Dart marks Manufacturing Week with tours, fun, recognition

Sites across Dart celebrated National Manufacturing Week (October 2-9) with a series of fun, creative and informative events.

The observance of manufacturing’s cultural and economic significance provided an opportunity for plants and departments throughout the organization to recognize their dedicated employees and allow everyone to consider their contribution to the industry.

Some of the many highlights at our sites included:

• Mason, MI: Employees from across campus gathered for a combined observance of National Manufacturing Week and the 50th birthday of the iconic Red SOLO cup. Bright red dominated the scene in the campus Café as people gathered for food, games, giveaways and – of course – festive beverages in red party cups. Earlier in the week, Mason Cup and Machinery Tooling and Manufacturing hosted a tour for high school students from Wilson Talent Center, a local career and technical education center.
• Waxahachie, TX: To create greater internal awareness and appreciation for the products they make and the customers they support, departments adopted customer brands and competed in a friendly “Battle of the Brands.” They created displays and coordinated apparel to showcase their creativity, knowledge of the customer and team spirit.
• Plant City, FL: The site served breakfast to all shifts, and provided giveaways – t-shirt and drawstring bags – and hosted a tour for students from Rick Lott Technical College in Plant City.
• Lancaster, PA: Lancaster employees recognized their manufacturing colleagues with written messages of thanks, which the facility showcased on a “What Makes Lancaster Great” wall.
• Randleman, NC: The site hosted the Randolph County Economic Development Board for a plant tour and lunch. The 15 RCEDB members represent 10 local organizations, including community college, business and government leaders.
• Tijuana, Mexico: The facility provided a meal each day of the week with food from a different culture, with Italian (lasagna) on Monday, Japanese (sushi) on Tuesday, Mexican (carne asada) on Wednesday, Chinese (Cantonese-style chicken and kung pau pork) on Thursday and American (hamburgers and chicken wings) on Friday.
• Atlacomulco, Mexico: The facility closed out the week by welcoming employees’ families and university students for plant tours, during which visitors learned about manufacturing processes and heard about employees’ professional experiences.

Across Dart, facilities scheduled much-deserved breaks to share CEO Keith Clark’s National Manufacturing video, treated employees to cookouts, food trucks and cake – and encouraged them to share peer-to-peer appreciation messages.