Alene-Candles-Midwest-LLC

The owners strive to maintain the close  knit, family first values and team spirit that made them want to purchase the company back in the early 2000’s. They provide leader ship training and safety training to the majority of the employees. They also provide leader ship training to their leadership teams.  
     That being said, as they have added layers of middle-management, which is what happens as companies grow, there has become a bit of a disconnect between the company culture that the owners are striving for, and how some of the supervisors in the middle management area choose conduct themselves.   This disconnect is not lost on the worker bees at this company.   
          I have been very lucky to work with people who understand teamwork, and my current supervisor is great.  I have no problem going to my immediate supervisor (or members of my team) with questions or challenges or issues, and we all work together to get the job done.  
         Why did I only give three stars you ask?  Well,  as you get higher up the supervisory chain, into the “middle management “ , the disconnect  between the job that needs doing, and the person who has the final say is quite large.  They are not on the floor, they are usually in an office, or in a meeting.  (This company loves to have meetings! )  if an urgent situation comes up that requires a speedy decision and the middle management supervisor is nowhere to be found, then, to keep things moving along someone on the floor needs to make a decision. Eight times out of 10, it is not the same decision that middle management would have made, and instead of saying, “ Huh, well, that’s one way to do it.”, and then, possibly pointing out a smoother resolution, they say” What the heck were you thinking?! that’s completely wrong!  Why didn’t you ask me?  That’s a decision I should have made or at least should have been consulted on”.       Which we would have happily done, if we had been able to find you.
  Most of the jobs at Alene Candles are fairly simple.  It is candle making, not rocket science, but it is still work, and there is a science to making excellent candles.  Many people come to the company, expecting it to be easy because it’s just candles. Those people are disappointed, because it is not easy. It is simple, it is not easy.
       Would I recommend working here?  Up until these last couple of years, I have thoroughly enjoyed working here and looked forward to going to work every day, so, if you can stand up all day, and enjoy the challenge of working a production line, or keeping a production line supplied with materials (wax dept, wicking dept, label dept, materials/kitting), or driving a forklift, I would absolutely recommend it.  If you don’t like a fast pace and lots of last minute job changes , then this is not the workplace for you.  If you are curious, give it a try. They work mostly through temp agencies now, so you really have nothing to lose. If candlemaking isn’t for you, then you just tell your temp agency and you don’t have to stay but if you never try, you won’t know. Candlemaking just might be your thing!

I am currently still a temp in the quality department and have only had the pleasure of working for a few short months, but I am really enjoying my job so far.

I was really excited upon being hired to hear that I would be cross trained in different areas of quality. I know some people like to find one thing and do only that, but I enjoy knowing all things that will make my job more proficient. Added bonus is each area of training comes with a pay increase as an incentive. All around I see it as a benefit; I become better at my job, I get pay increases, I get to do a variety of things so I'm never bored with my work, and there is stability in being able to transition between areas because when one is slow, another may be busier and provide you with work.

Everyone, and I mean all the people I've had the pleasure of interacting with, from upper management down has been awesome. There is a very relaxed culture that I enjoy, not like I'm under a microscope. I also feel my input is valued by my managers and co-workers. I have yet to have a bad experience people or culture wise.

I will say the breaks threw me off a bit, I'm used to routine scheduled breaks and usually something like two 10s and a 30. Here they have paid breaks so you get 30 minutes total of break time. I break mine up into one 10 minutes and a 20 minute break. It took getting used to, but after adjusting I don't find it to be too terrible. If you're on line, you break when the line breaks, and if you're not, you break when you want. I like it actually.

With any factory, the biggest downfall are shut downs. As I am only a temp, I am unaware of any compensation or program for compensation during that period. These periods can be stressful, but it is also another way in which cross training in different areas can be helpful sometimes. If no program is in place for those periods, that would be my only suggestion for that, to find one. Other companies I worked for either fully compensated you for a shut down period, or offered a savings program in which you paid into to be paid out during shut down.

I think there are other areas that can be improved such as organization, but I can see from the few short months I've been there that they're working to become more organized and cohesive as their flagship facility. 

I hope I can continue to grow with this company in the quality field and I am excited to see and be apart of future improvements.

The company repeats they want to be an insanely great place to work. They are far from it. They have been for quite some time now. The turn over rate is grand. Team leaders hardly last a year. This isn't due to work performance. This is due to personal targeting and how the company is managed. There is very little support for team leads and production workers. The idea of helping is dictating and not physically helping the line. Upper management outside of production tries to listen to the production teams needs, but it hasn't been followed through with it yet. The new supervisor is fantastic and she really does care for her people. Although the rest of management does not. We all understand it is a business and money needs to be made, but you do not make money buy bullying your staff and pushing them to their limits. Communication is so messy as well. Not a single part of management are on the same page. From Supervisor, to Production Assistant to Pack out Coordinators. They are all on different pages which makes it difficult for team leads to follow the right direction. They've also let go of great employees for things that were not bases on performance but on petty issues. While being hypocritical to their own agenda. If they want people to stay, they need to seriously and I mean seriously work on their management team. They promote hiring within, but the last few positions have been hired from the outside even with plenty of potential candidates on the inside were available. They will say the pride themselves on inside hiring but rarely does it happen, or do those people stay in those positions. 
I enjoy my job. I do not enjoy how we are treated or how the place is run.

An extremely difficult place to work at. The equipment is old, beat up and poorly maintained. Parts? You might get lucky and find something you could get to work. But for the most part technical manuals and spare parts are non existent. You also don't get the time and support you need to fix anything. It's a band aid place held together with duct tape and super glue. Language barriers are huge! So expect a difficult time trying to communicate with operators and other staff. Management culture is based on fear and threats. So you never really feel like you'll be there a day longer than either they want you there, or you want to be there. BTW, if they catch you smoking, you're terminated on the spot no questions asked. The pay is on the low side, fair at best . Pay is bi-weekly which I personally can't stand. The benefits are also fair at best. It's a standard benefit package with mostly the minimums on everything. Overtime is mandatory and very frequent. So expect to be there 50+ hours a week with a lot of 6 day work weeks. From what I saw, there wasn't much notice about mandatory overtime. It was announced a day maybe two days before hand. The place is very messy and cluttered. There's way too much going on in too small an area. It smells nice but safety doesn't seem to be a top priority. They'll claim it is if you get hurt. But in the meantime, you'll be walking on waxed over floors with extension cords and ladders all over the place. In the end the job is tough. The days are long, support is minimal, it isn't a very friendly place to be and the pay is nothing to get excited about. There are plenty of better places to work. You'll just be wasting your time working here.

Having worked in or for manufacturing companies in many parts of the world for the past 25 years, I can honestly say that Alene Candles is one of those rare organizations that has achieved so much in a very short amount of time thanks to the hard work, dedication, and passion of the people working there. It was truly an honor to work alongside so many talented people, and to be a part of the company's phenomenal growth. 
While the company has a strong leadership team driving a culture of safety, respect and empowerment, it's the people who make the company so great.  They truly have a desire to do the best they can, and it shows in every candle that leaves the factory. 
 Thanks to the efforts of the best HR team on the planet, and a committee made up of representatives from every department, there is a concerted effort to show everyone working there that they are appreciated. Raffles, lunches, gifts, etc., are more the norm than the exception. Is it the perfect place to work? No. It's hard work; especially during the busy season. Overtime will happen but everyone is made aware of this during the interview process. It can be stressful at times like any job, and you have to be wary of the occasional wonky toilet, but it can also be a lot of fun.  I've seen many lasting friendships form over the years and leaving there felt more like leaving a family. Bottom line is it's a great company to work for and you will meet some amazing people.

Don’t work here unless you are absolutely desperate. Management doesn’t care about anyone and they all have a lack of proper leadership training . They play favorites and award only the people they like with bonuses. If you aren’t close with a supervisor good luck being treated equal. They will talk down to and treat you like a child. Work conditions are subpar and you are expected to work with equipment that is literally held together with masking tape and cardboard. Every day they push the limits of the machinery and their employees to run faster and faster and if you aren’t making numbers you will be spoken to and criticized for not doing your job. And you will never get any appreciation or recognition unless you are close with a supervisor. Somehow this company was voted for one of the best places to work. That’s a joke. They don’t deserve half the praise they get. The ONLY good things I have to say is the plant manager seems to care about the well-being of the employees and the owners talk with with some of the workers if they come by. Other than that this is a poor place to work and I’m saddened that I wasted years of my life at a dead end job where there is no chance of advancing up. For each their own others might have a different outlook but mine has definitely been nothing but negative.

WORST job i’ve been to in my life so far. I’ve worked at pretty terrible places but this I can’t even describe. After getting a new lead/manager , they started to not care anymore and would penalize you for everything even if it was something very minor. People think because they are managers, they get to do whatever they want. Don’t walk from this job “RUN”. If you want a job that is on you 24/7 for other shifts mess ups then by all means , sign up. But it’s not worth it in the end. The managers and supervisors never know what’s going on, whwn you ask for help they don’t help, when you tell them something they say they will fix it but they don’t. So many problems i’ve had , only good thing was some of the co-workers that made my day better. They have a point system and I racked uo points because the lines for clocking in were so long and the clocks were slow , took 5 mins to clock in and people like to stand at the clock and laugh and talk for 10 mins which can make you late but guess what , they blame you and tell you “Well you have to come in early”. I’ve arrived early and still wind up being late due to others so what’s the point? This again is the worse job and I can’t even explain everything in words. Please don’t apply , they love to take advantage of people and others for their own benefit. 

Alene Candles is a fantastic company to work for!  They incorporate and  practice principles of Conscious Leadership.  This allows them to develop and maintain a solid foundation for their culture and communication. Communication is fluid and welcomed at Alene.  They thrive on feedback and suggestions employees present to better improve their culture. Most manufacturing companies are all about the dollar.  Alene is all about their people!  This was evident when they faced the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.   They paid their employees, even when they were shut down for the pandemic.  Always forward thinking, they stepped up and shifted from making candles to making face shields for 1st responders and emergency workers across the country. Alene transitioned smoothly as the country opened and returned to manufacturing.  They implemented and enforced health measures to prevent COVID exposures from occurring within their plant. Alene is a fast-growing company.  They have the right executive leadership team to foster and maintain rapid company growth.  If you want to be a part of a great team of people who care about what they do and each other, Alene is the right place for you!  

Where to begin. Management has zero clue. Be careful of any mistakes you make, you'll be in HR in no time with zero chance to stand up for yourself and you'll jobless soon after. They preach about Conscious Leadership, the leaders never actually do it. Definitely a reactive company than a proactive company. One of the meanest HR departments ever. Most supervisors have zero clue of their job functions and rely on others to do their job for them. Once busy season comes, prepare for 8-10 hours of management micromanaging every second of your work day. It won't be complete without constant meetings and managers/supervisors condescending/belittling you. The only decent part of the culture is a select few people that work there, but other than that, absolutely nothing is worth your time here. Alene Candles is also a proud consumer of video cameras, which is fine, but there's also people within facility who get away with doing absolutely nothing for hours and nothing is ever done about it. Only thing I miss are the people I worked with directly.

I have never worked at or heard of a work environment so awful (and I spent a lot of time in a factory in rural China were there was no safety measures put in place and there was no heat at all in the winter.) I watched multiple people cry every day because they were being treat so terribly. People who had been there for a long time and had vast amounts of knowledge were treated with total disrespect and their skills were not valued at all. I left there every day absolutely disgusted with management/ownership. And don't bother trying to report your concerns to management or HR because nothing good will come from it and you will most likely be punished for complaining about one of the members of their "boy's club".  I would not wish working there on my worst enemy. Run. Run far away and don't look back. You will regret taking a job there!

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