process engineer

warehouse specialist

assembler

machine operator

frontliner

Hypertherm

A typical day at Hypertherm is get to work, have morning meeting for 10 mins, then start building. Build every 10 mins, 12 mins or 20 mins, depending on which machine you are building. When you finish that machine build again continue cycle every hr. Co-workers were mostly complaining all day. Management was the worst tho, they could change any process at any given time if it meant better quantity. It used to be a place that was more concerned about quality and now it is more about quantity. They played favorites with the associates. They demorilized associates when they decided that they didn't like them. The owners core values of associated well being and growth are just words. I watched associates getting hurt and management not care or do things to insure it was fixed so it wouldn't happen. They had 4 associates that had wrist problems from 1 station alone. When you question them about fixing it, they mark you and make a point of targeting you until they can get you to quit or make up some reason to fire you. Firing people is how they can say they are a no layoff policy company.
When a close family member of mine was dying, I asked to leave early to be with my niece and nephew when they were told there mom was dying and my boss said you know you get 5 days off when she dies. I was shocked by this comment. So as far as family, management doesn't care.
As far as the growth part, there wasn't any for someone in my position unless you were a bosses favorite or you went back to school. It was a dead end job. Someone wanted out of our department so bad, they put in for a job and was told he would have to take a $4.00hr cut in pay.
The hardest part of the job was the fact that you work so closely with others and to listen all day long to people complaining about things bring you down.
The most enjoyable part of my job was teaching others. I made some lifelong friends there.

Third shift was great, it took a month or so to get used to, but was impossible to pass up on the 15 % differential.  Starting pay is lower than average on all levels, with no concern whatsoever of your previous skills or abilities to perform the job. 15 years of experience in manufacturing and assembly and I had to work with some folks that came from Best Buy and Wal-Mart and got paid the same amount and no exceptions... Go figure.  Most of the co-workers were nice and easy going, except for those special ones...We all know who they are, every company has them ( because they kiss so well ). Management on the production floor was absolutely horrible... Upper Management was fine as far as that goes. The hardest part of the job was , the fact that the company was not at all concerned with my skills and achievements from prior employment. They did not care what you as an individual knew or your abilities to do the job. Inexperience was what they loved. The most enjoyable part of the job was being on third shift, avoiding all of the drama and politics of the first shift. Also Profit sharing was a huge plus come the end of the year. I guess the best thing I learned was that I am not a very good kisser....and Hypertherm, Inc. is definitely not all what everyone reads and hears about.

Great company, I have had a lot of jobs so far in my 23 years in the working world.  By far one of the top employers I have worked for.  Advancement is fantastic, work is steady with a no lay off philosophy and to my knowledge there have never been layoffs with the company, the management I dealth with was fair, reasonable accommodations, culture was good, met some really good people on the production floor, very, very clean environment with up to date everything, the newest building is a very nice.  Market places onsite with the bigger buildings, fresh food on 1st, 2nd shift has options for self checkout, well maintained, strong departments on all 3 shifts, in depth good training, really was a great company to work for, if you have 10 years of verfied work experience you will reach 4 weeks vacation to start, 40 hours of personal/ sick time.  Honesty clock in and clock out done through workday app.  The only true downfall was the entry pay based on the surrounding area which is very expensive to live and even further out being its new england.  With that being said there was good increases for advancement and again plenty of growth for those who want it or show initiative. 

The company mission is exceptional in that it strongly promotes well being and social responsibility.  Hypertherm is a successful company with a solid product.  Attrition is very low and they have a no layoff policy.  

However, when starting employment do not expect support from team members.  Instead you are likely to find information needed to complete you job is not documented anywhere and direct knowledge will not be shared by team members.  Different functions within the company are in silos more typical of a very large organization which makes things very difficult.  

Management is aware of the problems, but are unable to improve the situation.  Culture can be difficult to change even in smaller organizations and my experience is that Hypertherm is no different.

Hypertherm has a lower pay scale, that is supposed to be offset by the company culture, profit sharing, and company benefits.  The benefits are pretty standard and profit sharing doesn’t fully offset the lower salary.  With the issues identified it is not clear that working at Hypertherm is worth it if you have other options.

Lower level management in production is very toxic. They watch you walk in and out to time you sometimes. They installed expensive equipment on every machine to monitor how much down time everyone has, and you have to record reasons for your down time in three or four places every time you have down time. We are missing things we need to do our job and they never get replaced. There is no advancement here unless you are gifted at politics and fit into the good old boys club. You will NEVER make a good wage just by being a good employee that enjoys her work. Every year they expect more and more of the workers at the bottom, while asking for less and less work from the supervisors. You WILL NOT have access to the cafeteria on the off shifts except what is already cold in the fridge.  Expect your supervisors to be on you, all the time, and there are TONS of them between you and Middle management. 

Work-life balance
Work-life balance at Hypertherm is better than most local employers.

Pay & benefits
My pay and benefits at Hypertherm are below market average by 4.5% annually.

Job security and advancement
In terms of job security at Hypertherm, I think that if you're willing to sacrifice morals, integrity and ethics you can do very well here.

Management
In general, managers at Hypertherm really do care about their direct reports but are bound by H R. To not lead or promote but merely babysit.

Culture
Collaboration with my colleagues at Hypertherm is generally good as long as it is a selective group to accomplish tasks.

Overall
My experience working at Hypertherm is that it was was founded on good principles but over time has become an arrogant company and thus losing its integrity and ethics by choosing to support those in production areas thst have no integrity or ethics and are merely there to collect a paycheck.

The culture is the best part about Hypertherm. You will always have those Negative Nancys but overall it's a great place to work.

Another great thing about the company is of course profit sharing but I took advantage of their wide variety of career advancement training. Hypertherm promotes from within whenever possible and they will give you all the tools you need to succeed--you just need to show up, do your best, and keep your head down.

A con perhaps would be the gossip that tends to happen on the production floor. A good word of advice would be to keep your personal life separate from your work as much as possible.

Whatever reputation you develop as a machine operator is a double edged sword; it can be the leading cause of your next promotion if you're known as good worker--but can be very hard to shake if you are perceived negatively.

If you’re looking for a safe, steady income with potential to grow, this might be the company for you. To move up is a somewhat lengthy process though, not much of a pay increase for the amount of responsibility you take on, and in general you must be persistent if you want to learn more of pretty much anything. Upper and mid management aren’t leading to my taste, and are pushing the wrong subjects. But, that’s just my view, and of course they’ve got the responsibility of leading the company. Issues get a patch put on them rather then addressing the problem at its root. Much of middle management seems to have the luxury of doing what they want. You can literally watch Netflix, YouTube, or enjoy computer games being played just by looking through the office windows.

Six weeks between application and interview
Required equipment not provided
Required accounts for internal access not provided
Took advantage of circumstances to offer lower role at lower pay
Incompetent management, incompetent leadership, promoted inadequate candidates to key roles
Frequent responses of "I don't know anything about that" as if lack of knowledge was a valid excuse for not performing essential functions
Visible and audible leadership pushback when requesting open-door policy meetings
HR suggestion to visit a food bank when lowball pay was brought up
Suggestion that new hires "Just go ahead and leave" during onboarding to protect company share availability
Zero recognition of existing skills, knowledge, or experience

When you are performing in your position at an acceptable level and also volunteer for additional responsibilities it can have an adverse affect on your coworkers. It is a source of sarcastic ridicule and outright jealousy in some cases. But when your Team leader cannot praise or even recognize you for your outgoing attitude and ability to multitask then that is an obvious problem. Lastly while there only seven and half years I had at least five different direct report leaders. All of them had the same complaints and could not succeed in their roles.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Process engineer 5 salaries reported	$98,545 per year
Warehouse specialist 4 salaries reported	$24.01 per hour
Assembler 6 salaries reported	$20.51 per hour
Machine operator 6 salaries reported	$25.31 per hour
Frontliner 4 salaries reported	$41.45 per hour

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