Hillary Kline

I've been in manufacturing for 20 years, starting as summer help in college when I fell in love with the environment, pace, and opportunity for advancement while learning Lean and Six Sigma practices. After finishing my industrial engineering degree in 2007, I relocated my family to central Wisconsin as a process engineer and grew into leadership roles, accepting my first department manager position in 2015. I'm passionate about operations and where people meet systems - I'm a people leader who loves being out there with my team, helping and developing them, while also loving the mechanical side of understanding how systems work and making improvements. I've worked in quality and maintenance to support teams through change, but I've stayed true to myself and really owned my operations experience. In 2023, I joined my current company in continuous improvement, became department manager of the press department in 2024, and this past October became production manager with oversight into all production areas. My most notable achievement has been completing the Leadership Institute through Case Western Reserve University with Women in Manufacturing, where I figured out my why and what drives me. The most fulfilling part of my work is watching the people I work with grow - like one of my direct reports who was quiet and timid, and watching her come out of her shell, gain confidence, and step into a supervisor role, knowing I helped pave the way and that I can be part of making her journey better than mine was.