by Nicole Mitchell, editor, Plastics Business From topics such as bilingual training systems to what to do when an applicant ghosts, these are five of the common human resources challenges that companies face in the plastics industry. Job Applicant “Ghosting” The Great Resignation begin in 2021, with record numbers of people leaving their jobs when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. … [Read more...] about Five Common HR Challenges in the Plastics Industry
Business Planning
Who Supports the Leaders? The Role of the Business Support Team
by Dianna Brodine, vice president, editorial, Plastics Business “When your mother asks, ‘Do you want a piece of advice?’ it is a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway.” – Erma Bombeck, American humorist US plastics manufacturing has plenty of family business success stories, so it’s likely that many reading this article … [Read more...] about Who Supports the Leaders? The Role of the Business Support Team
Sophisticated Check Fraud Scheme Stopped with Positive Pay
by Dianna Brodine, vice president, editorial, Plastics Business “I received a call from the bank,” said Erica Berg, chief financial officer for Vital Plastics, Inc., Baldwin, Wisconsin. “A check was coming through on our payroll account, and the bank wanted to verify it since it didn’t match up with the data we had provided.” Vital Plastics uses a service called Positive … [Read more...] about Sophisticated Check Fraud Scheme Stopped with Positive Pay
Adapting to and Overcoming New and Recurring Challenges in 2022
by Ian Gjertson, analytics director, MAPP The past two years featured numerous challenges and controversy as the world has tried (and continues to try) to adapt to and overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, according to the 195 plastics processing companies that participated in MAPP’s 22nd annual State of the Plastics Industry Report, which benchmarks 2021 performance … [Read more...] about Adapting to and Overcoming New and Recurring Challenges in 2022
What is Going On, and Why?
by Chris Kuehl, managing director, Armada Corporate Intelligence The consumer is seeing all manner of inflation lately – as seen in the media. That tends to obscure the kind of inflation the manufacturing sector is experiencing. The Producer Price Index jumped by more than 10% in 2021, and that is a surge not seen in years. Much of that can be attributed to oil and energy … [Read more...] about What is Going On, and Why?