grain elevator operator

mill operator

packer

maintenance technician

quality assurance technician

The Mennel Milling Company

I would describe my time there as difficult, but that was at least partly due to my own inadequacies which made me somewhat unsuitable for the job that I was initially hired for in the P&L department. In fact, their chronically shorthanded condition probably kept me from getting terminated on at least two occasions that I can recall.
Some days in the labs are pretty busy. You're constantly running tests on flour samples with various machines that are all on timers. You really need to have it together, and be highly organized with various timers going off within a minute or so of one another.
Depending on the number of planned loads on a given day, start time is either 7:00 or 6:00 AM. Quitting time in the lab is mostly dependant not only on how many loads are planned, but on how quickly they can be transferred from the Blend Plant to the load-out bins. Lots can go wrong in the Blend Plant or further upstream in the mill relating to equipment failures to make it a long day for everyone.
Speaking of which, you will notice there is a huge amount of mechanical equipment there operating all day long. Large electrical motors, blowers, airlocks, manifolds, rollers, sifters, entoleters, etcetera, all interconnected by a vast array of large-diameter wheat and flour conveyance pipes branching out in all directions.  On top of all this are the electrical control centers in the mill, the blend plant and in the grain elevator.
Now, you would think such a huge operation requires a fully staffed team of mechanics to perform routine maintenance and make repairs, right? Well, you would be right, but they don't have anything close to that.
Two, maybe three mechanics at most on day shift, constantly rushing from one burned-out motor or broken sifter to the next. Each such incident usually results in either the mill or the Blend Plant going offline, thus bringing the whole operation to a standstill in some cases. Still think you're getting off at 3:30? Nope, you will be there until you run the comp sample on the last load of the day, and transmit the COA to the loader so he can drop that load into the trailer. Some loads are so-called "live loads", meaning the driver is waiting, while other loads get picked up later.
Now, about the people. I'm not mentioning any names, but they know who they are.
There is a core group of long-serving leaders and quasi-leaders who are all extremely capable, hard-working, and not afraid to roll up their sleeves to work alongside the other guys. Most of the others are just sort of passing through until they can find something more to their liking. I saw many such people come and go during my time there.
The plant manager impressed me with his ability and willingness to do any and every job there as well or better than whomever normally does that job. When someone calls in sick or is on vacation, the plant manager himself typically jumps right in, and does that job without missing a beat.
I would especially like to recognize the head honcho in the Blend Plant. This guy is a one-man operation who probably isn't paid anywhere near what he is worth. They would need to hire at least three other guys to replace him. They need at least two guys over there: one to load trailers and another to run transfers in the control room and handle anything else that needs to be done in the Blend Plant and the warehouse. If a third guy is available he is probably working on the sanitation schedule.
I mentioned earlier that mechanical issues can easily cause a long day for the lab technician. But there is another factor relating to efficient operations in the Blend Plant that also has a big effect in this regard. 
There are only four flour bins in the load-out building, and a typical day is at least 10-12 loads.  This is a major bottleneck. Transfers into and out of these bins must be carefully planned ahead of time based on the flour schedule, as well as the availability of the correct grades of flour and the correct trailers. Any miscalculation will quickly result in the load-out bins filling up, and both transfer lines shutting down.
You as the lab tech therefore have to hope that loads are constantly moving from the mill to the blend plant to the load-out bins, and finally into trailers. If a purge sample shows up in the lab past 2:15 you will probably be staying late because you won't get the comp sample until 3:30 or so. 
Having said all this I would say the lab tech has the best job in the plant. Some of the jobs are somewhat hellish at times, so it's a relatively good spot to land in.
Finally, a word of caution: Do not make any corrections to your test results to get a COA without clear and specific approval from management. 
For example, if your moisture is high on the purge sample for a dried Cake load, get the blend plant on the horn right away so they can make the necessary corrections in time. Don't be that guy who let a bad load go out because it will come back. And when it does come back that load will have to be run back through the drier to get the moisture back down to 11.0-11.99%, which is a tricky and time-consuming process. You will be written up at a minimum, and you will lose much esteem in the eyes of your coworkers who will be greatly inconvenienced by your mistake.
In fact, some people may begin to wonder why you took the affirmative and deliberate step of overriding the system to get that load out the door even though you obviously knew the moisture was too high. So, yeah...don't be that guy (or girl) if you value your job. 


People were friendly there. But working 7 days a week when it's over 90 degrees in there with no air flow....not worth it. You learned every position during training but bc they're short handed you get stuck on one machine for weeks at a time. Can't have water out on the floor. No raise until you learned every position completely which doesn't happen for months and even then you have to demonstrate you can do it. When I worked there only 1 person out of the entire plant had actually gotten the raise. Had they given little raises for every position learned, I probably would've stayed. The assistant to the plant manager was very helpful and friendly if you did your job. People were always willing to help out new people which was great. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Benefits are terrible poor pay. Work every weekend but don’t tell you that in interview. Expect you to do things that you’re not trained on. Poor management 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Management and how they treat new people. They people that have worked there the longest don’t help and are lazy. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Unhealthy environment and lack of work ethic and communication 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Doing others people’s job and working a lot of overtime that really isn’t necessary

What is the best part of working at the company?
HR was friendly. Facility boss was an arrogant know it all. Whet I was laid off, they canceled my insurance immediately. Would have been better to have a heads up, most places give insurance till the end of the month. Or 4 weeks, time enough to get other insurance 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Don’t work for Mennel, they are cold when it’s time to part ways

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
HR was helpful in any questions 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Fair, the boss would listen but sarcastic

What is the best part of working at the company?
I loved working at Mennel this job was awesome and if needed to come back I would love too

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The job I did can get a little smelly and you work in the cold and 12 hr shift were hard but after a while it not so bad

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment is great I kept to myself but everyone e was friendly

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Doing my morning checks on all the machines makeing sure everything is running smoothly and if need cleaning up flour the. I do those checks every 2hrs

Mennel is a great company to work for in general.  Very supportive local management, good relationship between plant managers, supervisors, and workers, top notch safety, and decent pay/benefits.  Like most companies right now, corporate seems to value the wrong traits in its managers and for some reason likes to pick managers with a history of making bad decisions.  This limits advancement somewhat, but in general, doesn’t directly effect the majority of the workforce.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great company and great people to work with. Very supportive and a family atmosphere.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Really didn't have any big stressers in the two years I worked there outside of dealing with COVID.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very much a Family owned Company with a Family atmosphere.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Managing day to day operations of a flour mill.

My day starts around 5:30 am- I start by filling out paper work, order parts, I plan the day for my guys, and print out the PM work orders. Mennel Milling is a great company to work for. Mostly because I have a very good plant manager. My biggest responsibilities include maintaining and installing new equipment and programing production equipment . The day usually goes by pretty quick when there's a lot going on because I work well in fast paced environment.

Truthfully this company might have been good to work for a few years ago but not anymore. 

There have been too many changes at the corporate and plant level leaving too many hands in the cookie jar so to speak. To many departments have policies that overlap each other and often times you find yourself in trouble because of that. The hourly employees are great, but management is where the problems lie and sadly that has lead to a lot of turnover of good employees leaving.

Management is very very poor. The usual less than 3% annual raise, poor decision making from Management, terrible health insurance, alot of favoritism, certain people leave and work whatever hours they want while lower hourly employees get their schedule changed all the time due to under staffed and big work load, directors don't follow their own protocols or procedures. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Grain elevator operator 1 salary reported	$18.25 per hour
Mill operator 4 salaries reported	$20.88 per hour
Packer 3 salaries reported	$18.75 per hour
Maintenance technician 3 salaries reported	$28.00 per hour
Quality assurance technician 1 salary reported	$21.00 per hour

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