Plastics wasn't Nancy Cefalo's first career, but her experiences as a registered nurse bring surprising insight to her position as director of human resources at Mack Molding Co.
“I changed direction and went back to school,” Cefalo said, “but I was able to transfer aspects of being a nurse I enjoyed and found professional satisfaction in the manufacturing environment. As with patients, I have found teaching and coaching employees on how to leverage resources, as well as their own skills, very rewarding. This ensures they receive the best services.”
She also fondly recalls a time when she owned and operated a small breakfast-and-lunch restaurant in Tewksbury, Mass. — that's where she became interested in the inner workings of running a business, including personnel management, lighting the fire that would lead her to Mack.
“After owning my own restaurant I returned to nursing,” Cefalo said, “but I still had the bug for business, and I wanted to get into the arena. I had heard Mack was a great company, and I was intrigued by the company's growing presence in the medical market.”
It was also Mack's commitment to employees that drew her to the company, she says, having seen the company's involvement in the community and hearing first hand from Mack employees and retirees she encountered as a visiting nurse.
Recruiting, particularly in Vermont, is Cefalo's current challenge. It's a geographic hurdle because the state's location and pace of life are not for everyone, but her own life experience speaks highly of making the move.
“When I look back, I am most proud of my decision to move to and raise my family in Vermont, and within that managing my career while providing a very close-knit environment for my family,” she said. Mack's commitment to workforce cultivation programs, including internships and hosting school-age informational tours, helps makes the move an easier sell.
Cefalo said no matter how long she is a part of the plastics industry, she continues to find it fascinating, and she is confident anyone considering a career in plastics will, too, especially in medical molding.
“It is amazing what can be made and to see people are still inventing every day,” she says. “For employees it is very satisfying to be part of an organization that has made products that people use day-in and day-out, especially medical devices that help people manage their illnesses.”
