CONTRACT MANUFACTURING
Penn State engineering grads to be hired and, according to the Katens, has been instrumental in fostering a benefi cial relationship between the university and the two companies. “Rob has close ties with Penn State,” Philip explained.
“He’s on their advisory board for faculty and program de- velopment. A few years ago we donated a couple of used presses that were still in good shape to Penn State to sup- port their plastics processing lab. “And Ryan works with local technical skills centers and high-school programs. He led the effort to donate a used press to the Central Tech High School, which is revamping its technical education programs.”
reward the effort, that hard work people put in to go the extra mile. We reward and recognize that in front of everyone at monthly employee meetings. That, and empowering them to make improvements. When they do, it’s recognized, it’s ap- preciated and acted upon.”
The Community The propagation of STEM education in the next genera- tion, the partnerships with schools and other organizations in Erie to develop skilled workers—these aren’t the only way these two companies are impacting their community. Plas- tikos, with its much larger workforce, works with the Catholic Charities’ Refugee Resettlement Program to hire international employees—they’ve employed people here from Somalia, Nepal, Iraq, Ethiopia and Eastern Europe—and has collabo- rated with the nonprofi t Multicultural Community Resource Center’s Refugee Social Services program. And the two companies team up for community service efforts, ranging from a beach clean-up at a nearby state park, a local breast cancer walk for which the companies matched employee donations, and a back-to-school drive: “We collected back- packs and art supplies, notebooks, pens and other things for kids who are in a homeless shelter here. I’m proud of the team for that one,” Philip said. The companies understand their interdependence with their community—and again, it’s a recognition that goes way back.
“As I mentioned, Philip said, “When my dad and Dave
A molded component is examined in an ISO 7 Class 10,000 clean room at Plastikos.
“It’s a challenge to get kids interested in engineering and STEM studies,” Ryan Katen said, “But even more so to get kids interested in the technical trades, including tool and die, which is critical for this industry. That’s why we’ve taken an aggressive approach at trying to help the local schools— down to the eighth-grade level.” Both companies have been called great places to work by industry watchers, and people at other companies ask the brothers what the trick is to fi nding and keeping qualifi ed workers.
“I think the bottom line is to truly care about your people,” Phil said. “Everything else is subsumed in that. A fair living wage, put bonus programs in place that recognize and
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AdvancedManufacturing.org | January 2015
Mead fi rst hung out the Micro Mold shingle in 1978, they were working with used equipment in rented space in part of a garage. No telephone—and our mom was eight-and-a- half-months pregnant with our sister. “This was long before cell phones, of course. Since they
didn’t have a phone in the work space, my dad walked down the street to a residential house, knocked on the door, intro- duced himself to the man who lived there, and said something like, ‘Hi, I’m Tim Katen, just started a business down the street. Just wanted to introduce myself—and ask you a favor. If my wife would happen to go into labor while I’m working, would you be willing to let her call you? And would you then run down the street and knock on my door so that I can high- tail it down to the hospital?’ And the neighbor agreed. “My mom went into labor early in the morning before work, so in the end the neighbor wasn’t involved in my sister’s birth. But when my dad turned to him for help, he was ready. That’s what community’s do for each other,” Phil Katen fi nished.
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