Purchasing and Materials Lead

Sutphen Corporation is the oldest continuously family-owned and operated fire truck manufacturer in the United States of America.

With a mission to build the safest, most reliable fire trucks in the world, Sutphen has manufactured emergency fire apparatus for fire departments all over the country for more than 133 years.

Sutphen is seeking a technical specialist to join our growing team in Urbana, Ohio.

In this role, you will Identify, investigate, and resolve user/owner problems, manage field support calls, chat, email, and/or other communication from customers and service technicians with inquiries regarding their fire truck. This position works closely with many aspects of the organization including technical support, operations, outside vendors, and our customers to offer quality service for our fire apparatus.

Why Join Team Sutphen?

• Safety is our priority
• Family-owned and operated
• First shift operation 
• High-quality and extremely affordable benefit packages
• A collaborative and challenging environment fostering high engagement and retention
• We have fun building the highest quality product that saves lives and property

This is a leadership position that requires supervisory skills, exceptional organizational abilities & the capability to effectively prioritize many tasks.  Educates, trains & manages the Purchasing & Shipping/Receiving teams at the Chassis Division.   Responsible for the timely procurement of material & maintenance of inventory balances.   

• Coordinate purchasing activities with user departments to maintain optimum inventory & purchase levels.
• Collaborate with peers to establish inventory safety stock levels, reorder amounts, & lead times for all raw materials & finished goods.
• Mentor & develop the team toward individual & departmental success.
• Work directly with Inventory Control to coordinate the training, planning & execution of system adjustments to physical inventories.
• Communicate with BOM personnel to ensure accurate information is available as required to purchase assigned commodities.
• Sourcing & Negotiating best pricing – Chassis parts & material requirements.
• Provides technical expertise for problem resolution.  Liaisons with appropriate departments such as Production, Engineering Quality & Sales to determine root cause & corrective actions.
• Interface with buyers & BOM personnel to correct inventory errors.  Improve accuracy of the inventory & Kanban systems.
• Supports manufacturing material moves as required.
• Maintain a neat, organized & professional work environment.
• Operate & conduct business activities with safety first.
• Accountable to deadlines.
• Support a positive work atmosphere through professional & effective communication with co-workers, customers, business partners & management.