Kickstart: Tesla, people and plastics

It's becoming more clear that Tesla will invest in plastics manufacturing, but what exactly that will involve remains shrouded behind the automakers' notorious secretive curtains.

Late in 2022, Tesla Inc. filed a notice with state agencies in Texas referring to a $58 million, 174,979-square-foot project in Austin for a facility called "plastics," but no other details beyond a statement it would "complete interior finish out of the EV manufacturing facility" known as Giga.

Now Tesla, headquartered in Austin, has listed job openings for positions including: "manufacturing engineer, plastics"; "production engineering associate manager, plastics"; and "tool and die supervisor, plastics, Gigafactory."

"We are looking for a talented and highly motivated individual to join the Plastics Manufacturing Engineering Team," it notes in one job description, while another refers to injection molding.

Most of the job listings were posted in the last two weeks.

Tesla had an investors' day event on March 1 where it discussed plans for a new assembly plant in Monterrey, Mexico, and an overview of improvements it said will be able to cut auto production costs in half, but provided few specifics, Reuters reported.

When Ohio-based vinyl window and door maker Vinyl Kraft expands and adds 73 jobs this year, it hopes to fill all those jobs with what it terms "restored citizens," those people returning to the workforce after time in prison or recovering from substance abuse.

They won't be the first employees for the company transitioning back into a "normal" life, but it is formalizing its efforts to offer opportunities, executives told PN's Catherine Kavanaugh.

"For those who want the opportunity, a second chance, a different kind of relationship develops between the employer and employee. It fosters more of a family atmosphere," Ryan Rolfe, executive vice president, said.

Supervisors who have traveled similar paths help new recruits adjust.

Vinyl Kraft, likewise, can look to other plastics companies that have developed similar programs. In 2017, PN's Steve Toloken wrote about additives supplier Carolina Color Corp. and its "prison-to-plastics" work.

Not every new hire works out, of course, but as Rolfe said, it's worth the effort.

"We could just make money, but if we can find a way to help people with our business, well, that's why you get up in the morning," he told Catherine.

It's been a big week for honoring companies, with Plastics News naming Teel Plastics LLC as Processor of the Year and Teel's Jim Beadle as Chief Financial Officer of the Year. Best Places to Work in the plastics industry were in the spotlight this week as well.

If you want more inspiration during what may be another wintery weekend in some parts of the country, you can also read profiles of the Best Places to Work in the rubber industry over at our sister paper Rubber News.

You can find coverage from RN here.