Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
February 23, 2017 01:00 AM

Mack U helps molder solve its skilled worker shortage

Catherine Kavanaugh
Staff Writer
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Macking Molding Co.
    Somple

    Anaheim, Calif. — Custom manufacturer Mack Molding Co. is solving its skilled worker shortage with custom training.

    Twelve veteran Mack employees are sharing their expertise with new hires in an internal program called Mack U that covers everything from customer communication to electrostatic discharge and wiring assemblies.

    The first seven “graduates” recently completed 14 courses and 21 hours of class time and hands-on training of the initial curriculum aimed at meeting requirements for electromechanical operator I positions. Next they will learn about drawing, wire schematics, pneumatic connections, plumbing, soldering and the integration of firmware, software and hardware, which will let them move into higher-level openings.

    “It's not a broad curriculum. We can get very specific,” Jeff Somple, president of Mack Molding and the business unit Mack Medical, said at the UBM Advanced Manufacturing Expo in Anaheim.

    The medical unit represents about 35 percent of the $350 million of sales Mack does annually, Somple said.

    “If you're an engineer with a medical background, you can pretty much write your own ticket,” he added.

    Even so, finding the next generation of engineers and technicians keeps a lot of executives up at night, Somple said.

    “We finally decided to take the bull by the horn and do it ourself,” he said of Mack U, which comes on the heels of a paid internship program that brings up to 20 interns into the business every summer and easily represents a six-figure investment.

    In the last year, Mack has had six former interns become full-time employees — a record number for the company. They work at the headquarters in Arlington, Vt., which is focused on the medical market, and where they bring prior knowledge of Mack operations, fresh ideas and the promise of a stable workforce.

    Five of the former interns have bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering or technology, while the other studied advanced manufacturing at a community college. Somple said he was pleased to welcome them back.

    “That shows us things are starting to work,” he said. “I think manufacturing in the United States is all of a sudden exciting again. In the meantime, we've lost a generation of youth that left high school and didn't go into manufacturing.”

    From the offshoring of production work to the lure of high-tech companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft, manufacturing was perceived as “not cool” for a long time, according to Somple.

    “A lot of things have changed since then,” he said. “Manufacturing has gotten a lot cooler with robotics and the products we make. With a two-year technical degree, you can make a nice career for yourself in manufacturing.”

    Large press

    Mack Molding is awaiting delivery of a 2,360-ton press with a robotic function that will be used to make products for a customer that asked the injection molder to be its exclusive manufacturer.

    The Haitian press will likely be the largest in New England when it is installed at the Cavendish, Vt., facility.

    “We went with it because of performance, cost and lead time,” Somple said. “We had been looking to give them a chance for a while. This is their first for Mack, but they have placed a lot of presses in the U.S.”

    Founded in 1920, Mack has seven facilities, including Inman, N.C., and Statesman, S.C., which have 4,000-ton presses. The company had to upgrade its crane at the Cavendish facility because one of the new molds that will run there weighs more than 40,000 pounds.

    The press, which has a shot size of 268 ounces, also will have a robot handling part removal near an assembly area. Mack is investing “well over” $1 million in return for the long-term manufacturing agreement, according to Joan Magrath, vice president of sales and engineering for Mack Molding.

    “This shows the commitment Mack is willing to make on behalf of our customer,” Magrath said. “We've been working with them five or six years now, and they wanted us to be their exclusive manufacturer. They love our quality, people, technical capabilities and engineering team. Our application development center has been a reliable resource for them, constantly solving problems they were having elsewhere with other suppliers.”

    The new press will be installed in May.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Plastics adapt to a rapidly changing auto market
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    OSHA says IPL ‘ignored' reports before fatal accident
    2
    Ford to use 20% recycled, renewable plastics by 2025
    3
    Pipe maker Springfield Plastics expanding in Illinois
    4
    Most resin buyers saw higher prices through the spring
    5
    California plastics investigation ‘appalling and unacceptable'
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
        • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified