Pros
I worked with some of the best people there I have ever worked with. Original manager was passionate and knowledgeable, great person to work with. Originally had latitude to make improvements and changes as required to grow/improve the plant. Original plant manager was a great guy to work for, always trying to improve moral by doing the little extras. Most were trying to get the plant moving in a positive direction with limited corporate support.
Cons
Wow, where to start. First THIS IS A DEAD END JOB, There is no advancement opportunity, Engineers last about 18 months before moving on. GCO is the red headed step child of the fleet, corporate capital improvements were nearly impossible to get, while other plants in the fleet had many capital improvements while GCO was left behind. Eventually the plant was teetering on failure at many points, at some points the lack of proper capital improvements and maintenance was creating dangerous conditions. GCO is captive (both contractually and land locked ) to a to a customers plant that is the red headed step child of their fleet, a decline in demand at their end, while the GCO contract is maturing, and while the industry has a over capacity of coke manufacturing is a bad mix. Turnover is horrendous, in my 4 years there turnover in management was exceeding 150%, it was almost comical. Corporate turnover/reduction in personnel was worse than the plant level turnover. New Management at GCO comes from another Suncoke facility (Middletown OH), and they do not let you forget it (every fourth sentence is about how Middletown does whatever better). If you are not from the Middletown facility you do not know what you are doing, at anything. This was also at a level that would have been comical if it was not creating such a toxic atmosphere. This has gone on for over a year...............with no end in sight.