Maintenance Superintendent - Allendale< SC

Hampton Lumber is a thriving family-owned company aspiring to be North America's preferred source for responsibly-sourced wood solutions. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, we operate nine sawmills in Western Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. We also manage timberland and operate a wholesale and import/export division.  

Our mission is to grow, manufacture, and market renewable wood products and deliver innovative solutions for a more sustainable built environment. At Hampton Lumber, we accomplish this through our own operations as well as those of our affiliates—Trapa Forest Products, Idaho Timber, and RedBuilt. Our tagline, "Find a better way every day," encapsulates our commitment to innovation and improvement across all operations.
 

We are guided by our core values: 

• Safety – Prioritize safety across all operations.
• Integrity & Authenticity – Operate honestly and ethically while preserving our distinctive family-owned brand.
• Responsible Stewardship – Endeavor to balance and maintain economic, social, and environmental values in everything we do.
• Tenacity – Embrace challenges with grit, determination, and a can-do spirit. 
• Continuous Improvement – Strive to enhance our processes, products, and people.
• Customer Satisfaction – Be nimble, responsive, and solutions-oriented.
• Community Engagement – Be a responsive, supportive, and respected member of the community.

With over 80 years in the sawmill business, we are proud to have cultivated the knowledge and experience needed to grow and prosper, even in challenging times.  We always look to the future and invest in our people, new technologies, and continuous improvement processes and techniques. 

The Maintenance Superintendent is responsible for establishing, developing, and leading the maintenance organization for Hampton Lumber’s new state-of-the-art sawmill. This role builds the foundational maintenance systems, hires and trains the maintenance team, oversees mill reliability, and ensures safe, efficient operation of all mechanical, electrical, and automation assets. The Superintendent will play a key role in commissioning, start-up, and ongoing optimization of mill performance.

• Substantial company-paid assistance for Medical and Dental insurance premiums; mental health coverage; cost effective co-pays and deductibles
• 401(k) with 5% annual company contribution and generous company matching contributions vested over three years
• Paid time off, including eight paid holidays
• Participation in the employee bonus program
• Employee wellness program that includes free counseling sessions, financial and legal guidance, and more
• Opportunities for paid training to support career advancement and personal development

Leadership & Team Development

• Build the Maintenance Department from the ground up, including recruiting, onboarding, and developing millwrights, electricians, planners, lubrication techs, and supervisors.
• Create a high-performance culture focused on safety, reliability, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Provide daily leadership, coaching, and performance management for all maintenance personnel.
• Partner with Operations to drive proactive communication, coordinated downtime, and shared production goals.

2. Safety & Compliance

• Ensure all maintenance activities comply with OSHA, NFPA-70E, LOTO, fall protection, and Hampton Lumber safety systems.
• Develop Safe Work Procedures (SWPs), PM safety steps, and other safe work procedures for new equipment.
• Lead root-cause analysis for all maintenance-related incidents and near misses.
• Champion a safety-first culture during commissioning and the whole operation.

3. Reliability & Preventive Maintenance Systems

• Build the mill’s reliability and preventive/predictive maintenance program.
• Develop PMs, PdM routes (vibration, thermography, ultrasound), lubrication standards, and equipment criticality analysis.
• Partner with OEMs (e.g., Comact, other vendors, etc.) to validate system parameters and reliability expectations.
• Implement asset care standards and maintenance best practices across the mill.

4. Planning & Scheduling

• Establish the planning and scheduling process for all maintenance work (PM, PdM, improvements).
• Ensure the planner/scheduler has accurate priorities, job plans, and material requirements.
• Build the weekly maintenance schedule and lead the weekly “Maintenance–Operations Planning Meeting.”
• Manage downtime planning for both scheduled and unscheduled outages.

5. Commissioning & Startup Support

• Participate in equipment installation verification, acceptance testing, and commissioning activities.
• Ensure all documentation (manuals, schematics, PLC programs, spare parts lists) is collected and organized prior to startup.
• Lead troubleshooting during initial startup ramps to meet production and reliability targets.

6. CMMS & Work Management

• Help implement and optimize Hampton’s CMMS system.
• Establish work order workflows, KPIs, coding standards, and asset hierarchy.
• Drive a data-driven maintenance culture.

7. Budgeting & Cost Control

• Develop and manage the annual maintenance budget, including labor, contractors, materials, and spare parts.
• Set spare parts stocking levels and work with Procurement on vendor relationships.
• Control maintenance costs while minimizing downtime and maximizing equipment life.

8. Continuous Improvement

• Lead RCA, failure-mode analysis, and downtime investigations.

Drive capital improvement projects and reliability improvements across the mill

Education & Experience

• 5 years of industrial maintenance leadership experience (sawmill preferred).
• Experience with modern sawmill equipment strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success in building or improving maintenance systems and reliability programs.
• Experience in greenfield or major startup environments is a strong plus.

Technical Skills

• Strong mechanical and electrical knowledge: hydraulics, pneumatics, conveyors, sawline equipment, PLCs, VFDs, scanners.
• Working knowledge of CMMS systems, predictive maintenance tools, and asset management strategies.
• Ability to read mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, and OEM documentation.

Leadership & Soft Skills

• Strong communicator who can work closely with superintendents, supervisors, and operators.
• Ability to lead change, set clear expectations, and hold teams accountable.
• Strategic thinker who also excels in hands-on troubleshooting during startup.
• Highly organized, disciplined, and calm under pressure.

Performance Metrics

• Safe execution of all maintenance work (zero serious incidents).
• PM completion rate, scheduled vs. unscheduled downtime.
• Cost performance against maintenance budget.
• Team capability development and retention.
• Reliability performance of major assets.
• Smooth commissioning/startup and ramp-up to full production.

The timber and wood products industry is a vital part of many communities, and we’re excited to bring new opportunities to Allendale County, South Carolina. We are committed to supporting the local workforce, investing in training and development, and being active members of the communities where we operate. Many of our employees have built long, rewarding careers with us, and we look forward to welcoming new team members to our family.

Learn more at Hamptonlumber.com, follow us on Facebook & Instagram: @hamptonlumber.

Hampton Lumber is an equal opportunity employer: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race/ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other status protected by law. 

Disability accommodation available: If you are an individual with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation in the application or hiring process, please contact the Human Resources Office for the location that you are applying.

Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

For more information about our commitment to equal employment opportunity, please see these government posters: EEO is the Law and its accompanying temporary supplement.