First Quality Reviews

Pros

It was an excellent internship and paid really well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cons

It was in the middle of pennsylvania away from everything!

Advice to Senior Management

I think they are doing a great job!

Pros

Owners were committed to the business and willing to invest in the company. The central PA manufacturing locations seemed like good places to work for people already living in those areas. If you want to stay with the company long term, there are opportunities.

Cons

Information was kept very secret so that it was hard to get the job done in certain functions. Direction was not always given to people at all levels resulting in confusion. Nepotism was also an issue as most key managers seemed to be related to the owners some how.

Pros

People are friendly, Environment is not bad
Salary okay

Cons

Salary
Managment poor. no communication
Owners all over the place
Knee Jerk reaction

Advice to Senior Management

Get it together
Communicate.
Set reasonable goals

Pros

First Quality is a huge family-run operation with a lot of cash flow. They always invest in the latest equipment to remain competitive and efficient. They have top-quality products, and are committed to manufacture them in the U.S.A.

Cons

All company decisions are made by the 3 brothers who run the company. Top-level management largely does not have decision-making power. Information, especially financial, is very hard to come by to do proper analysis of market decisions.

Advice to Senior Management

Allow the employees to make more informed decisions to support the business by providing full information disclosure, including the financial metrics. Allow sales force to develop and nurture relationships with retailer buyers without interference and "going over their head".

Pros

The company is a clean place to work. The overall atmosphere is very condusive to the employees needs. Nice place to work.

Cons

A lot of the time people have no idea what their job is when they come into work from day to day.

Advice to Senior Management

They need to lead in a better way and become more focused on the goals of the company. Also have more steaks dinners.

Pros

- Company spending a tons of money for new equipment and latest technologies.
- Kind of good salaries level, if they really need you.

Cons

- No respect for employees at all
- Serious lack of management communication
- Owners and managers absolutely don't care about employees (if you are not a part of owners family, then you just a junk.
- They can throw out anyone with kind of 1 hour notice
- Start outsourcing process and just simply throw away team members
- Absolutely don't keep their promises

Advice to Senior Management

Major advice for owners, start keep your promises and stop stupid savings process, when you just throw away your team members and looking for savings in that places, when savings is not actual at all.

Pros

12 hr shift schedual is ok if you are on daylight.

Cons

pay is low advancement isnt there unless you are one of the chosen

Advice to Senior Management

Take care of your people or you are going to lose them.

Pros

They offer good deal for bathroom tissue and paper towel for their employee.

Cons

They are private own company. So they can laid off people without reason. Lack of communication with other site location. The owner doesn't not have any future plan.

Advice to Senior Management

There are no leadership for this company. Their managment is a mess. If you ask for budget for project, they always hold off. Lack of commuicate with other site location.

Pros

Family run business with a willingness to invest in capital.
Product improvements made without respect to cost.
Manufacturing facilities are pristine and look great during customer tours.
Driven towards manufacturing efficiency.

Cons

Ownership often communicates mixed messages and competing objectives.
Little to No sharing of information to make informed decisions because almost all data is seen "too sensitive" to share.
No potential for meaningful advancement because all of the senior positions are occupied by owning family.
No organizational charts ever published making it difficult to understand who does what.
No standard procedures, common practices or best practice sharing done between the various First Quality Companies - organization of silos.
Little to no metrics to drive results - everything is subjectives other than machine speeds.
Almost every decision is delayed due to the need for ownership input.

Advice to Senior Management

Establish common practices between the various First Quality companies.
Emplace some non-manufacturing metrics to begin tracking efficiencies elsewhere in the business.
Give employees a sense of direction and a path forward for their careers.
Pro-actively communicate to the organization.

Pros

High Quality Products. Easy to believe in the product you are selling. Known as the industry leader for their line of products. Very vertically integrated to allow for better purchasing power of raw materials for products. A large variety of products in both the retail and long term care marketplace.

Cons

Family business. Non- family members treated with disrespect and passed over for MOST management roles
Management Team is inept and extremely slow to react to changes in the marketplace.
Marketing program is very weak with with a lack of leadership.
Lack of clear corporate direction and focus
Crisis oriented management style. Most sales people feel like "Firemen" rather than sales professionals.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to the field sales teams. Implement some of the ideas taken to the management meetings.