production

painter

machine operator

shift leader

industrial mechanic

Crystal-Finishing-Systems-Incorporated

for myself because of my character and work ethic i had it easy at Crystal. i had the freedom to apply myself wherever i seen fit. i never got push back from management when id change things around or implement better work processes or even when i decorated the department for holidays. but the working crew.. theyd come to me with all their troubles and i tried so hard so make them happy while strategicly speaking with managment about the issues. i watched many people walk out those doors... and it hurt so much cuz they deserved everything they were asking for just unfortunately the management crew is very stuck in their ways and wont listen to change. and no matter how hard i tried to make employees jobs easier, as ive been told many times i do, it can only help so much before someone gives up and goes to find better employment. there were no other leads to i took on the resposibility and spread myself out along the 3 shifts so that i was available for everyone at some point in time. i didnt mind it at all, that place was my home and those were my people. and altho my pay wasnt great either i accepted the payment of gratitude which the management team would show all the time. but the gratitude came to an abrupt stop and the pleas from all the floor members became too much, i knew what i bought to the company and without the gratitude it wasnt enough to keep me happy anymore. managment did not take kindly  to my stand against them. without me there as many still speak to me the department and shift wars have began again. the department i kept tidy is once again unwalkable most days. there is absolutely no leadership on the floor since i was let go and stress is very high so people are not getting along with even their own teams. 
so to answer these questions. my typical day was very long, i corrected things from engineering, played a big role in QC and inventory, i trained people including myself from scraps i could dig up on instructions cuz everyone who KNEW had left, i helped other departments, organized and overseen tasks for all of fab as well as relaying the schedule and making changes for efficiency, but always my number one job was to make everyone smile.
i learned a whole lot thanks to the freedom i was given to do all the things i did
already spoke on managment but to add . i had a lot of freedom in when i started and ended my shift and i worked 12+ hours most days but i upset the manager in the end and tho i did the 9 hours for my shifts, because i left before "my shifts end time" he pointed me.. which ended my time there as i had many new health issues arise and had to miss a lot of work, i found an accomidation to keep me at work far too late and even missed work after finding it because the equipment i needed wasnt supplied right away.
workplace culture was great when i was around but i hear its bad now and during my position after Crystal many of the crew had called to ask if they could come work for me.
the hardest part was watching people go due to unfairness of pay or titles. and then knowing taking my stance also ment goodbye.
the most enjoyable, everything else. the people i got to know, the gratitude i had gotten for so long from management and i the gratitude i continue to get from the crew members, the freedom and not feeling i was "just a lead" i was all of it and trusted to do so, the respect i had earned from everyone, i truly cherished so much about my time at Crystal.

The first year I worked there was alright, I started in the plastics department and learned a lot, I was able to work in different areas of the assembly area (the only department with an assembly line) and move around. There was a whole lot of over time because they over-promised to the customer and their $3 million paint line was severely under performing. There were times parts didn't come off the line and we sat around not having parts to sand and buff. 
Then I moved the to Rack Maintenance area 6 months in. Its a glorified position that started out at $13.75/hr and expected you do fix really old and out of date carts, eventually we were allowed to design and create new carts. Being young and a woman, I was constantly asked where my male co-workers were, and was undervalued for a long time. After 5 months in that department my manager quit after 15-17 years. He couldn't handle the higher ups ignoring me. I felt the same, it took 9 solid months of badgering my managers to get me uniforms- and it was only the shirt. 7 months after that I had 2 pairs of pants and 7 shirts, when everyone else had 11 sets. 
I actually really enjoyed my job, yes it was the first longer term welding jobs I had and I knew I had a lot to learn, but I also had a lot to share. I was constantly told I was wrong and would often be welding parts the incorrect way because apparently it was the Crystal Way. Their best welder was in Maintenance, and taught me all I now know about welding aluminum. He was certified many times at different companies. When i was still there (early 2019), the company wanted to certify all the welding employees. We all went to the technical school to see how if it was worth certifying us and only one person passed. Seriously, no one is certified there. They lied to their current customers to try to get new product lines from them so they can get more customers. I understand adding another service for the company, but welding isn't something a person can do over night. I ended up being terminated after a long, drown out battle. 
I'm grateful for the experience and the other guys I could learn from in the Maintenance department, but the company itself is not for hard working long term employees. I've seen a lot of great people leave for better pastures. I'm glad I am gone, but I do miss the ability to come up my my own designs for carts for other departments. As a welder, I did not make over $14.35/hr after working there for 2 years. People on 2nd shift starting out made more than I did because of the shift premium, there should be a bigger wage gap than that for skilled labors.

If you’re going to work here, avoid high performance department. Horrible work environment, management doesn’t care about their employees who cared about their job, just wanted to get rid of people who brought up problems with the line instead of fixing it. But they do love to retain the lazy workers for the long run. You could bust your behind for that company and supervisor can give you a great review, but will only give you a 3% raise while the lazy people who barely does the bare minimum will get the same 3% raise as you. Booths barely works 90% of the time and gets worst over the summer as booth temps can reach upwards to 100 degrees with the PPE can feel like 120. But management wouldn’t care if you drop dead in there because they’re too busy sitting in their office. Management does love to gaslight you if you bring up a problem. If the problem becomes bigger, is when they would put a band-aid on it and call it a day. Management’s two favorite lines are, “I’ll get back to you on it” and “things are going to change”, but they’ll never follow up on their words.  1st shift has to deal with all the special jobs and colors while 3rd shift does what ever they want cause they don’t care about what their supervisor has to say. You can come into a mess from 3rd shift, and management will tell you to clean it up instead of saying something to 3rd shift. If you do plan to work in that department just know you ain’t going to get the proper training because no one there knows how to train nor knows how to paint properly. There’s no communication between supervisor, management, or leads. You could be painting a big job for an hour and a half, and no one says anything about the job being off color until the last rack. Also, high performance is the only department where breaks ARE NOT guaranteed.  

The general workforce at the company were positive, hard working, and enjoyable to be around and work with. I worked in the "Float Pool" which allowed me to control my hours to a high degree, gave me options of overtime when I needed and/or wanted it, allowed me some degree of control over what I did on a daily basis, and who I worked with because I was expected to be able to fit into any department. The lower level supervisors/cell leads were often promoted from within and had close ties to their subordinates. It was the upper level management that were often problematic. The Owner had an open door policy, and you could be honest with him, though.

You are routinely expected to give a $15 worth of experience, effort, motivation, etc. but you'll get paid two thirds, or less, of that. The industry they started with was Plastics painting for, mostly, Mercury aquatic motor covers. Then they branched out into Aluminum Extrusion and other types of paint lines that are not quite the same as Plastic Painting. They tried to make a team of people that could get their extrusion and all working, but really, I think they got people to work for them who had little other choice due to economic reasons. I know I had little choice, as well as numerous coworkers who had similar stories. This has lead to them giving small, if any, pay raises, lower pay than what the workers deserve, but they still expect the aging equipment and the employees to provide a product well beyond what should be expected of them.

I was a painter in the High Performance Department working 1st shift (5:30am - 3:30pm).  Overall, the job was very simple and if you have an eye for art or anything in that kind of field then painting would definitely be a breeze for you.  Due keep in mind that there are a variety of departments at Crystal Finishing and their management is different for each one.  When I was employed at Crystal Finishing, I was given the opportunity to use static air paint guns on the job.  Protection equipment were provided, so worrying about the fumes was a minor issue.  The job is different each day, so just because you didn't like it one day, the next might be a little satisfying.  One reason, in my opinion, why I quit Crystal Finishing, is that on some days breaks were not provided.  So, on 10-12 hour shifts, you would have zero breaks while all the other workers had theirs.  I found it quite ridiculous.  "Deal with it.  It'll get better." said the department manager. Sure, it's easy for you to say since all you do is sit at a desk.  I waited for months and I just couldn't do it anymore.  But, to some people, breaks are a waste of time and those people live up to the name "workaholic".  So if you are prepared for a job that doesn't give you breaks sometimes, this is the job for you.  This is only applying for the High Performance Department, not the others.

All you have to do is show up.   It's not a performance based pay scale.   Whole departments get same yearly raise, no individual raises.  They don't pay you for what you do or know.   People who worked there for years still only make as much as someone new coming off the street; base pay is raised every year but previous employees only get raises because of the base pay bump.
Management doesn't care about your work ethics.   They don't care to listen about department improvements.  What they say is how they want it run; which only worked about 25% of the time.   Bad communication.
Quality and safety were there main goals, but nothing in our department was really safe to use.  Maintenance was something rarely heard of; they don't fix anything properly the first time which always leaded to bigger problems down the line.
If you like overtime, here's your place but if not it's all mandatory.  The CEO says he's a family-oriented business,  but as a single parent,  they really don't care if you have kids.  They expect you to still work and even cover other absent employees even if it means cutting into your child's drop-off or pick-up times.  They'll just tell you to get someone else to watch them.
They really don't care any their current employees.

A day at crystal is always an exiting day. Start of by setting up the paint booth and when parts come a round you start spraying ! ive learned how to paint out of a hand gun and ive learned alot of chemicals and mixtures that are needed to create and cut paint to the right percentage.  Management overall was fair and collect aslong as the workplace were in. its always a clean cool calm area with the help of our employees that clean on there down time. The hardest part id say about the job is having to pick up parts that have fallen off of the rack in the dry off oven. also maintenance of the paint pumps.

Well...
Crystal Finishing Systems is an okay place to work. There is a two dollar shift differential for third. Orientation is a two day class room like affair in which you are given a lot of information which I appreciated. The company president/owner speaks at orientation. He strikes me as a good, hard-working conservative man. Lunch is covered by the company both days. Some leads and departments are not the greatest. Depending on your placement, there could be some issues or everything could be great. The company gives opportunities to a lot of people, both qualified workers and just about everyone else. There are some safety issues that could be addressed throughout both plants. Overtime was always available to me. Opportunity to be cross-trained. Break room has vending machines, microwaves, fridge, hot coffee. Crystal is better then some other factories in central WI for sure. Overall, it is what you make of it, just like anything else in life. 

I was welcomed in with a hearty welcome. The people are very great top work with. The first company where the leaders show themselves and make you feel like you are apart of something bigger and greater. I cannot give this company enough praise. Honestly they set you up for greatness. The work is not easy but they will help you get into rhythm and support you until you are ready to hold your own. Some of the crew are more self dependant and prefer to work alone and others are comfortable working as a group but, they make it work and you'll never have to feel out of place as long as you put in the work.

It frequently feels, which is communicated at weekly meetings, that the company almost "owns" the employees. The wages are extremely low and the insurance is just average with high bi-weekly rates. It appears that the person who is intelligent and experienced, has a disadvantage, as thinking is not encouraged. There is a high rate of turn over among 450 plus employees. It would seem that since this is a non-union shop, leaders and thinkers and hard workers would be compensated for their service with higher wages. They are not. All employees, no matter work ethic, are paid on the same very low scale. One could not survive if not for a great deal of overtime.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Production 2 salaries reported	$19.13 per hour
Painter 1 salary reported	$45,000 per year
Machine operator 4 salaries reported	$19.25 per hour
Shift leader 1 salary reported	$22.00 per hour
Industrial mechanic 2 salaries reported	$34.50 per hour

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