Tool Buyer

Illinois Tool Works · Machesney Park · $27–$40/hr (stated in the posting)

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Job Description:

ITW Shakeproof – Tooling Buyer

Business Description:

ITW Shakeproof serves major automotive and industrial OEMs and their tier suppliers with metal, cold-headed fasteners totaling approximately $210M in revenue.  In addition to ITW’s industry leading research and development capabilities, ITW Shakeproof enhances our customers’ competitive advantage by:

• Maintaining advanced engineering and manufacturing facilities in North America.
• Exchanging products, process, and benchmarking information with sister units worldwide.
• Continually improving processes, material, and designs to ensure every product exceeds customer specifications while providing unparalleled value.

Job Description:

ITW Shakeproof is seeking a Tool Room Buyer who is responsible for direct oversight and management of the Machesney Park Plant Tool Room. The Tooling Buyer is responsible for sourcing, purchasing, expediting, and managing tooling and related supplies required to support fastener manufacturing operations. This position works closely with Engineering, Tool Room, Production, Quality, Maintenance, and outside suppliers to ensure the timely availability of tooling that meets required specifications, quality standards, cost objectives, and production schedules.

The Tool Buyer will have particular responsibility for tooling used in cold heading, forming, threading, secondary operations, and inspection processes. The role requires strong purchasing, supplier-management, technical interpretation, and organizational skills, along with the ability to respond quickly to changing production requirements.

Essential Responsibilities:

Tooling Procurement

• Purchase production tooling including dies, punches, pins, inserts, knockouts, cutters, thread rolls, taps, drills, carbide tooling, gauges, and other manufacturing tooling.
• Review purchase requisitions, engineering drawings, specifications, tooling requirements, and historical purchasing information before placing orders.
• Obtain and evaluate supplier quotations based on price, quality, lead time, capability, and total cost.
• Create and maintain purchase orders and ensure accurate pricing, quantities, revisions, delivery dates, and specifications.
• Monitor open tooling orders and proactively expedite critical items to prevent production interruptions.
• Coordinate emergency tooling requirements when breakdowns, excessive wear, quality issues, or unexpected demand threaten production schedules.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities through competitive bidding, alternative sourcing, blanket orders, volume agreements, standardization, and supplier negotiations.

Supplier Management

• Develop and maintain effective relationships with tooling manufacturers, machine shops, carbide suppliers, gauge suppliers, and other key vendors.
• Evaluate supplier performance related to quality, delivery, responsiveness, lead time, and cost.
• Work with suppliers to resolve late deliveries, incorrect tooling, quality concerns, invoice discrepancies, and other performance issues.
• Identify and qualify alternate suppliers to reduce single-source risk and improve supply continuity.
• Support supplier negotiations and sourcing strategies for high-use and critical tooling.
• Coordinate tooling repair, rework, sharpening, recoating, and refurbishment when economically appropriate.

Manufacturing & Technical Support

• Work closely with Tool Room, Engineering, Production, Quality, and Maintenance personnel to understand tooling requirements and priorities.
• Read and interpret tooling drawings, prints, specifications, part numbers, revisions, and basic dimensional requirements.
• Develop an understanding of tooling used in cold heading, cold forming, thread rolling, machining, trimming, pointing, and secondary operations.
• Ensure suppliers receive current drawings and revision information when sourcing custom tooling.
• Assist Engineering and Manufacturing in sourcing tooling for new-product launches, process changes, and continuous-improvement projects.
• Support resolution of tooling-related production issues through communication with internal stakeholders and suppliers.
• Maintain awareness of tooling lead times and communicate potential shortages or production risks to appropriate personnel.

Inventory & Cost Control

• Help establish appropriate inventory levels for frequently used, long-lead-time, and production-critical tooling.
• Review tooling usage and purchasing history to identify opportunities to improve stocking strategies.
• Monitor excessive tooling usage, unusual purchasing patterns, and significant cost changes.
• Assist in developing min/max, reorder point, safety stock, and/or Kanban systems for commonly used tooling.

Skills and Qualifications:

The successful candidate should possess:

• Strong purchasing and negotiation skills.
• Ability to read and understand basic engineering drawings and tooling prints.
• General understanding of manufacturing processes and terminology.
• Ability to balance cost, quality, lead time, inventory, and production risk when making purchasing decisions.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Excellent attention to detail when working with tooling numbers, drawing revisions, specifications, and purchase orders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to build productive relationships with suppliers and internal departments.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment where priorities may change quickly.
• Ability to independently follow up on orders and escalate potential shortages before they affect production.
• Basic understanding of inventory-control principles.
• Ability to maintain confidential supplier pricing and company information.

Key Performance Indicators

Performance may be measured using metrics such as:

• Tooling on-time delivery
• Production downtime attributable to tooling shortages
• Supplier on-time delivery
• Supplier quality performance
• Purchase price savings / cost avoidance
• Tooling spend versus budget
• Emergency or premium-freight expenditures
• Tooling inventory accuracy
• Reduction in obsolete or excess tooling
• Open purchase order past-due rate
• Supplier lead-time improvement
• Tooling cost per manufactured unit

Physical and Work Environment Requirements

• Primarily office-based with regular interaction on the manufacturing floor and in the tool room.
• Must be able to safely navigate an active manufacturing environment.
• May occasionally be required to lift or handle tooling and materials weighing up to approximately 35 pounds.
• Must comply with applicable PPE and plant safety requirements.
• Occasional supplier visits or local travel may be required.

Competencies

• Sense of Urgency: Responds quickly to tooling requirements that could affect production.
• Accountability: Takes ownership of purchase orders and follows issues through resolution.
• Attention to Detail: Ensures tooling specifications, revisions, quantities, and delivery requirements are accurate.
• Cost Awareness: Looks beyond purchase price to understand tooling life, quality, freight, downtime, and total cost.
• Collaboration: Builds effective working relationships with Engineering, Production, Tool Room, Quality, and suppliers.
• Problem Solving: Anticipates shortages and develops practical solutions before production is affected.
• Supplier Management: Holds suppliers accountable while maintaining productive business relationships.
• Continuous Improvement: Consistently looks for ways to improve tooling availability, cost, quality, and purchasing processes.
• Team Player: Works with integrity and practices respect based behaviors mirroring ITW values when interacting with team members and outside partners.

Compensation Information:

$27-$40 pr hour

ITW is an equal opportunity employer. We value our colleagues’ unique perspectives, experiences and ideas and create workplaces where everyone can develop their careers and perform to their full potential. 

As an equal employment opportunity employer, ITW is committed to equal employment opportunity and fair treatment for employees, beginning with the hiring process and continuing through all aspects of the employment relationship. 

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected Veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.

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