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Welcome to Tomorrow

We believe that effective leaders don't simply seek "jobs"; they seek organizations with a compelling story, exceptional leaders, and room for continued growth. As you scroll through this page, you will gain a better understanding of Malco's narrative, where the company has been, and where it is going.

Director of Technology

Malco Products

With a rich history dating back to 1950, Malco Products was founded on the values of innovation and product quality, but more importantly, the founders wanted to make a positive generational impact on the American working class.  Today, Malco is the market leader in providing "tools of the trade" for professionals in the construction industry.  The Malco brand is known in the marketplace for being one of the very few remaining hand tool manufacturers still operating in the United States, providing high-performing, world class hand tools that transcend the competition.  With new CEO at the helm, Rich Benninghoff, the leadership team recognizes the growth potential of Malco, but in order to unleash the company's unique capabilities they need to hire a savvy IT Leader to modernize its IT organization.  As an imperative component to the company leadership team, this leader will be responsible for progressing the overall technology ecosystem and architecting the customer and vendor experience by developing an effective and robust omni-channel strategy. 

A Foundation you can build on

Getting a sense of the foundation that has been built prior to your arrival offers a lens through which you can see where your career may go.

Malco Products

Malco Products is one of the nation's leading manufacturers of high quality, American-made hand tools for trade professionals for niche applications, primarily in the HVAC arena. The organization's product innovation over the past 72 years has positioned them as an industry leader for trades professionals, meeting customer needs through a variety of channels. Malco's present vision is to continue to grow and expand the business through a broader e-commerce presence and continued product expansion. With a strong foundation in place, the organization is positioned well to develop new capabilities in new markets, as well as maintain the existing strength of the portfolio.

History

Malco is an industry leader in specialty tool manufacturing, headquartered in Annandale, MN, that has had steady growth over its successful seven-decade history. Family founded by a true "inventor", Malco is a product innovation centric company driven to support American trades professionals uniquely in their specialty areas of expertise. Valuing relationships, internally and externally, Malco became an ESOP firm in 1999, strengthening employee engagement, in turn to supporting the broader industry. 

Trades Product Manufacturing

As a product company first and foremost, Malco hopes to continue to expand its service offerings in the market and continue to innovate through research and development to support trades professionals. The ultimate goal of the organization is to save its professional contractor customers time and materials on the job site, whether it be roofing, HVAC, or mechanical. Malco's leadership team believes there is opportunity for the organization to reach specialty contractors through an omni-channel strategy in the next phase of growth.

Scale

As an industry leader, Malco is a $100M business today supporting professional contractors and trades-people nationwide. The leadership team's growth projection is to reach $300M by 2032. The broad strategy includes both organic and inorganic means, automation opportunities, an omni-channel presence, and product expansion. 

What We See In Malco

Humility

As simple as it sounds, humility is an integral characteristic that everyone at the company embodies.  It truly starts with executive leadership laying the foundation and modeling what it looks like to accept one's faults or blindspots and ask for guidance.  

Growth & Expansion

With 10% year over year growth for the last 3 years, Malco is positioned well to expand in the future.  The company is less concerned about maintaining status quo, but rather progressing their team, products, and technology so they can successfully execute their long term vision. 

Innovation

Malco was founded on the dedication to advance craftsmanship through their diligent manufacturing process creating forward-thinking and innovative products.  The Malco team believes in constant iteration and practical innovation, which allows them to offer products that surpass market expectations. 

What You Will Be A Part Of

As a member of the fast-growing Information Technology organization at Malco, you will position the organization for its future, which requires an understanding of those around you, what they collectively stand for, and how they positively impact the world around them.

Malco Products - Voices in America
Product Design - 2020 Awards
Manufacturing Process - "More than just hand tools"
Malco's Eagle Grip Story
The Malco TSCM (tool) Overview

The Company You’ll Keep

Who you’ll work with is often more important than the work itself. Get to know the leadership team you will be engaging with and supporting in this role.

Jim Finneman (Direct Manager)

Executive Vice President - Supply Chain and Operations
As the incoming Executive Vice President, Jim brings over 30 years of experience in the manufacturing industry leading cross-functional teams in technology, operations, global supply chain, and customer service.  Jim has extensive, proven success in the American tool manufacturing space working for one of Malco's competitors, Klein Tools.  While at Klein, Jim managed a $350M P&L and led a team of over 300 people across the globe, redefining logistics and warehouse management to decrease costs and more importantly, he led the strategy and execution of Klein's first digital, e-commerce presence.  In regards to his leadership style, Jim is very open and honest with his team communicating feedback in a positive way that uplifts and motivates each team member.  He views himself as a "facilitator of tools and resources" so his team can effectively do their job.  The Malco leadership team has a clear vision of the future and they firmly believe Jim's institutional knowledge and capabilities will play an imperative role in growing this company for the long run. 

Rich Benninghoff

President and Chief Executive Officer

Rich Benninghoff is the President and Chief Executive Officer at Malco Products. He brings significant experience as a true cross-functional growth leader with a strong track record in engineered products and solutions in the industrial, commercial, and residential end markets. From an entreprenurial start-up firm such as nVent, to a worldwide leader such as Pentair, Rich has progressed his career as a sound executive leading varied sized businesses through change management and successful growth. Rich brings such positivity to the immense opportunity in front of Malco. Rich is passionate about Malco as a product company first and foremost, recognizing there is opportunity for continued expansion and innovation here. Following the EOS model, as the Visionary, Rich is interested in building on the strong foundation Malco has in the marketplace and positive reputation the brand has with talented contractor customers. A firm believer that the organization is well positioned for growth, Rich is eager to expand the leadership team to collectively build a strategy for a path forward to $300M and beyond. 

Scott Crane

Chief Operating Officer

Scott is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience leading privately held startups to public Fortune 50 companies.  With a degree in mechanical engineering, Scott started his career as a manufacturing engineer at Dow Chemical.  After a successful run as CFO at DeZURIK, Scott decided to semi-retire, but it wasn't long before he would join his counterpart, Rich Benninghoff at Malco.  Scott understood the great brand reputation and rich company history, which "provides a perfect platform to grow the Malco business substantially".  As COO of Malco, Scott oversees talented, tenured teams in operations, technology, and finance.  His leadership style is unpretentious; paint the vision for where the company is going in conjunction with employees, define roles and expectations, then allow his team the freedom to achieve that shared vision while he provides resources and removes roadblocks.  Scott thoroughly enjoys working with his down-to-earth Minnesota team members and looks to instill an empowering leadership approach on a daily basis.

Kirk Langbehn

Director, Human Resources

Nancy Gunnerson

Director, Marketing

A Day in the Life

This critical IT leader will work hand in hand with the CEO and COO to develop and disseminate an effective IT strategy to support and drive the growth of the business.  The main priority for this role will be customer facing, developing a tailor-made eCommerce roadmap that will create a positive, seamless digital experience and will successfully engage Malco customers and vendors.  Secondary to eCommerce, is the focus on advancing the technology infrastructure.  The leadership team understands that in order to unleash the potential of Malco, the company must be underpinned by an efficient and fluid technology infrastructure as it relates to their ERP system and internal operations.  

Responsibilities

  • 75% of the Technology Director focus is external to the company (customer experience, data collection, eCommerce); 25% of his/her focus is on internal operations (systems, security, policies and procedures.)
  • Build a technology interface with customers and vendors that increases positive experience
  • Evaluate company capabilities and identify areas for growth and development
  • Design a technology infrastructure suitable to support business growth strategy
  • Evaluate eCommerce capabilities and make strategic recommendations
  • Design customer feedback loops, satisfaction reporting, NPS
  • Communicate technology transformation strategy to internal stakeholders; change management
  • Technology translator within the company; provide clarity around tech transformation and benefits

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  • Stay informed on current technology trends
  • Mentoring and developing future technology leaders
  • Application integration
  • Big data collection to track customer behavior
  • Future proof the business- cybersecurity, networks, cloud, platforms
  • IT budgets
  • Technology enabled customer interaction; tool trainings, contractor mind share; add value to the experience of buying Malco products

Requirements

  • 10+ years progressive experience in IT disciplines and management of IT systems
  • Aligned with Malco’s core values; Together We ARE Malco, Achieve Results, Respect Others, Engineer Solutions
  • Bachelor’s degree in computer science or similar IT field
  • Business administration background a plus
  • Experience working with, coaching and influencing leaders
  • Proven experience in a leadership role in a growing, evolving organization
  • Experience with software development a plus
  • Ability to build business partnerships with leadership team and serve as the principal technology contact and subject matter expert for the organization
  • Experience creating strong partnerships with senior executives

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  • ESOP Culture Champion
  • Change Management through EQ principles
  • Superb communication skills, the ability to translate technology requirements and theories into business language.
  • Ability to attract and retain outstanding talent
  • Strong attention to detail and a proactive approach to problem-solving

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Download Full Job Description

What You Bring to the Table

Technology Expertise

As the primary technology leader, you will be called upon to hone your unique experience and subject matter expertise to determine how technology can advance the Malco business forward. 

Pragmatic

As a part of the leadership team, you along with the executives will drive value-add and pragmatic innovation.  Malco is a very grounded organization and their business has thrived due to their laser focus on identifying new solutions that apply to their business model. 

People Leader

As Malco looks to expand, you will also be growing the team and aligning the structure to best meet the needs of the firm.  In addition, you will drive the change management of Malco becoming a tech-forward company. 

We believe this opportunity has the potential to be your next best thing. What do you think?