route driver

laborer

material handler

truck driver

maintenance mechanic

East-Penn-Manufacturing

For starters, it is a myth that EPM is a great company to work for.  This must be a vote taken by specific people because in the department I am in, no one likes the condescending attitude that management has towards it "low level" employees.
There is no pension plan which is why there are so many elderly people still working there.  EPM proudly calls them the century club which is basically your age plus the years you have worked there...but no pension.  There is a 401k which only started about 10 years ago.  For the senior employees most are just hanging on until they can collect social security.  Most of them look like they are at death's door after 40 years of service with nothing to show for it except all the time they gave away to make EPM very successful.
Management does not feel the need to explain why we have to work 6-days a week every week.  Instead they post a sign and leave it to you to figure it out.  The worse part is when they post mandatory OT, it is on a Thursday so if you have made plans (and you really should never make plans) you forced to either call out, burn a vacation or cancel your plans.  They that 48 hours notice is respectful enough...most people plan things weeks in advance.  OT can certainly be planned weeks in advance as well.  After all, this company has been in business since 1946, and if they dont know which days are busier than other days, they need to get a logistics expert to oversee the OT schedule.
Management communicate in a very passive-aggressive manner such as I listed above.  A memo will be posted somewhere and it is up to you to find it.  They do this to avoid having to hear employee concerns.
The worst part of the mandatory OT is that 75% of them are very slow days with not much to do but sweep up.  One might say that it great you are getting paid time and half to just hang out.  But most employees believe that management does this so employees will burn their vacation up and eventually have attendance issues which leads to suspension or terminations.  Again a passive-aggressive way to deal with a problem that the company is causing by eliminating your family time while their motto is family is important.  But it is their family...not yours.
EPM needs to come into the 21st century and create relationships with their employees as opposed to giving them a free lunch every quarter with an additional 15 minutes to eat it and call it a "thank you".  What people want is more family time...not a free cold sandwich.

When I started here over 26 years ago, it was a great place to work. Now in recent years the company has gotten oppressive with its new ever changing rules (note* we do not have a company handbook). The health coverage has gotten worse (they are self insured for healthcare and workers compensation), their personal time off policies have gotten worse and the employee treatment has gotten worse from, at very least, plant managers. You have to work a long time to get vacation time...a long time. When I was hired this was a family company and you WERE treated like family. This is not the case now. Deka is the largest employer in Berks County. They do not have the best pay or benefits though. I used to have great pride in working for Delight and East Penn. I can't say that now though. You are NOT treated like family. It does pay the bills, barely. We do get regular raises, 35 cents an hour a year. This has been the same since I started here over 26 years ago. There has been such an influx of people into the county that the company DOES NOT CARE IF YOU LIKE THE WORKING CONDITIONS or NOT. If you don't like it you can quit or get fired! They have literally THOUSANDS of application on hand at all times. They say that there is an "Open Door Policy". The front door that you go in only leads to the back door that you leave from. The ONLY time that things changed for the better, was when unions were attempting to come in. ONLY THEN. The economy is so bad that they do whatever they want because people are so desperate for jobs. I am stuck working for this company ONLY because there are no jobs out there with living wages. And being a 50 something white male with ongoing and upcoming health issues, you can not get a job. The newer policy changes are absolutely aimed at older employees with more vacation time and more health problems. Aimed,in my opinion,at discharging them any way that they can. I am very unhappy with the direction that this company is going. I am very disappointed with the company and its vanishing family atmosphere.

Typically, I would go to battery line that was assigned to me, then I’ll check on the computer to see the quota that needed to be made then make my perpetrations needed to get started. What I learned from working at East Penn Manufacturing was how to be organized and work head.  In this job, I had the opportunity to make much different type of batteries and I had the responsibility to prepare for a new setup for the next battery type so that production wouldn’t be disrupted.  Also I learned how to improvise. It wasn’t unusual for your machine to break down, you can call maintenance and they’ll come and fix the problem. Usually it would take them about 20 to 30 minutes to show up so what I would do is figure out how to fix the problem before maintenance arrived, if they were taking to long. I was only able to do this if there was not a major repair that needed. 
The management was very helpful in assisting you with any problems or situation presented to them.  Whether it be with (PPE) Personal Protection Equipment, a line that was down, family emergency or punch out machine. Management was always busy but always found the way to meet the employee’s needs.
My co-workers were great; a lot of them made the time go faster and made an exciting work atmosphere. We were all very helpful to each other, whether we were on the same line or not.  We all worked as a team, if I was done with the work I was doing in my line I would go to someone else’s line to assist them in whatever they needed help in, until the new set of batteries were ready to be made or my line was operational.  Everyone worked with each other this way.
The hardest part about the job I would have to say is that some days were hotter than others were.  Also the machinery wasn’t in the best shape, so there were days where production would slow down because of the machines braking down so often. There was nothing you could do about it until you were moved to another line.

It sounds so cliche to say, but this job has been like a dream. It's next to impossible to find a place to work nowadays where you feel not only feel comfortable and happy, but you also feel appreciated and supported. East Penn provides the best benefits that the US offers, with almost no out-of-pocket costs, which is AMAZING. We have a 401K and a company-based retirement. East Penn matches your contribution; generously so. Every year, the company assesses pay based off the cost of living in that particular state and adjusts wages based on that. We receive a yearly raise based on the state cost assessment and yearly bonuses. Every year, for one week, East Penn has an appreciation week with special somethings all throughout. There's so much room for growth and advancement; it's nice to feel like your hard work is not only noticed, but sought after and utilized. We have regular, stable hours with regular overtime as well. You have the opportunity here to build raport and relationships with the customers and your coworkers. Our superiors are constantly finding ways to help us with our own daily tasks and making us feel valued. 
East Penn isn't just a company, it's a family. This is where you come for an interview and don't want to leave until it's time to retire.
To me, this is the ideal place to build your life on.

Won't speak for the whole company because I am sure other locations are still enjoyable to work at but the Oelwein location has dived headfirst into the gutter since the current management team took over. The AGM has a giant ego and plays favorites with employees, the HR rep is almost never in her office and you can forget about her returning your phone calls after leaving numerous messages. The GM you'll never see unless there is good news for the company and the only "Family Values" present is shared amongst the office employees and their superiors. Although they butter up their staff with an annual bonus they are slowly eliminating and hosting giveaways for their company picnics you don't have to wander far to see the true colors seeping out of the rainbow tarp they put in front of your face.

I truly would rate this place lower if the pay and benefits were not among the best in the area, that being said the overall stress, upset, and sheer inequality between management and the production employees could not be more abysmal. If you're not being told to save your personal vacation for winter you're being told to plan work around your sick children. The disconnection of reality between management and staff is wider than the grand canyon with no end in sight.

My best advice, work at this place for the money, not the culture because at the end of the day they do not respect you on any personal level.

while as a whole i did enjoy working at  east penn . however in some of the departments i worked in the foreman was the biggest problem i had  and upper management wouldnt seem to listen to your concerns about the foreman or how he treated everyone even when every single person in the department said something . other departments were better though and the foremens were great to work for,in those departments . in most departments it was fast paced which did make the day go fast but sometimes became stressful . there are departments where there is alot of favoritism and politics but as a whole not bad to deal with . each building seemed to have its own rules or how it interpreted the rules which made it sometimes difficult to know what the rules were or how the rules were applied if you had to work or transfer to other buildings . towards the end of my employment the owners died and since then the company hasnt been the same and i hear people say things are changing for the worst since the original owners died . i had to leave for medical reasons . otherwise id probably still be there and do miss working there at times even for the foremens i had issues with . depending upon the division and department there was alot of over time and usually that was mandatory . they did give out special meals , turkeys for christmas , bonus , and a company picnic .

A typical day for me involved running a continuous casting machine that turns molten lead into lead battery grids. The company touts their adherence to 5S and Lean Six Sigma but routinely promotes people to supervisory positions with inadequate mandatory job knowledge and ability training. Imagine being micro-managed by a supervisor that doesn't even know or understand the job he's supposed to be a supervisor for. Not all supervisors are like this but there are enough of them there that it's a problem. Being a bonus based employee, when we are slow my pay takes a big hit because I get no bonus or less than full bonus. I think there should be pay tiers based on ability although no such system exists and this would reward employees for longevity in a certain position or role. I make the same amount as someone new provided we produce the same amount of product even though the more experienced employees help overall efficiency. Experience leads to less down time and better quality. I enjoy the independence I have doing this job as the machine does the work as long as you set up properly and have adequate troubleshooting skills. There is a lot to know and remember and there are many times when decisions have to be made quickly and under stress but you get used to that. I wish it paid more.

During a typical day, my main job is to make sure that all the production workers have what they need for the day. When that is done, usually I request from a supervisor if there are any change overs or new molds to bring down for parts that need to be run. So depending on the change over that will take up most of my day all the while moving, entering, and transferring product. Printing out labels and of course, keeping my co-workers running at a efficient pace. 
    I have learned many things doing this job. One of which, you must be able to move. keep a steady head on your shoulders and most importantly keeping your eye for any mistakes and\or detailed instructions. My co-workers will often dictate how my day will go. Whether its issues with the molds or running out of the material that they need. The most enjoyable part of my job is definitely having a smooth night where all the work gets done, entered, transferred, and my co-workers are able to make money. 
    Management is often the hardest part of my job during my time at East Penn. Some know what they are doing, but for the most part they have a hard time providing answers to questions that need to be answered. This leads to a lot of people being frustrated when they come to work as well as when they leave.  But this job for me is definitely a 9 on the stress scale.

I've worked with this company for a long time. I used to feel very positively about it. In the recent year or two since Covid, my enthusiasm has disappeared. They've addressed the current labor shortage with several half measures that are not addressing the core issues, namely lack of skilled maintenance, and poor pay considering the hazardous elements we deal with on a daily basis. In very many cases, the lead men and supervisors who work directly above you were former laborers and machine operators themselves and know the true struggles you face as an employee. The upper management in most cases however see you as nothing more than a number and do nothing but complicate things in the work environment. This was once a very family oriented place, but their mentality seems to have shifted far away from their core values. The work is hard, the work environment is hot and filled with hazardous materials, and you can count on sacrificing your weekends and your quality of life outside of work, as you will be tired all of the time. It takes a long time to accumulate any significant vacation time, and there are no paid sick days.

Would not recommend for long term employment. There’s no scope of growth once you start within the warehouse. It’s common to move laterally within the company but if your intention for your career is to grow and continuously better yourself; this is not the environment for you unless you’re comfortable waiting 30 years for the opportunity. The management team from top to bottom is incompetent & useless, the facilities & machinery are poorly maintained & dated, the benefits are mediocre at best with a special emphasis on the lack of sick leave & limited PTO. There is no communication, transparency, or structure. A confusing, mismanaged mess every day. And forget about work-life balance because there is none. Please take my advice, if you have a strong desire to be valued by your employer & feel like a part of a progressive team… this is not the environment for you. It will be like stepping back in time in a very filthy space. The best part about working there was the people I got to work with on the floor (excluding the lead & foreman of course), a very diverse group of people, welcoming & helpful but incredibly unhappy with the work conditions as well. I’m incredibly embarrassed that I’ve worked here for so long. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Route driver 50 salaries reported	$29.52 per hour
Laborer 33 salaries reported	$23.03 per hour
Material handler 9 salaries reported	$29.00 per hour
Truck driver 27 salaries reported	$88,704 per year
Maintenance mechanic 8 salaries reported	$30.00 per hour

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