As a Lee’s Summit resident you may not be familiar with the company Polytainers, but more than likely you have come across their products. Maybe even daily.
You make your grocery list and head to the nearest supermarket, or perhaps an online shopping cart these days, and you begin clicking through your list of items:
Country Crock Spread – check!
Silk Yogurt – check!
Kraft Parmesan Cheese – check!
Philadelphia Cream Cheese – check!
Mrs. Fields Cookie Dough – check, check!
Recognize a few? Polytainers is the company behind the packaging for these common household products and many more recognizable brands.
We sat down with Glenn Watson, Senior Manager of Human Resources at Polytainers to talk about the manufacturing industry, their connection to the food supply chain and Covid-19. Being in the food manufacturing industry, of course, Polytainers was deemed an essential business when Covid hit.
Business in March was already fairly steady for the company and covid only amplified that. As a result of the stay-at-home order people were flooding grocery stores. Out of necessity or maybe because it was the only place people were allowed to go, there they were with grocery lists in hand buying up all the plastic containers (and toilet paper) and driving up demand for companies like Polytainers.
When most companies we’re down scaling, furlowing employees and making conservative moves, Polytainers was hiring! As the demand for more packaging went up so did their need for skilled workers. Watson explained how that is common around manufacturing facilities like Polytainers: “We were encouraged to find more skilled trades people out there and we were able to hire enough people to keep up with demand.”
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Another challenge when Covid hit was increasing safety measures and making sure sanitation regulations were being followed. Both areas are always a focus for the company, but Polytainers took extra measures to ensure new hires and busy production lines always put safety first.
In addition to the packaging product they produce, Polytainers is also known in the Lee’s Summit community for their strong internship program and partnership with MCC. In fact, in our short meeting with Watson he spoke more about the professional development of employees at Polytainers than the containers themselves. It was clear that Watson and the whole Polytainers team takes great pride in training skilled workers.
“We are proud to be located in Lee’s Summit! There is great opportunity here to grow skilled workers and develop leadership skills in our employees. The people of Polytainers really drive everything we do!” Remarked Watson.
Manufacturing has a reputation for high job turnover, but through their internship and training programs Polytainers has increased their retention rate considerably. The intern program is a great way to get your foot in the door, learn on the job with a skilled work force and move into a full time position if so desired.
In a normal year, Polytainers works with MCC to bring in high school graduates through a number of high school and college recruitments, and also participates in a large Manufacturing Day event every year. However, this year, most of their recruitment efforts have been held virtually. For example, they teamed up with the Missouri Chamber of Commerce this year for a virtual Manufacturing Day on October 2nd.
This month Polytainers celebrates their 30th Anniversary in Lee’s Summit! The company is headquartered out of Toronto, Canada and boasts over 1,000 employees throughout its three locations. When asked about the future of Polytainers, Watson said that there are plans of expanding the company and that they are committed to increasing the expertise of Polytainer employees.
To learn more about Polytainers or to view current job opportunities visit their website at polytainersinc.com.
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You make your grocery list and head to the nearest supermarket, or perhaps an online shopping cart these days, and you begin clicking through your list of items:
Country Crock Spread – check!
Silk Yogurt – check!
Kraft Parmesan Cheese – check!
Philadelphia Cream Cheese – check!
Mrs. Fields Cookie Dough – check, check!
Recognize a few? Polytainers is the company behind the packaging for these common household products and many more recognizable brands.
We sat down with Glenn Watson, Senior Manager of Human Resources at Polytainers to talk about the manufacturing industry, their connection to the food supply chain and Covid-19. Being in the food manufacturing industry, of course, Polytainers was deemed an essential business when Covid hit.
Business in March was already fairly steady for the company and covid only amplified that. As a result of the stay-at-home order people were flooding grocery stores. Out of necessity or maybe because it was the only place people were allowed to go, there they were with grocery lists in hand buying up all the plastic containers (and toilet paper) and driving up demand for companies like Polytainers.
When most companies we’re down scaling, furlowing employees and making conservative moves, Polytainers was hiring! As the demand for more packaging went up so did their need for skilled workers. Watson explained how that is common around manufacturing facilities like Polytainers: “We were encouraged to find more skilled trades people out there and we were able to hire enough people to keep up with demand.”
Advertisement
Another challenge when Covid hit was increasing safety measures and making sure sanitation regulations were being followed. Both areas are always a focus for the company, but Polytainers took extra measures to ensure new hires and busy production lines always put safety first.
In addition to the packaging product they produce, Polytainers is also known in the Lee’s Summit community for their strong internship program and partnership with MCC. In fact, in our short meeting with Watson he spoke more about the professional development of employees at Polytainers than the containers themselves. It was clear that Watson and the whole Polytainers team takes great pride in training skilled workers.
“We are proud to be located in Lee’s Summit! There is great opportunity here to grow skilled workers and develop leadership skills in our employees. The people of Polytainers really drive everything we do!” Remarked Watson.
Manufacturing has a reputation for high job turnover, but through their internship and training programs Polytainers has increased their retention rate considerably. The intern program is a great way to get your foot in the door, learn on the job with a skilled work force and move into a full time position if so desired.
In a normal year, Polytainers works with MCC to bring in high school graduates through a number of high school and college recruitments, and also participates in a large Manufacturing Day event every year. However, this year, most of their recruitment efforts have been held virtually. For example, they teamed up with the Missouri Chamber of Commerce this year for a virtual Manufacturing Day on October 2nd.
This month Polytainers celebrates their 30th Anniversary in Lee’s Summit! The company is headquartered out of Toronto, Canada and boasts over 1,000 employees throughout its three locations. When asked about the future of Polytainers, Watson said that there are plans of expanding the company and that they are committed to increasing the expertise of Polytainer employees.
To learn more about Polytainers or to view current job opportunities visit their website at polytainersinc.com.