Carpenter Technology Reviews

Pros

The Career Growth opportunities within Carpenter are unmatched for a company of this size. The company also offers an exceptional benefits package. The work environment is very positive employees work well together, and there is widespread acceptance among coworkers. The company is moving forward and rapidly developing.

Cons

Carpenter is synonomous with long hours. Expect to work whatever hours are needed and to be pushed by management for everything you can offer. The work is also physically demanding and the job can be dirty at times.

Advice to Senior Management

Carpenter is a great company to work for management is for the most part very responsive to issues and the company is constantly moving forward.

Pros

Carpenter provides steady work (and sometimes too much of it) and pays an above average rate for the work that salaried employees do. The benefits package is fair and they are willing to pay tuition costs if you are interested in furthering your education. Working conditions are good and management is generally reasonable in their requests.

Cons

Working three rotating shifts is really tough on most production workers. There is some resentment that most of the salaried staff is all day shift, which results in bad feelings sometimes. As with anyplace the demand for performance is high, and sometimes beyond possible. People are quick to point fingers when things go wrong, and many suggestions from the floor get ignored. Granted some of those suggestions are unreasonable, but the supervision and management should take more time to explain the reasoning.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen more to the people who do the hands on work. Some of the lower level engineers and all of the production workers have lots of great input, but that seems to go by the wayside. The employee communication team is mostly made of people who either are ass-kissers or are perceived that way. Adding random employees to that team might let some issues surface.
I left the company under amicable conditions, but a few years later desired to return and my old job was open. I did not even get a call or an e-mail saying thanks but no thanks or anything. I could have stepped in there with literally no training and done the job well, and appreciated it more. Maybe someone should be looking into things like that. i have a general good feeling about the company and have many friends and colleagues who still are there, so nothing I've said here is done mean-spirited. I wish you the best of luck.

Pros

World class company. Unequaled exposure to wide array of specialty alloys and metallurgical expertise. The company carries a reputation that is second to none in the industry. Customers or potential customers familiar with Carpenter come with respect because of that reputation. The metallurgical and commercial talent at the company will rival any other.

Cons

Currently, the executive management is beyond incompetent. The President and CEO left a failing company, brought numerous co-employees with her, and clearly does not understand the business she runs. People spend more time running around putting together information that an insider would know and understand. Dissenting points of view are punished and most executives from the “traditional” Carpenter family were dismissed. As such, morale is at an all time low. People spend more time doing meaningless information gathering instead of focusing on the company. The customer base is quickly becoming weary of the lack of responsiveness as a result. This feeds the low morale because the worker bees are between a rock and hard place with no voice to stop the madness.

Advice to Senior Management

Anne Stevens must go. She is clearly incompetent to run a heavy manufacturing facility. The board has made a dreadful error in placing their confidence in someone who does not understand the business she attempts to manage. The additional executive management that she has brought on board is equally inept. Major changes need to happen and soon.

Pros

They are completely dedicated to their employees, from hourly temps all the way up through management everyone is treated like an equal. The non-monetary compensation and benefits offered are second to none. The company has a commitment to growth. The products we produce are recession resistant. It seems like the company has truly embraced continuous improvement and are always striving to do everything better. Creative and technical input is accepted and encouraged regardless of your job classification or how many years you’ve had at the company. The human resources department is also extremely helpful in relocation assistance. In closing while it is a public company it feels like working for family.

Cons

The real downside to the company is that you truly invest yourself in your work so that you can work 50+ hrs a week and not even realize it. The downside is that not every salaried employee qualifies for overtime. The working conditions are also a question mark. It is a converted steel mill and the nature of the product produced is messy. To say the least it isn’t for everyone. As my boss told me when I interviewed, expect to get your hands dirty from time to time.

Advice to Senior Management

My advice to senior management would be "Don't try to enforce a policy unilaterally unless it is universally applicable".