sales representative

customer service representative

human resources generalist

credit analyst

product specialist

Formosa Plastics

Worked A.L.C.O.A for almost 7 years, and thought it was a tough place to work at. I would look at the Formosa plant across the street and thought," why don't I give them a try" , little did I know that I was stepping into a h3llish work environment. When I first started there they sent us to their training. The training was a set of PowerPoint slides, that we would read off the screen and after that take a multiple-choice test. After a few days of this the instructor sent us out to the field to do O.J. T. The O.J. T was pretty much ridiculous because all it was composed of was a set of round sheets that we would walk out. Some of the season operators of the been there 10 to 12 years showed us where the equipment was and we would record it on our round sheets. The O.J. T was substandard in that there was no training manuals, no hands on some sort of demo models, or any explanation on what the particular equipment did or what to expect. The O.J. T pretty much was like walking around the pitch black room bumping into things and not knowing what they would do or what process they preformed. When I brought this up to management they told me that I needed to review my PowerPoint slides. and P&ID's which did not tell you a damnn thing, only how one part was connected to the next part. One of the things it was really ridiculous was having to draw the whole unit in front to your supervisor and some Taiwanese guy that could hardly speak English but was put in charge of the whole unit, you needed a interpreter to figure out what he is talking about. The whole focus of their training program is to draw the unit from memory. When I brought this up to my supervisor that some of the season operators the been there 10 to 12 years couldn't even do this and he gave me this blank look, which was normal because he walked around the place with a blank look. As far as their safety it is a joke. When I worked for A.L.C.O.A I was a union representative and we would have safety meetings once every week. We as operators would talk in a group and come up with solutions to some of the safety concerns that could injure or kill people at A.L.C.O.A. Formosa would have safety meeting every now and then, this was only due to a miracle in that they would lower the feed rate to the reactors given us time to say a few words about safety. As far as the operators giving any input about process improvement Formosa is  ridiculous, they got so many engineers that half the time they walk around the unit counting the blades of grass growing in the cracks of the sidewalks. I'll never forget when I first step foot into the unit and had to hear one of the speeches by one of the clowns that work there. As a new hire we were all sitting at the table and in walks this stooge stating that he is the most intelligent person in the whole unit. Come to find out he didn't even have an Associates degree, and had barely graduated high school. When they say," go to Formosa it's a real nice place to work", just smile at them and keep walking all the while thinking," poor guys if only they had wings they could be like the proverbial bat and fly out a h3ll".

Management is lacking at best and the hierarchy is not clearly defined. If you are contracted through Taurus you will have even less understanding of the people working above you. There were consistent policy changes that were seemingly made obtuse for the purpose of confusing employees. When asking higher ups about these changes you would receive a hand wave and "it is what it is". The work itself is not bad but having to deal with management that refuses to properly manage it's employees or even perform the bare minimum tasks expected of them make it a very miserable work environment. The Taurus leadership onsite is very well known for spending the day on YouTube and Reddit instead of answering phone calls or emails in a timely manner. The offsite Taurus leadership is also excellent at ignoring critical information requests. Management would also frequently complain about employees beneath them to their peers instead of coaching them on ways they could improve. This includes saying things such as "I don't know why we would hire someone like that they are useless."  Raises were discussed with many employees saying they were approved but then over the course of a year these raises were never seen. No reason would be given for why these raises seemed to be on a permanent hold.  Overall very unprofessional and difficult to move up.

At Formosa Plastics USA, shift operators work a 12 hr rotating shift scheduled. There are four shifts that rotate on a four week day/ night work cycle. The first set of the cycle includes a Monday thru Thursday work week. The shift starts at 06:00 and ending on Thursday at 18:00. 
I arrive at work 45mins early to make relief and also to enjoy a cup or two of fresh brewed coffee. You can get a lot of information about the previous shift conditions just by sipping and listening. 
After the completion of the first set of the 12 hr days four day week.   I look forward to a needed 7 days off. The days off fly by quickly, because of needed attention to family life and leisure activities.
The second set of the cycle starts Friday night, 18:00 thru Tuesday morning 06:00. This set is the most difficult and taxing on mentally staying alert around operational conditions. 
After this set of nights, the third set of the cycle starts on Friday for thee consecutive days ending on Sunday at 18:00. This completes the third set and look forward to Monday off. 
The fourth set of the work cycle starts after the day off on Tuesday night 18:00 thru Friday morning 06:00. That weekend scheduled off and that concludes the four week work cycle.
This schedule is demanding and overtime is required when needed to cover call ins on the other three shifts,
I have great respect for my coworkers, we are all very close and treat each other like family.

The company is characterized by decent pay/benefits and relatively strong job security. 

In general the company is reactive rather than proactive on issues of safety, mechanical integrity, and the environment. 

The company is willing to hold benefits hostage in order to manipulate workforce,  as seen in recent pandemic responses. 

The financial side of the business is ran fron NJ and Taiwan. There is some serious disconnect between what is communicated to employees at the unit level, and the response seen from financial decision-makers. Bricks with no straw. 

Older highly paid Taiwanese employees are basically untouchable and basically get put to pasture in some out of the way office. Meanwhile, all of the pressure and requirement in a period of intense organizational change goes on younger lower paid employees. 

Over all, it's a good place to work if you are stuck in this area and can't find your way elsewhere. 

A typical day for me with this company was also anything but typical. Most days I had no idea what I was scheduled to do until I arrived. Later on however I was chosen to be part of a specialized group and things later became fairly routine from there. I learned many things on the job mostly dealing in tools and equipment however. The management during my employment was incredible, I have absolutely zero complaints. The workplace culture was definitely friendly although safety was absolutely first. The workplace environment was a very potentially dangerous one to be in. The hardest part for me working there was the long hours in the scorching heat . The most enjoyable thing about being there all in all was the whole experience. I truly enjoyed this job and everyone that I worked with at the time.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Only working 14 scheduled days a month 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Lately the last 5 years with all the new hires 95%
Of them require baby sitters  they are phone operators not process operators 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Somewhat professional ,the company is made up of 20 different units so policy’s and rules vary by departments 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
12 hour shifts working a inside job (board operator )or field operator (outside job )  working with contractors as well as Formosa maintenance crafts

Manage and work with documentation, wrote procedures, specifications and policies, created and streamed line checklists, managed budget and overall expenses for department, trained co-workers and coached engineering departments on program requirements. 
Hardest part of job was being involved in too many projects outside scope of my position.  
The most enjoyable part was receiving high audit results and bonus incentives for work performed and insurance paid by company.

We receive samples regularly throughout a shift and are expected to run various tests on each sample (i.e. density, melt index, flowability, etc.) to ensure that each sample falls within company control standards. Coworkers are for the most part pleasant and helpful to work alongside, and supervisors are of assistance when necessary. Probably the most difficult part of the job would be the rotating shift work schedule, which is very hard for the body to get accustomed to. This job has sharpened my multi-tasking and time management skills.

Formosa is a privately owned company with limited career advancement opportunity unless you are family members or close friends.  Is a male-dominated culture, rarely see female managers. The company is very focused on separation of duties.  There is no useless meetings to discuss strategies or metrics. The entire company is mainly focused on generating results and profit, everything else are secondary.  Each function can focus on what they do the best.

Formosa's a great place to get your feet wet if you're interested in working in an international corporate setting. A primarily Asian population requires much knowledge and/or quick adaptation to customs and language used by the employees.

A typical day at work consists of daily individual tasks as well as a need to be able to quickly resolve unforeseen issues.

This company is extremely financially stable, so benefits will not be skimped. Loyalty is important.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Sales representative 4 salaries reported	$105,426 per year
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Product specialist 1 salary reported	$91,598 per year

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