Dymotek Corp. based in Ellington, Conn., has earned a well-deserved reputation as a model for attracting talented young people to the plastics industry.
Now there's more proof: The custom injection molder has won the Plastics News Excellence Award for employee relations.
Recruiting the next generation of good people is even more important for Dymotek, which has specialized in the challenging task of two-shot and liquid silicone molding, most of it highly automated.
Christopher LaBranche is a young Dymotek tooling technician who repairs and maintains molds. He was in high school when his drafting class took a field trip to local factories. Dymotek — a modern plastics molding factory — is the one that stood out.
After graduating from high school, LaBranche went through a one-year manufacturing technology program at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Conn., and had an internship with Dymotek working two eight-hour days a week, and attending class the rest of the week.
Dymotek took LaBranche to Germany for the Arburg Technology Days event in Germany. He traveled to Washington to be recognized for academic excellence.
Dymotek hired another intern, Spencer Wargo, as a quality technician. The company also sent Wargo for additional training, including a conference held in Indianapolis by the Manufacturers Association for Plastic Processors.
Dymotek spelled it out in the company's submission for Processor of the Year: “Their interns don't just get coffees and make copies, they are in the thick of everyday manufacturing in whichever dynamic they are studying. This is a mutually beneficial situation for Dymotek and the intern.”
Getting young people interested in manufacturing is a major issue facing every industry. Dymotek shows the way forward.
The company also reimburses employees for education, and it doesn't have to be plastics-related. “It can be a class in art, biology, cooking or anything else the employee wants to learn about,” Dymotek said in the award submission.
The Hartford Courant named Dymotek to the newspaper's list of Best Places to Work two years in a row. The award is based on employee surveys.
Dymotek was a finalist for this year's Plastics News Processor of the Year Award.
