Pros
This company if full of excellent employees in general. Most genuinely care about their jobs and the well being of the company. They are enthusiastic when led and given training to enhance their skills and move forward. The people are easily motivated since they are not used to positive attention. This company is about half plastics and half metals; a good mix in my opinion. The non-production management team is very solid and does very well at getting things done in a timely, organized manner. Business is founded on bending over backwards to satisfy the customer and beyond. Be prepared for that mentality - no matter how ridiculous the request.
Cons
This is a small, family owned and ran business. Much of upper management is family and this causes problems when under qualified members are put into positions that they cause more harm than help. Being family, they will not be dealt with the same as outsiders (basically, can get away with anything and pass the blame to someone else - no true accountability). In Formall's case there is only one member who is in a position they should not be in, the Ops Manager has no solid experience and often makes rash decisions based on perception vs actual fact. If he cannot find viable reasons, he will create them when all other evidence proves otherwise. The maintenance program greatly lacks in the company. Most of the techs have less than 2 years on the job and are looking for other jobs due to low pay and being treated poorly by a contracted plant manager. Most of the equipment is in disrepair and since the plant is moving, they are re-painting equipment and calling it restored. Many of the operators and techs have no sense of ownership for the equipment they work on. Pay is extremely low for all positions compared to similar companies in these industries. Operators are topped out around $13-14 an hour. Maintenance techs top out around $18 an hour. Manager salaries are relatively low as well for the amount of hat one is asked to wear. This creates a very high turnover rate in conjunction with low morale, extremely expensive benefits with poor coverage, harsh work environment, and lack of properly experienced leadership in Operations has led to numerous solid employees leaving or being fired for petty reasons. Culture change is spoken about nearly everyday, but no one in the company really knows how to make it happen. Others have been hired from the outside with the experience needed to change culture and implement ISO but when changes are attempted, the family wants it done their way (which is entirely backwards!). It is a constant battle to get through to Sr Management about how to successfully change the culture and implement programs, but there is constant friction. Eventually, those with the experience are weeded out for non-conformity. Very much a change where all the wrong behaviors are expected to change over night with no setbacks or you're fired, simple as that.