chemical operator

laboratory technician

chemical engineer

facilities maintenance technician

mechanical engineer

MGC PURE CHEMICALS AMERICA

Had a great initial interview, was offered the position I think the very same day. Never got a tour of the lab which I thought odd as everywhere else I worked and have interviewed it was standard to give a tour. Lab is small, old. Equipment is finicky (where isn't it?). Shifts are only 3-5 people. Generally you work by yourself the entire 10 hour shift.

Some of the supervisors help out in the lab and some don't. That could be good or bad as a few of them are notorious for unintentionally spreading misinformation. This has caused hours and hours of delays and unnecessary repeated work (like re-calibrating an instrument that was calibrated less than 24 hours ago). So maybe the supervisor that stays out of the lab is better... The lab manager was rarely in the lab, usually only on Wednesday pass down, but definitely saw more of him on 1st shift than 2nd.

From the first work day, I was unhappy. Steep learning curve - not because of hard concepts but lots and lots to remember to do. As much as the lab manager says "use your analytical mind" the work requires little thought and if something does go wrong, they bring in an instrument/method development technician ("LTG") to fix it, so you don't get to learn anything. Let's just say, I've heard the other lab technicians describe our work as "the fast food of chemistry".

I watched as other technicians struggled with the lab manager to initiate changes. I watched them get shut down in the pass down meetings between shifts. The upper lab management and the technicians feel like they're working against each other. I've seen the management suggest things and the lab techs will (once they're gone) laugh because the chemistry the managers are using to back-up their suggestion is false and makes no sense. I've also seen lab technicians try to explain this and the supervisors and managers brush them off and nothing ever comes of it. Eventually the technicians just stop trying and instead wait for management to leave and laugh at how their idea will fail spectacularly and if they would listen to the people who actually run the lab, they would be saved a headache.

Lab and QA and Production feels just as hostile. I don't know who started it or when, but whenever anything goes wrong (which it does quite often), Lab, QA, and Production point fingers and blame each other as fast as they can.

The lab management has a plethora of HR complaints against them. Multiple technicians I talked to had visited HR with legitimate complaints. Others saw that nothing ever changed after some went to HR and figured there was no point. Because of the complaints, during one-on-one meetings, it felt like they're looking for dirt on you and your coworkers, someone to shift blame on to.

MPCA says they want to improve (and even hired a continuous improvement manager) but fight against change. When I asked about changing something quite simple because it was redundant, the response was "because we're a Japanese company". That reply is one of their favorites when you ask something they don't want to do or actually answer. To me, that isn't a valid answer - subsidiary of Mitsubishi or not.

Avoid the lab. If you can't or won't, then keep records of your good work. Get everything in writing. The other technicians are your allies. Never go to HR unless you have hard proof or they will smile and shrug you off and label you a troublemaker.

On the bright side, MPCA's benefits are pretty good and that's the only reason most of the people I know working there stay. I maxed out my benefits then got the heck out of Dodge.

The other departments might be better, honestly I don't know.

Good luck!

Working at MPCA has allowed me to showcase my skills without being held back by my job description. I get to involve myself with a multitude of different projects and responsibilities that does not necessarily pertain to being a process engineer. As someone who wants to advance into a management position, being able to showcase the other skills that I have that do not pertain to process engineering is important to me. I also appreciate MPCAs willingness to help with additional learning and certifications that I want to acquire. During my time here, MPCA has assisted with me receiving certifications on operating our DCS Program as well as Lean Six Sigma Green and Black Belt certifications. Working for a company that wants to help you continue to learn so that you can use those newly learned skills to help benefit your company is important and I think it should be encouraged.

When I first started here, things were really bad. Terrible communication within and between departments, lack of organization, low respect between personnel. It has gotten better in these areas, though still needs improvement, and is not a bad job for the money. However, the stress this job puts on you almost makes it not worth it. They claim to value your opinion, mental health, safety, and work-life balance but truthful, I believe it's just for show. It is incredibly hard to change things here due to the amount of loops that you have to jump through to get approval.  Stress management and work-life balance are left completely for you to deal with (across all departments), so if you lack personal boundaries.. good luck. 

This job is good if you want routine instead of innovative thought or are fresh out of college and need experience. The money is wonderful and the people are incredible. Outside of that, it's a gamble. 

I’m talking about a person that just likes to work and not talk to anyone ever.  I like to have some sort of rhetoric and relationships with my coworkers so when I’m spending 12 hours a day I’m not miserable. That for sure didn’t happen. 

I started and was basically ignored and sat in front of a computer for the first two weeks. Realized my lead liked to talk about everyone and then buddy up to them. That was a bad sign. I asked for help so many times but no one wanted to help me. Honestly a lot of times I ended up leaving after realizing I was the only one working while the rest of my “team” were on there phones. I never got talked to about any issues. It came out of nowhere but I got to say I was only upset for 1 hour after. I know it wasn’t my cup of tea. Judging by the turnover rate it’s not going to be good for anyone if they don’t drastically change their training structure. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The production crews were great for the most part. The maintenance supervisor was really cool as well as a lot of engineers. If you cross your Ts and dot your i's your supervisors will go to bat for you without hesitation. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The need for a certain amount of product out the door at the end of your shift. Sometimes things go wrong and I'm not sure the corporate office has a comprehension of that

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Calm and laid back for the most part as long as you get your stuff done and keep your head down. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It was busy for me 90% of the time some down time here and there writing SOPS and doing documentation

Normal Chem factory work, won’t learn anything you wouldn’t learn anywhere else. Management is horrible and toxic. They blame all their failures on the lowest ranking employees even when it’s clearly not connected. Hardest part of the job is management coming down on you constantly for petty things and blowing things out of proportion. I cannot state more clearly, this will be the worst management you’ve ever worked with. They will fire people because they don’t like the look on your face and constantly talk behind your back. The management themselves spread bad rumors about employees. It’s incredible how bad it is. The job itself is actually okay. There is no training for anything, just watch and learn. It’s not hard, but if you screw up management will freak out. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of my job is learning, the full chemical process 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part about working at MGC PURE CHEMICALS AMERICA is dealing with the front office associates who doesn't know or understand the chemical process 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
My experience in this atmosphere and/or this environment is very unique due to the fact that I work overnights, but as far as the people whom I work with are great and knowledgeable about what they're doing 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
The typical day is very demanding and detail oriented and moves at a very fast pace

A high degree of patience is required to work at this place. You will be dealing with hyper autistic individuals that have no concept of personal space, or when to let you work in peace. The job itself is very manageable, with roughly half the lab department getting away with doing the bare minimum. Tasks are routine and repetitive, giving you little room to learn new skills or concepts. "Promotion" is entirely dependent on favoritism, so don't expect to get anywhere if you aren't sociopathic or somewhat charismatic. The ONLY upside to this place is the pay and benefits, they're phenomenal. That's about it. Avoid corporations like this if you value things other than a brainless paycheck. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Good benefits, fifty percent reimbursement for tuition

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Unfriendly environment. Top management creates stress instead of leading 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Unfriendly,  stressful, poor communication, blame culture 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
My boss typically started a day with blaming new people in the department for something that was uncompleted or completed wrong.  He never explained what to do or how to do.

I value the challenge of learning the process & equipment we have at our facility. It is a good learning experience to have under my belt as far as gaining knowledge & skills set that comes along with the experience here as time goes on. I do like that there are many components here to study & learn from. The overall best thing about this job is it's not a super common industry yet there are many aspects of it that can apply towards other industries that you can use prior knowledge to work from. You can take these new components & gain more knowledge by learning them.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Chemical operator 14 salaries reported	$23.80 per hour
Laboratory technician 7 salaries reported	$27.21 per hour
Chemical engineer 4 salaries reported	$100,625 per year
Facilities maintenance technician 7 salaries reported	$24.84 per hour
Mechanical engineer 1 salary reported	$89,000 per year

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