diff --git a/lib/racecar/producer.rb b/lib/racecar/producer.rb
index 3ac3f94..21e5db1 100644
--- a/lib/racecar/producer.rb
+++ b/lib/racecar/producer.rb
@@ -11,13 +11,26 @@ module Racecar
   class Producer
 
     @@mutex = Mutex.new
+    @@internal_producer = nil
 
     class << self
+      # Close the internal rdkafka producer. Subsequent attempts to
+      # produce messages after shutdown will result in errors.
       def shutdown!
         @@mutex.synchronize do
-          if !@internal_producer.nil?
-            @internal_producer.close
-          end
+          @@internal_producer&.close
+        end
+      end
+
+      # Reset internal state. Subsequent attempts to produce messages will
+      # reinitialize internal resources.
+      #
+      # Before forking a process, it is recommended to call this method. See:
+      # https://github.com/karafka/rdkafka-ruby/blob/main/README.md#forking
+      def reset!
+        @@mutex.synchronize do
+          @@internal_producer&.close
+          @@internal_producer = nil
         end
       end
     end
@@ -28,12 +41,12 @@ def initialize(config: nil, logger: nil, instrumenter: NullInstrumenter)
       @delivery_handles = []
       @instrumenter = instrumenter
       @batching = false
-      @internal_producer = init_internal_producer(config)
+      init_internal_producer(config)
     end
 
     def init_internal_producer(config)
       @@mutex.synchronize do
-        @@init_internal_producer ||= begin
+        @@internal_producer ||= begin
           # https://github.com/edenhill/librdkafka/blob/master/CONFIGURATION.md
           producer_config = {
             "bootstrap.servers"      => config.brokers.join(","),
@@ -109,7 +122,9 @@ def wait_for_delivery
 
     private
 
-    attr_reader :internal_producer
+    def internal_producer
+      @@internal_producer || init_internal_producer(@config)
+    end
 
     def deliver_with_error_handling(handle)
       handle.wait
diff --git a/spec/producer_spec.rb b/spec/producer_spec.rb
index 4765328..fcb3cb0 100644
--- a/spec/producer_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/producer_spec.rb
@@ -11,15 +11,63 @@
   let(:value) { "test_message" }
   let(:delivery_handle) { instance_double("Rdkafka::Producer::DeliveryHandle") }
 
-  before do
-    allow(producer).to receive(:internal_producer).and_return(double("Rdkafka::Producer", :produce => delivery_handle))
+  let(:rdkafka_config) { double("Rdkafka::Config", producer: rdkafka_producer) }
+  let(:rdkafka_producer) do
+    double(
+      "Rdkafka::Producer",
+      :produce => delivery_handle,
+      :delivery_callback= => nil,
+      :close => nil
+    )
   end
 
-  after do
-    Racecar::Producer.shutdown!
-    Racecar::Producer.class_variable_set(:@@init_internal_producer, nil)
+  before { allow(Rdkafka::Config).to receive(:new).and_return(rdkafka_config) }
+  after { Racecar::Producer.reset! }
+
+  describe "#initialize" do
+    it "creates one shared rdkafka producer" do
+      expect(Rdkafka::Config).to receive(:new).with(
+        hash_including(
+          "bootstrap.servers" => "localhost:9092",
+          "client.id" => "racecar",
+          "statistics.interval.ms" => 0,
+          "message.timeout.ms" => 300000.0,
+          "partitioner" => "consistent_random"
+        )
+      ).and_return(rdkafka_config).once
+      expect(rdkafka_config).to receive(:producer).once
+      3.times { Racecar::Producer.new(config: config) }
+    end
   end
 
+  describe ".shutdown!" do
+    it "closes the rdkafka producer if it has been initialized" do
+      producer
+      expect(rdkafka_producer).to receive(:close)
+      Racecar::Producer.shutdown!
+    end
+
+    it "does not raise an error if no producer was initialized" do
+      expect(rdkafka_producer).to_not receive(:close)
+      expect { Racecar::Producer.shutdown! }.to_not raise_error
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe ".reset!" do
+    it "closes the rdkafka producer" do
+      producer
+      expect(rdkafka_producer).to receive(:close)
+      Racecar::Producer.reset!
+    end
+
+    it "recreates a new rdkafka producer after reset" do
+      Racecar::Producer.new(config: config)
+      expect(Rdkafka::Config).to receive(:new).and_return(rdkafka_config).once
+      expect(rdkafka_config).to receive(:producer).once
+      Racecar::Producer.reset!
+      Racecar::Producer.new(config: config)
+    end
+  end
 
   describe "#produce_async" do
     it "sends the message without waiting for feedback or guarantees" do
@@ -60,9 +108,12 @@
       test_config
     end
 
-    it "sets the partitioner corretly" do
-      internal_producer = producer.instance_variable_get("@internal_producer")
-      expect(internal_producer.instance_variable_get("@partitioner_name")).to eq("murmur2_random")
+    it "sets the partitioner correctly on the internal producer" do
+      expect(Rdkafka::Config).to receive(:new).with(
+        hash_including("partitioner" => "murmur2_random")
+      ).and_return(rdkafka_config).once
+      expect(rdkafka_config).to receive(:producer).and_return(rdkafka_producer).once
+      expect(producer.send(:internal_producer)).to eq(rdkafka_producer)
     end
   end
 end