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April 17, 2023 07:45 AM

Kickstart: Honoring the best companies, according to employees

Rhoda Miel
Managing Editor
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    Honoring the best companies, according to employees

    What does it take to become one of the Best Places to Work in the plastics industry? A lot of things, obviously, and also, a few things that essentially boil down to treating workers like family — family you actually like, not just relatives you put up with.

    This week's print issue of Plastics News has profiles from PN's Jordan Vitick of 22 companies that received Best Places to Work honors for 2023, nine processors and 13 suppliers (a category that includes materials companies, equipment firms, mold makers and training specialists).

    Best Companies Group of Harrisburg, Pa., manages the annual survey and awards program. To be eligible, the company must have at least 15 employees with a facility in the U.S. or Canada and at least 50 percent of revenues must come from plastics. Companies with 15-24 employees must have at least 80 percent of those workers participate in the employee survey.

    Some of the things from this year's winners that stuck out to me:

    • Company-sponsored recreational sports teams.

    • A company-funded account to help with out-of-pocket medical costs.

    • Celebrating employee retirements with a free vacation for two to any location the employee picks.

    And it doesn't have to be an expensive perk. It's an attitude. At one injection molder, the emphasis on work-life balance during family emergencies boils down to "do what you have to do and we'll figure it out later."

    You can find profiles on all the winners, as well as past winners, here.

     

    Uncertain sleep patterns

    Serta Simmons Bedding LLC's restructuring route through Chapter 11 has led it to the closure of a Connecticut manufacturing plant, cutting 157 jobs.

    The company filed a letter with the Connecticut Department of Labor earlier this month that it would close the plant in Windsor Locks.

    In a statement to local news media, Serta Simmons said it is "building a high-performing … supply chain" that will see it "optimizing our manufacturing footprint." It previously announced job cuts in Georgia.

    SSB, based in Doraville, Ga., entered bankruptcy in January. It has annual sales of $2.4 billion but has cited supply chain issues and material costs as part of its reasons for financial problems since 2020.

    Heritage Auctions
    Dust off those old tapes from the attic

    How about a blast from the analog past?

    Collectors are paying hundreds of dollars for videotape cassettes. According to The New York Times, sealed copies of tapes of nostalgia-inducing movies such as The Goonies, Ghostbusters and Raiders of the Lost Ark are in demand. An early copy of a little film on VHS called Star Wars sold for more than $30,000 at Heritage Auctions, while a 1980 copy of Friday the 13th went for more than $6,000.

    It's not just VHS tapes that are in demand. People are coming to Texas-based Heritage in search of action figures, old gaming systems and all sorts of items that also happen to be made with plastics.

    "The common element is this," The Times' David Streitfeld writes. "People like to own a thing from a thing they love. … For millions, the nostalgia factory is working overtime."

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