Pros
My strong, professional, loyal, hardworking, devoted co-workers who sweated and bled with me and kept me strong and made it worthwhile to come into that dreadful great grey concrete hole every day. Almost everyone that I met while working there was someone that I would have liked to know on the outside, there's something about that place that forges strong bonds between the people who work there. That is absolutely the best thing about working there. The customers were fantastic too. At the end of my career at Interlake Mecalux, I was out in the field with them and the energy rush you get from being able to interact face to face and one on one with the dealers... it's incredible. If only it hasn't been tainted by the horror stories of late shipments, missing orders, delays, and lies, lies, and more lies from management... it was so difficult to be out there trying to represent the company and stay positive when you know how unethical and cut-throat your company is behind the scenes.
Cons
This is the most unethical, down and dirty company I have ever worked for. Management lies constantly. To customers, to vendors, to other managers, to employees, and particularly to Spain. That is the golden rule for anyone that communicates with Mecalux Spain at Interlake Mecalux USA, Never EVER tell Corporate the TRUTH about ANYTHING! Management is so paranoid about any communication with Corporate that if you must have a conversation with someone in Spain, they will pull you into their office afterward and grill you about the call to make certain you didn't say anything that might have gone against their many lies. The goal of Interlake Mecalux USA is to pay their employees as little as possible for as long as possible. Compensation is well below industry standards. Job titles are classified incorrectly so employees can be set up as exempt status, this means employees that should be paid hourly are paid a salary and excluded from overtime. This is because when month end rolls around everyone is expected to stay until every last order is entered into the system and every invoice is closed, without pay, no matter how late. Some months I was there as late as 10pm. When I was hired, they put me in as salary plus overtime, but that only lasted a few months. The HR manager (at that time) came to me with a story about how my job was classified incorrectly so I needed to be paid differently. They took away the overtime and didn't increase my pay. I worked there for over four years, I was promoted five times and I received only one pay increase. I was only paid overtime once during the merger when Mecalux bought Interlake and I was working 17 hour days for two weeks straight - and Saturdays. I regularly worked 10, 12, 13 hour days because there was more work than people and my boss was demanding. I will give her credit that she did fight hard for my raise and my "lateral" promotions. She was a tough boss, but she taught me a lot. If she wasn't the worst liar of the whole senior management team at Interlake Mecalux, I would have tremendous respect for her. The company is owned by Mecalux Spain, and there were many rumors about why they utilize the open office working environment. There are no cubicles, only rows upon rows of grey desks lined back to front upstairs and downstairs. The managers offices line the side with big windows facing out so they are always watching. I have met, and worked with the owners' son, and I know, for a fact, he believes that if you can't see an employee working, that they will not be working. This is why all the managers oversee all the employees. There is no trust and it begins at the very top... and it goes all the way down.