material handler

production associate

medical technologist

shipping and receiving clerk

product support

Chapin International

Your experience as an employee will be influenced by what department you work for. I've seen reviews about the management and truth is it varies. The HR department and the like are actually pretty excellent. It's the supervisors who vary, and the HR IS however pretty oblivious to how some of them operate and could use some investigation. Only 2 of the supervisors that I know of will actively give you formal training pertaining to your job. The other I've experienced left training up to fellow employees who cut their own corners, do things for you in the beginning instead of teaching you how(then get upset later when you yourself haven't learned it), and frankly at the end of the day doesn't deserve the position based on how much more you see them when you aren't in their department, they're off chatting with friends. 
I think the vast majority of the problems at the company can be dwindled to few by filtering out the supervisors that don't want the extra responsibility of being in charge, doing anything more than paperwork, and clearly don't want to train the employees themselves ensuring things are done correctly and that the employee can be left alone without worry that things will slow up or be messed up. 
Obviously though, the job pays the bills which is all any of us can really want. 
Work life balance also depends on department and time of year. 

Company growth is greatly limited by job openings not being available to lesser employees. Becoming any of the higher ups requires personal connections to those that already exist. I had had a few people tell me about positions in the offices that were supposedly open, but admitted they would not be on the job bidding board or any site to apply. 

Typical day; get there, clock in, small meeting with your line team. Work straight, work fast and hard. Any breaks/lunches you had no travel time (if you are a smoker you'd have to take 4 or 5 minutes off your break to get outside and come back to your line altogether, leaving you only 10 min on breaks and 25 on lunches) and they would penalize you if you were even a single minute late to the line. They would penalize you for having to go to the freaking bathroom!
I was only with this company for a week and a half. My last night, 15 minutes prior to the end of my shift, supervisor comes over and tells me that they are letting me go because they are not seeing the progress they want to see. How am I supposed to work as fast as someone that has been there much longer than I had? I had been working just as fast as a line worker that had been there for 3 MONTHS. If I hadn't been making the progress they wanted to see, why not let go the other worker?
Management didn't even consider switching me to a line that isn't as difficult (for background, they started me off on the line that all the older workers believe to be the toughest).
Chapin has one of the highest overall employee turnover rates, and it's no wonder why. Impossible expectations combined with management apathy.
I only have 3 enjoyable things to this place; you can talk with your coworkers which makes the shift go by faster, or bring in a speaker to listen to your own music while working, and the pay is rather good for a beginner just starting into a manufacturing job.

Buy American made and work in American manufacturing - I absolutely love this place - the people, the work, and what we make.  Although I drive in from out of town, I dont mind - its relaxing and way better than trying to push through rush hour traffic.   This is manufacturing - which means there's machines running and process and safety procedures are stressed and re-stressed.  Attendance is important - there is no strolling in on your own schedule. (they rely on you- and that is a good thing).  There are a fair number of temps that dont seem to understand that - which explains why they are still temp workers.  But there are plenty of people that started out walking through the door and stayed here working their way up.   Its physical work - and the supervisors require respect - not only to the higher ups - but to your co-worker.  They train you with what you need to know and after 45 days of working here -join the union (Boilermakers). Safety, Attendance and Respect.    If you have got those three things down, its the place for you. Pay is excellent, and you will be happy to work in a place that is actually not only growing your wallet but our local economy.  Christmas party- Summer picnic -everyone is invited - no separate special party.  401(k) match and the benefits are the best in the country.

Chapin is very unique, they have some good people working there but overall the management is horrible. Inconsistent, rash, and spontaneous. You will get paid decently especially if your consistent, but beware if you're a good worker you will get a lot dumped on your lap. They micromanage the heck out of you, give you horrible co-workers that are either incompetent or total drug addicts and they get treated better than you. Even with that they could be an alright place to work but the management allows the place to be in constant disarray. The management contradicts themselves when it comes to rulings and advice, nothing has a definitive process although they will tell you it does. There's no accountability and pretty much they rule with fear and pressure, especially with their union workers. You will see you get treated way differently than a union worker, but even in that you still don't get the respect that is common in human society. Avoid working here unless you're desperate to make money, about 70% of the people I worked around are felons so they hire anyone as long as you show up and work. Turnover is unbelievably high, you will get yelled at for not excelling in a broken system.

I stuck around for 8 years, couldn't advance anymore after 4 years because of the EVP of Operations. I've witnessed racism, homophobia and harassment with nothing done due to who perpetrated it. If you're in the "club" you get privileges. If you're not, you get bullied and pushed around because they view you as replaceable. 

The union is just as bad as the company. The president makes side deals to advance himself while the members get written up for the slightest of things. Discipline depends on who you are and how they feel about you. They don't care about any of the workers (company or union). The standard union answer is "They can do what they want". 

The forced overtime rule means you have to work, especially if you are  near the bottom of the seniority list. They don't care if you have kids. They don't care if you're sick. They just care about numbers (production). Even if the quality is questionable. 

If you need a job quick, this is the place. There is a potential to make a lot of money, but you have to work a lot of overtime. The best part of the composition package is the insurance, the only reason "Compesation/Benefits" got 2 stars.

I really enjoyed the work I did. I started to a trimmer packer and eventually became a screen printer. However after that point there was no more upward mobility.The work is physical and fast paced and that appealed to me.  The pay wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad either. My direct supervisors were great, but upper management was terrible. Always asking for more and more with no added compensation, implementing a draconian attendance policy and just behaving in such a way that you become convinced that the company doesn’t care about you as a human being at all. Ended up taking 30000 plus steps a night while the other person who was supposed to be helping me was consistently sent to other departments. The general attitude from upper management seemed like “ if you can do it, you should do it” regardless of the toll it may put on your body.  The insurance however is very good and very cheap.

Management regularly demeans, criticizes, and lies to employees. There are so may employees with great work ethic, who truly want to succeed. Unfortunately they are of no real value to any management all the way up to the CEO. All employees are viewed as easily replaceable. The pay and benefits are decent, and the work load is very fair, but nothing is worth the way you will fill going to work in the morning.  There were times recently when management spent 15 or more minutes screaming about one very small issue. An issue that could have been addressed, or avoided, with respect and clear instruction. These moments are regular occurrences here. In the last  2 years my department, a department of 6, has seen more than 20 people come and go. This company wears people down in every possible way. There is no way to communicate how awful this place truly is. 
Look elsewhere. No one deserves to be treated the way you will be here.

I have to say, I am shocked by the reviews of this company and management. The management team including the CEO cares deeply for employees and Chapin gives some of the best benefits in the area. The 401(k) match is absolutely phenomenal, I haven't come across such a generous match since. They even have a wonderful continuting education program that many people don't take advantage of (which is crazy!). From my perspective this is a place where if you work hard you are rewarded. This company provides some of the best upward mobility in the area. This is company that values family and provides flexibility once you have put some time in. I think the problem is in the age of tech companies many people forget that manufacturing has to run differently. This isn't a job where you can work remote in Cabo. That being said you will learn a ton, receive great mentorship and coaching, and be compensated on a high level.

Before Chapin I worked for a small company with only about 20+ employees.  I hugely appreciated being part of a strong team where we all knew each other well and contributed to the best of our ability.  From what I have heard and from other experiences, big companies can easily make you feel like a number or a cog in their machine.  Chapin has not felt that way at all to me.  It's not easy or common, but they have managed to grow to quite a large size and still have a personal touch.  This means you can get the benefit of both which is huge.

My only issue is that I (as well as some others I have talked to) don't live in the Batavia area so it's a bit of a drive to get to the office.  I have been searching for a new home closer to work to even get around this shortcoming.  All in all, this has been the best place for me to work.  Would take the job again in a heartbeat.

The worst experience I've ever had for a job, they lie to you about how easy it is and you can move up and excell but don't even have a chance to get the hang of one line before they bounce you to the next line and the fact that they have multiple rude employees training you so you never know who's right or wrong, have people who worked there years complimenting you on how your doing, to oh your fired for declined speed. Not to mention the number of employees that go through and leave because of the lack of stability of knowing your job due to the whiplash you get from all the lines in means of also poor training. I would not suggest anyone work there only because of how hard they expect you to work with little to poor training of the rude employees that work there not to mention the favoritism they have over the rude employees.worst job ever I liked it there at orientation and had high hopes for moving up but that job will bring you down fast.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Material handler 9 salaries reported	$18.85 per hour
Production associate 4 salaries reported	$19.05 per hour
Medical technologist 2 salaries reported	$14.50 per hour
Shipping and receiving clerk 4 salaries reported	$22.39 per hour
Product support 3 salaries reported	$18.33 per hour

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