senior maintenance person

maintenance technician

senior machine operator

production supervisor

maintenance electrician

Graham-Packaging-Company

Most co-workers are good to work with. 
Management isn't bad but company doesn't invest enough into their equipment.

Operators are expected to do multiple task and job duties in one.

Machine operators are Palletizer Operators also. Something they don't clarify when interviews. Most similar jobs have separate Palletizer Operators. Not at Graham. 

The Machine Operator runs the blow mold machinery, conducts quality check, load preforms, and runs the Palletizer and be a technician all at the same time.

In a perfect world it can be done, but the lines are constantly faulting, jams are constant, blow mold machinery is aged and constantly going down. Every 20 minutes there is issue with something making for a long shift everyday.

The pay isn't worth the headache.  But honestly, the workers pull miracles every shift. They are hard working and underpaid for their work. . And the manager know it also. But it's almost like the management cam only do so much. They know the equipment is on its last leg. But they keep pushing through it.

It was a please to work with those dedicated workers.  Just wasn't for me. Not for the starting pay. It didn't equal the combined position into one called "Machine Operator III"..  

Great for people who have no manufacturing experience. Because they don't know better. But for people with life experiences working in manufacturing, you will see right through the smoke. Especially with having to run a Palletizer at the same time.

The schedule and getting paid weekly is the main reason I stayed so long.  The management isn't bad at all.  Just show up on time and deal with the pain.

AZ

Worst thing I can say about this place is the job can get aggravating. A lot of the equipment is outdated which can lead to all sorts of headaches, even with all the preventative maintenance done - and yes, PMs do happen here regularly. All the obsolete machinery and its complications can bleed into quality, so you have to be very diligent and keep a close eye on what you are producing on your line. Like I said, it gets aggravating sometimes.

The location I work at has high turnover for management. Culture is hard to build and maintain when there is a new plant manager every year. No management position here is safe. They are either fired or relocated. Whether they are good or bad it doesn't matter, you know they will be gone soon. 

The company itself is solid. They pay very fairly and offer quite a few incentives in regards to attendance, performance, and safety. Benefits are good as well as retirement. There is room for growth and opportunities for advancement happen regularly.  It is a 12 hr rotating shift for most hourly employees. So work life balance is very easy to maintain. Overtime is available if you want it, rarely is it forced. The plant floor is also climate controlled. It's not a nice room temperature, but you're not sweating to death either - it's bearable. Leads and supervisors are very helpful too. 

All in all this place is solid. Keep a level head, apply yourself, and don't miss work and good things will happen. Are there better jobs out there? Sure, but there are far worse as well. This place is what you make it. I'm happy here.

Constantly needing to fix things, tons of fluctuations in the way in which things need to get fixed. Being required to do more than what you should have to. Being pulled in a million directions, constant disorder & chaos. They constantly "wing in" with everything, changing things around on the fly to accommodate whatever happens.

All automated, with minimal people to run stuff, so when things break down and you have to hand stack boxes, there's not enough people. No one is tasked w/ relieving you, you basically relieve each other, and go on break when things are calm enough (except things are rarely stable). Extreme lack of communication, even with the supervisor. Management gets upset because of low output, but doesn't do anything to actually fix or replace the bad machines.

I've never had a job in 30 years that was so constantly random, chaotic, disorderly, and ridiculous w/ how things work and how much goes wrong in 1 day, it's preposterous. Worked at a restaurant for 10 years and it was less annoying, irritating, and stressful than this, literally.

Avoid this place at all costs. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
If you like constantly helping everyone else (as you're required to do) to where it interferes w/ your own tasks, then it's for you.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
 An average day there is like a bad day at my previous jobs, and a good day is like a normal day at previous jobs, that's what.

After 2 years of employment with Graham I had had enough. Everything is always breaking down with little help from maintenance for repairs. With four shifts you end up working every other weekend. Employee breaks are often missed unless you speak up. When you do speak up about anything you get black listed. Employees are always expected to pick up the slack when things break or when the shift is short handed. As far as management is concerned the employees priorities, as far as what needs to be done, changes from day to day. One day it's quality and the next day is quantity. Many of the employees are temps and many of the ones that are hired in have felony records, did not graduate from high school, or have some other outstanding flaw. They are so desperate people. They pay well, but the working conditions are horrible. It's a revolving door. Not only with the production people, but with corporate staff. HR changes hands every 2 to 3 months as well as management. The plants are normally dirty. Bathrooms stink, employees never raise the seat, the paper towel is always empty and the people they hire to clean the bathrooms do a horrible job. DO NOT TRUST THE MANAGEMENT. They will back stab you at every turn. They will lie to you, talk about you, break promises and will in most cases treat you like an idiot. If you show any initiative you will be looked down upon and belittle. This is by far the worst place I ever worked. Their is no room for advancement. Avoid working here at all costs. It is not a good place to work.

graham in Lexington Kentucky pays really well from the start. Has great insurance and every other weekend off. However it's not for everyone. its extremely stressful and the 12 hour shifts are long and grueling. It ruins your clothing. You have to multi task at all times. So much to do and a large area of ground to cover. Also a lot of testing and computer data entry while still watching a very large dangerous machine,converyor and palletizer that can jam up or go haywire at any moment. It seems you need another set of eyes and arms and legs at times. mandatory overtime after the first 90 days. You can make lots of money quickly here.On work days be prepared to barely have time to eat and sleep.machinery is old and worn out. constant alarms and break downs and plastic jars flying everywhere. Constant quality issues that need adjustment. They tell you you get 90 days of training. In reality they quickly show you the basics and turn you loose. So much I do not know and yet they turn me loose on a large line. You constantly run in this job' Also a massive amount of defective jars you have to dump in the regrinder. Situations arise every day where you don't know what to do and no one is around to help. Machines leak oil constantly so you slip slide and fall a lot. Great pay and some good people here but ultimately for me it's just not worth the constant stress and uncertainty. This job consumes you and your life. If you handle stress well you will love it

I feel as if the Lexington facility is in a downward spiral and about to lose their contract with their main customer. With so many quality issues and very poor management I felt is was in my best interest to look for a job elsewhere. I worked there for over 4 years and I left today 2/14/2019. If you are wanting an employer who appreciates hard working employees this is not the place. I have picked up the slack time and time again with the other employees in my department who just sit around half the time. The management here are out of touch with what goes on in production and in the warehouse mainly because they are in meetings all day addressing quality complaints. In turn they cannot seem to find the time to manage production issues that are causing the complaints in the first place. Also the maintenance crew is stretched to their limits trying to repair old machines that they can't seem to find parts for so they try to put a bandaid on them instead of fixing them which compounds the ongoing issues with getting a quality product to the customer.  I really wanted to continue to work for this company but with so many ongoing issues I feel as if they have hit a point of no return and will continue in a downward spiral. I am taking the time to write this review because I am concerned that any new hires will not have a job within a year or possibly 2 at the most.

The H.R. department is basically nonexistent, inept, and down right laughable.
The Plant Manager’s biggest concern is trying to make everyone else in the room believe that he’s the smartest guy in the room. Heaven forbid he actually gets anything of substance accomplished. The only thing this “man” seems to care about is his own ego. 
The Operations manager, is too caught up in playing the longest ever game of hide and go seek, he is as elusive as the mythical Bigfoot.
The supervisory staff is again laughable. You have one who seems as if he’s been constipated for the last 25 years, and another who’s biggest daily accomplishment seems to be reminding you that he’s a “supervisor”. Never mind actually making a decision that’s right, let alone making one that makes sense.Micromanagement at its worst. Apparently that’s something to be proud of 🤷🏻‍♂️.

So In a nutshell the pay is relatively decent and your everyday co-workers are pretty good ppl. The jobs aren’t hard, but LITERALLY EVERYTHING else will eat away at your soul until your a shell of your former self.

Long term employees are fleeing in droves, short term employees are short term employees for a reason. 

If long hours putting up with unnecessary ignorance and child like games is your thing than Graham packaging is totally for you.

My review is not an indictment of the company as a whole, some plants aren’t run by idiots, but this specific location is the epicenter of catastrophe.

What was a broken promise applying here in graham package Maryland heights mo location 
Managers are not qualified for there jobs and could care less about hourly employees they just try’s to hire people fast that leaves them for others to be just a replacement only 

What’s the culture when working with employers in a stressful environment 
Co workers try’s to get over on each other when it comes to working on the line 
Workers treat utilities position like garbage disposal if a machine operator have to help out they will pick a fight with you 

What was decent with the hours an paid rate an have a union there 
Decent paid they will try cut your overtime off for very long time working hard for crumbs an playing favoritism with other employers getting hours an union won’t fight for your hours they will just take out a big percent out your paycheck 

What is good about moving up to different positions 
They will try keep you on the same position until the management team quit an new managers recruitment is decent an nice to enough to move you up but unfortunately they will not move you up they will try keep same people longest they can until they leave the company for a better opportunity 



The 12 hour shifts were nice because you were under the assumption you'd only have to work 3 or 4 days each week. Unfortunately mandatory overtime typically negated the chance of having a real weekend. 60 or 72 hour weeks were a norm for months at a time, depending on sales and rework.

Hourly staff was very friendly, most were very cooperative and helpful when it came to teamwork, and most of the shift supervisors were respected and well liked. Upper management often would request constructive input from hourly staff, but upon getting feedback, would dismiss their ideas. Quality was stressed above all, but many times the actions and demands of management made it clear that quantity was more important.

Mandatory meetings on off-days were bittersweet. Though it was nice to chat with coworkers and enjoy cooking out on the patio, it would've been nicer to actually enjoy the day off by not having to go to work.

Pay started low, but increased quickly within the first year. Final pay rate of machine operators and maintenance technicians was fair. Stress level depended highly on which production line you were working that night, and if any of the other operators called in sick.

Big Corprate Companies throw lots of corporate support into new plants hoping the corporate people can make the new or struggling plant a success. Dream Big they say...... if the corporate support vision would be the same as the particular plant then the ingredients would work great. This Ky Plant won’t ever be a success because of many factors that are controlled by people not permanent at the plant. Plus the scrap rates generate hundreds of thousands of pounds of material each month. The plant is punished for the losses but are required or send the scrap to other plants running better which in turn makes the better plant running profits better. Then the plant gets financially punished month to month so no chance of turning a profit. Do you think Plant Morale will ever improve when you beat up the struggling plant folks? Then praise the better plant that was financially helped from the BG problems? Moving money around on a spreadsheet will not result in a profitable running plant. Team Work, Strong Work Ethic, Plant Vision that’s achievable for the TEAM!! Is necessary. Best of Luck BG

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Senior maintenance person 11 salaries reported	$33.09 per hour
Maintenance technician 3 salaries reported	$25.84 per hour
Senior machine operator 4 salaries reported	$24.75 per hour
Production supervisor 6 salaries reported	$73,834 per year
Maintenance electrician 2 salaries reported	$39.00 per hour

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