he steered the operations to their most profitable year in company history.
The turnaround came through leadership development and systematic improvement. Jeffrey trained the management team in Lean, Six Sigma, and TPM as the foundation for continuous improvement. He didn’t just hand them tools — he mentored them through applications, building capability that outlasted his tenure.
Production throughput increased through better scheduling, improved maintenance, and enhanced operator training. Inventory control improved through clearer processes and better communication between production and warehousing. The profitability gains came from operational fundamentals executed well across both facilities.
Idahoan Rupert: Safety-First Turnaround
At the Idahoan potato processing facility in Rupert, Idaho, Jeffrey’s plant turnaround leadership delivered the most visible safety win of his career: two consecutive years with no OSHA recordable injuries in a food manufacturing environment where knife work, hot equipment, and moving machinery create constant risk.
Managing 85 employees and 10 direct reports, Jeffrey developed a safety plan that changed culture, not just compliance. Safety became the top priority — not as a slogan painted on the wall, but as a daily practice where everyone looked out for each other. He designed training programs that gave people the knowledge to work safely. He implemented coaching systems that caught at-risk behaviors before they caused injuries.
The quality improvement plan reduced complaints systematically through root cause analysis and corrective action follow-through. Jeffrey served as Root Cause Analyst for complaint investigation, using structured problem-solving to eliminate recurring issues rather than just treating symptoms.
The facility generated $90 million in annual revenue with 85 people because Jeffrey optimized procedures, improved training, and developed staff capabilities. Small teams can deliver big results when leadership removes barriers and provides clear direction.
The Pattern Behind Plant Turnaround Leadership
Every successful turnaround follows a pattern. Safety first — always. Get people home safely and everything else becomes possible. Then quality, because you can’t build a sustainable operation on defective product. Then productivity, through better processes and engaged people.
Jeffrey’s approach combines technical expertise with leadership development. He establishes centerlines, implements performance boards, and uses data to drive decisions. He also trains supervisors, mentors managers, and builds cultures where continuous improvement becomes standard practice.
Plant turnaround leadership requires patience. Manufacturing facilities don’t transform in weeks or months. They transform through consistent leadership over quarters and years. The McCain Foods turnaround took months to show measurable OEE improvement. The Kraft Heinz Fremont turnaround built momentum through sustained focus on fundamentals. The Ore-Ida transformation happened alongside a $30 million capital project that required coordination and discipline.
The Results Speak Clearly:
5%+
OEE Increases
0
OSHA Recordables (2 Years)
50%
Quality Complaint Reduction
50%+
Inventory Reduction
60%
Waste Reduction
50%
Changeover Time Cut
But numbers only tell part of the story. The real turnaround is cultural: when operators start solving problems instead of waiting for supervisors. When supervisors start coaching instead of directing. When managers start developing people instead of firefighting. When the entire organization believes that better performance is possible and knows how to make it happen.
That’s plant turnaround leadership. That’s what Jeffrey Naegle delivers.