line operator

senior line cook

entry level line cook

maintenance technician

shipping and receiving clerk

Paragon Films

very, very, very fast paced. training is somewhat slow as it is usually done by the senior operator in charge of 4 lines and 4-7 operators where as the operators only have 1 line each and need only be in charge of themselves. but, if you take the work and quality seriously then learning all of it should be a breeze. although there is a fairly large amount of things to do during a shift, keeping a steady pace and paying attention to all things going on will make it very simple. not easy, but simple. the number one mistake that people make when first starting from my perspective is not being involved with things that are going on and they seem to be disinterested in learning about becoming a successful operator and being able to take on all of their responsibilities independently. but taking control of your responsibilities and keeping up with the senior operators will turn you into a highly skilled operator very quickly. moving on, you are formally trained by a trainer briefly just so you can grasp the idea of how to operate a line then you run a line with an existing operator for about a week or two then you get your own line to run alone so its important to soak up as much knowledge during your time with said operator. moving on again, full benefits which are great, you accrue vacation hours weekly, most people are easy to work with as long as you communicate properly, shifts are pretty rough sometimes but in time you adjust to it. all in all, i love it to this day, if you stick with it and try to learn then you can advance quick trust me. i went from entry level with no manufacturing, warehouse experience, management or extrusion experience to the senior operator position in about 14 months just because i put in effort to learn. advancement is easy, its the effort and motivation to try that seems to be a common problem with most.

For the most part it was a pleasant place to work but there some things that made me start applying for other jobs 3 weeks after starting. 
Things I liked:
-Paragon has a great medical/dental/vision plan, great life I strange and offers the sta dard 401k.
-They give out a yearly bonus based of production which is nice.
-They also give out and do things like cookouts, raffles/prizes, and tshirts.
-The work is consistent which is always a plus.
-You get a fair amount of time off when not called in.
Things I disliked:
-There is very little job satisfaction in the workplace. Senior operators/managers come to work in a very bad mood and that attitude is trickled down to junior operators.
-The company has a very high turnover rate so the senior operators are constantly having to train people. One operator told me "Just pack boxes, your not going to last long so there is not point in teaching you".
-Shifts are 12 hours.
-There is a monthly safety meeting that is mandatory and they force you to stay after work for 30+ minutes.
-Because your "supposed" to get fair amount of free time off, you only get 40+ hours 2 weeks a month. So you get low pay and less hours.
-When you do finally learn your job, you constantly get called in. I didn't mind being called in, but what I disliked was being called in 1 hour prior to starting work and basically being guilt tripped into coming to work if you tried saying no.
Overall I did enjoy my time at Paragon. I just feel that the company needs to re-evaluate lots of aspects of the company maintenance job satisfaction.

A typical day at work involved coming in and preparing for the day based off of the issues that were had in the previous shift.  I would see what went wrong and figure out how our team could improve the scenario.  I learned how to be a leader, make quick decisions, and how to work with having people under me.  Other managers worked with me by giving me their insight into what helped them become the leaders in the work environment and how they succeeded.  It was a good working community with minimal issues.  The hardest part of the job that I came across was coming out of college strait into a manager-type position.  I learned a lot of different approaches and how to handle a diverse group of people.  The most enjoyable part of my job was when I started really learning the process and being able to evaluate problems and come up with solutions to the problems.  This gave me a sense of accomplishment and showed me that I was advancing my knowledge beyond even what I had expected in such a short amount of time.

Responsible for a crew of 13 employees, ran extrusion lines to produce stretch film, assign machines, run breaks, verify proper resin, run quality tests on each line, supervise housekeeping and safety each 12 hour shift. Responsible for checking silos for inventory and changeover, keeping track of scrap and documenting shift totals. Required to clean each of 8 lines each shift. Used Microsoft Excel to keep track of each lines production, maintenance, and scrap. Maintenance including screen changes, belt changes, replacing gear faces, winder adjustments, temperature and heater adjustments on extrusion lines. Daily visual inspection of equipment, using hand tools, scales, and verifying proper weights and measures as a part of quality inspection. Common power tools, and maintenance on pneumatic equipment. Calibrating scales and adjusting dies, troubleshooting line maintenance problems, along with inspection, and diagnosis of equipment malfunction

I've read the reviews from a year ago or longer. Those are no longer an issue. There are fans to keep you cool in the building and you are allowed to wear shorts. Yes it's going to be hot because you're working around machinery that uses heat to melt plastic. The workload all depends if you have enough people to run the lines but is manageable by yourself. Due to the current staffing problems every company is having we are short handed at the moment. New hires will not be left on the lines alone. TIME MAMAGEMENT is necessary even when you have other people working with you. The way to get promoted is by learning how to do more than just pack boxes. There are currently Temps there that are not going to get hired because they do not bother to learn at all. Pay has gone up and makes it worth it. You will get your breaks and your lunch. Overall one of the best jobs I've had.

Overall Paragon is a good place to work with good people and a strong  caring management team.  You will be working inside out of the weather in a production environment,  Paragon utilizes temporary employees and full time employees ,they are willing to hire temps full time if you show initiative, some common sense ability to show up on time and work.  Wages are comparable to starting wages in the valley for most production floor jobs. This is a Safe Company over 2 years without a OSHA recordable incident this in itself says a lot about the Paragon.  Review any safety record of any other company in Yakima and you will be hard pressed to find one with a better safety record.  
I am proud to be an employee of this company and encourage people to work here.  Make no mistake you will be expected to work but that's why they call it a job and not a vacation!!!

Maintenance/Engineering meeting every morning with structured agenda. Learned different techniques for hydraulics and pneumatic systems. Learned automation processes and robot maintenance. Also became familiar with shaft and bearing mechanisms. Worked under a maintenance manager, two engineers, and a plant manager. Co-workers were well trained engineers and maintenance staff. The most difficult part of my job was learning the algorithms and control systems for the conveyor systems and automation process because it was out dated. The most enjoyable part of my job was communicating back and forth with my supervisors and assembling robot parts for Ryobi 6-axis robot arms.

Paragon has a huhe turn over rate, and I believe it is vastly due to the management team. The managers pick favorites and don't even bother to learn the names of new employees because of it. So it makes it hard to feel accepted there.

Pros:
- large yearly bonus dependent upon company success for the year
- Good health insurance
-occasional cook outs and prizes


Cons:
- They will pile  huge workload onto you because they are short staffed and you aren't compensated for doing the work of two people. You will barely even be thanked for it.

- Management really needs an over-hall. 
- Once you are experienced you will get called in all the time because of their high turn over rate, and often times guilt tripped into coming in when you say no.
- Pay is pretty low for the production industry

A day at paragon would of consist of 12 hours. The job was fast paced with sometimes only getting your lunch break. The management placed most responsibility on certain employees to maintain the floor operations while others were favored to do less. There was a good old boy network there if you were in you were favored if not you were considered a problem. Advancement was also in this category if you were liked you got advancement if not it was hard. Management only cared about the numbers produced not the quality of employee life. Company was lean manufacturing so if someone didn't show up for work there was a call list if your name was up you had to go to work regardless of home or life situations.

One of the best paying jobs I've ever had but the leadership culture here is hot garbage ! Managers hide in offices , allow line operators to suffer , ignore clear and constantly communicated issues (production , safety , behavior , procedures etc). If you work hard you will suffer for it. If you work less you'll be promoted. Overall the worst company to work for DO NOT RECOMMEND! HR is a joke at the Oklahoma Plant. You'd do better complaining to The president than the HR guy. They do not protect employee unless you are a "teachers pet". Leadership  does not hold themselves or others accountable. If you are okay with minimal to no effort this is the place for you. Good luck

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Line operator 104 salaries reported	$19.49 per hour
Senior line cook 20 salaries reported	$22.89 per hour
Entry level line cook 33 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Maintenance technician 9 salaries reported	$31.33 per hour
Shipping and receiving clerk 12 salaries reported	$19.75 per hour

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