production operator

millwright

operator

quality assurance inspector

warehouse worker

Vallourec

Work with previous knowledge and skills and... get treated like a waterboy. No advancement unless you pump iron or appear to intimidate. Don't get sucked in for the pay because you Really Do earn it by swing shifts, random "mandatory overtime" Loss of bonuses, no breaks in some departments, weekends, environmental hazards, also work in severe cold and heat, and working like a dog. Negative management focuses only on downtime, yet no positive comments when you exceed goals so be prepared to feel like your worthless every morning meeting.If you don't kiss up to management, they'll treat you like it's your first day working everyday and youre a nobody , no matter how long you've worked there. Hourly employees that use lies and manipulations to management and don't produce but act like they know everything are lazy, rude, and disrespectful. These employees are honored and strategically placed by management on teams to create a chaotic distracting atmosphere to work in for normal hard workers who actually do a good job. Bust your tail for years just to watch joe schmoe with less experience and education than you get promoted. If this is the future your looking for than go for it.

Employees have lost a lot of pay and benefits in the past few years,  only way to make money is to live there and work 1000 hours of overtime a year. No cost of living raises,  end of year end bonus.  A lot of extra benefits have been cut,  used to get gift cards for safety modules,  no summer picnic,  no more Christmas party,  for example they did away with it gave $100 gift card instead then immediately decreased it to $25 the next year.  Used to have full safety day with vendors and time out of production, now they have 30 minutes to show a video give box lunch and ship you back to work.  A lot of perks and benefits have been and are being cut unless they make some changes this will be a below average place to work in the upcoming years.  Now there is a upcoming management push that they are calling employee empowerment and trying to get the hourly work force to do all the salary work for no extra pay.  It is a very dangerous place to work and swing shifts are extremely hard on your body unless the perks and benefits come back it will be difficult for them to maintain a skilled workforce and will have a high turnover rate.

What is the best part of working at the company?
A great bunch of people work there, very honest and hardworking people, at least where I worked there were, I worked in the thread inspection department day shift. The HR department was absolutely the best I’ve ever seen, they actually come through the plant and ask you if everything is okay.  Best part was the people, job wasn’t hard but the hours were long and you worked 5 sometimes 6 days a week 12 hour shifts. I’d still be there if it weren’t for the schedule. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Learning by watching,  no one telling you what to look for, what needs done, how to do it. Basically you have to “figure it out.” If you have new people working with you that’s been there a few months before you, they usually help you out. You eventually get the hang of it if you really pay close attention to what’s going on around you. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
They are good people who accept you with no judgment. Great place to work

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It’s pretty much repetitive work, just change in pipe sizes and pipe threads.

The pay was good as starting off. But the culture is a very toxic one. Managers pretend to care but when push comes to shove, they dont. And the workers know this. The managers push for higher production but the workers know how to play the game. Honestly, it was easy money on nights since there was no real manager on duty. Two seasoned guys in the p&f  would stop working at 7pm and watch netflix all night until it was time to go home near 2am. And if you wanted to keep working they would tell you to stop and then turn around and  bad mouth you to the day shift lead man. So you get a target on your shoulder for wanting to work all night. The training was horrific. You had to learn as you go but you also were not allowed to make mistakes.... and every person has their own way of doing things. Even though they have written processes and procedures, its all bs. When its busy the OT is king, because again, the workers play the clock and do minimal work to gain as much money as possible. Its astonishing that management has not figured this out.

my work day started with getting up at 4:30 am and making my lunch and going to work. my day at work started  with punching in my time clock and going to my work area and starting my morning on the lathes I operated. next our company has meeting with management and employees pertaining to the products  that we make as  of pipe industry.i feel the hardest part of our job was making sure that every employee  obeyed the safety  rules on the job site. my most enjoyable part of my job is when upper management came on my job site and commended me on doing just a good job on productivity. the only disappointing part of my job was after 25 yrs  of never missing work and working seven days a week  and three turns I myself and 50% of the work force was told our jobs were terminated because lack of pipe sales in the world. I miss my job that is why I'm looking for a new company to work for and hope to get another 25 yrs.

Talk to my relief for updates on break-down and problems in the mill. Take walk around the mill looking at all moving parts and levels on machinery. Through my daily experiences, I've learned to look at specific areas to ensure that all parts of mill machinery are in working order. I have a very good relationship with administration and/or supervisors. They were willing to listen and cooperate when concerns were upon us. my co-workers worked very well as a team. They were more than willing to lend a hand when needed, just as I would do for them. The most difficult part of my job was working around the very hot steel (2,000 degrees). The most enjoyable part of the job was the team meetings, C I T meetings to brainstorm critical issues within the mill; computer classes to advance knowledge with OSHA regulations, as well as company outings, golf outing, holiday parties, etc.

When everything is good in the oil market, this is a solid place to work. There will be long hours, you will get very dirty, and you won't have a lot of time to do anything else, but as crazy as it may sound I loved it this way. Benefits package is excellent. Stocks are offered. Monthly bonuses. Room 2 advance. The most undesirable thing really is if you have to work outside in all elements, other than that I loved it. The co-worker are cool and management can be okay when they want. The bad thing is that when the oil field is in a down spiral, this company has lay offs. Hours become limited to 24 - 40 hours a week. My advise is be the best worker that you can be, be punctual, and an asset to the company and you will avoid a lay off more than likely! This is a quality and safe place!

Management is 100% useless and totally clueless about most jobs and job operations. The pay is very low for the work demanded. The bonuses are taxed so heavily you essential get next to nothing. Skilled employees aren't valued at all, Management thinks anyone can do any job and that simply isn't the case. They advertise as a competitive workplace, that's a lie. You take years earning your pay increases by doing pointless "soft skill" classes, but then the company is struggling so hard to retain employees they decided to hire new employees in at the pay many employees took years to earn. The job is completely soul crushing and demoralizing every single day (literally since you get 1 day off a week if you're lucky). 

Vallourec was a great company to work at. I enjoyed and looked forward to working at that steel mill. My position was a lathe operator in the roll shop . One good positive was working 4 twelve hour days and getting 4 days off on a rotating shift. I also had a very good boss whom I respected very much. the hardest part of the job was the cold in the winter and extreme hot in the summer. Our product was high quality seamless tube, for the oil and gas industry. When prices drop  ( gas and oil) our customers cut back on orders and even dormant wells.  This action and reaction lead to the mass lay off.

Department heads are very knowledgeable with lots of years in service and great understanding about the processes and what the goal is. Plant management on the other hand is always moving the targets and not understanding what maintenance needs to be done. Not a team played never will what maintenance needs he just what’s to tell you how to run maintenance. With an aging plant and not getting the attention that it needs  in past years. ( plant have ZERO maintenance for 3+ years. The budget needs to be raised. Procedures are not accurate when it comes to LOTO. Maintenance are basically on their own writing procedures on their own.  Does not follow FMLA or STD guidelines. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Production operator 7 salaries reported	$23.00 per hour
Millwright 2 salaries reported	$28.53 per hour
Operator 3 salaries reported	$24.00 per hour
Quality assurance inspector 2 salaries reported	$24.00 per hour
Warehouse worker 3 salaries reported	$19.43 per hour

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