Job Description
Product Manager – Plastic Conveyor Belts Solutions (Global Support)
Location:
Winchester, Virginia (In-Person/Remote Position)
Who Are We:
Ashworth, a global company, is the only conveyor belt company that manufactures and services both metal and plastic belting for straight running, turn-curve, lotension, and self-stacking spirals-- offering customers the best solution for their specific requirements. Celebrating over 75 years of revolutionizing the future of conveyor belts, Ashworth continues to lead the market with the most conveyor belt patents in the food processing, can making, and material handling industries.
Ashworth strives to be the premier employer within our industry and a leading employer within our community. We want to attract and retain the best associates for our organization, recognizing our success depends on a partnership based on respect, involvement, development, and growth for all our employees.
We are growing and would like to welcome a new colleague in the Product Manager Position for Plastic Conveyor Belts in our Winchester, Virginia, location that can strategically help us to achieve our company goals for future success.
Job Summary
The Product Manager will be responsible for technical support and lifecycle management of a variety of plastic conveyor belt products and solutions. This can be a remote position, but up to 50% travel is required for customer visits, trade show attendance, and collaborating with internal teams located in Virginia, UK, the Netherlands, Tokyo, and Singapore.
The Product Manager will play a key role in defining product strategy, driving innovation, and ensuring that we meet the diverse needs of our customers across various industries. You will also contribute to the overall strategic vision, ensuring product success, and acting as a liaison between business, technology and design teams. This role includes responsibility for product pricing to ensure competitiveness and profitability across all product lines and brands.
The Product Manager will manage technical product training for the sales and customer service teams and provide technical support for customer applications, working closely with the marketing team to develop technical marketing collateral for all plastic conveyor belt products.
Key Responsibilities:
- Sales Support & Training:
- Provide technical product training for sales and customer service teams.
- Support field sales to assess customer needs and qualify system applications for plastic belt solutions.
- Pricing & Profitability:
- Develop and manage product pricing strategies for all product lines, ensuring alignment with market conditions, competitive positioning, and internal profitability targets.
- Work with the sales teams to determine optimal pricing for new products and adjust pricing for existing products.
- Evaluate the profitability of product lines and recommend pricing strategies to improve overall profitability.
- Market & Customer Insights:
- Conduct in-depth market research to stay ahead of industry trends, customer preferences, and competitor offerings for the plastic conveyor belt market.
- Engage with customers (both existing and potential) to understand their needs, challenges, and product requirements across various markets.
- Translate customer feedback into actionable product improvements and innovations.
- Product Strategy & Roadmap:
- Develop and execute a comprehensive product strategy for the full portfolio of plastic conveyor belt products.
- Analyze market needs and customer feedback to identify new product opportunities and improve existing products.
- Product Development:
- Work closely with engineering, R&D, and manufacturing teams to drive the development of new products and ensure product specifications meet industry and regulatory standards.
Qualifications
Education:
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Product Management, Business, or a related field (MBA is a plus).
Experience:
- 5+ years of experience in product management, preferably in the manufacturing or industrial sectors (experience with plastic conveyor belts in food, can making and industrial markets is highly desirable).
- Experience in strategic planning and contributing to long-term company growth strategies is highly valued.
Skills:
- Solid understanding of pricing strategies, market positioning, and profitability analysis.
- Excellent project management and organizational skills.
- Ability to communicate complex technical information to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word) and CRM.
Key Competencies:
- Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
- Detail-oriented, with a focus on quality and process improvement.
- Proven leadership ability to drive cross-functional collaboration and influence key stakeholders.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Willingness to travel up to 50% for customer visits, trade shows, and internal team collaboration and training.
