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PLENCO CSR Initiative
The Importance of
Engineered Maintenance
In Plenco’s Highly Engineered Plants, with High-Tech Equipment, Operated by
Highly Skilled Personnel, ‘Engineered Maintenance’ is Imperative
As indicated by its corporate name, at the core
of Plenco is
engineering
. It crosses every function-
ality of the company and is a major reason for the
company’s innovative products and cutting-edge
processes.
It also guides our evolution in environment, health
and safety policies and practices.
Well-developed preventive maintenance programs
provide a safe work environment while helping
to ensure consistent, on-time delivery to Plenco
customers. Our first and foremost priority is to pro-
vide our employees a safe and healthy workplace.
Plenco’s combined Engineering and Maintenance
Departments represent the largest operational
group in the company. The work of the joint engi-
neered maintenance team reflects our philoso-
phy that
“doing it ourselves, and doing it right”
is preferable to outsourcing critical services and
more effective in assuring employee safety and the
integrity of Plenco’s buildings and equipment.
The structure of today’s maintenance operations
date back to the 1960s when process equipment
was built, customized and installed mainly by
Plenco’s in-house engineers, electricians and
safety professionals as the company expanded its
operations.
That proven approach exists today, with technical
changes reflecting new equipment and methods
that have become accessible over the last 50 years.
The joint team works together, onsite and avail-
able 24/7 to ensure that production runs smoothly,
efficiently and reliably to meet customers’ quality
and delivery expectations.
To perpetuate this philosophy, we take advantage
of evolving educational opportunities to provide
our technical staff with cutting-edge training at
technical colleges near our facilities. As a result,
employees can increase their knowledge and skills
and advance in their job positions at Plenco.
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We are all ‘Students and
Teachers’ at Plenco
Every day at Plenco, we are learning from each
other, and teaching each other, in one way or
another. Plenco sees education as a cornerstone
of success professionally and personally, and we
encourage learning at every stage of our lives.
One example is our apprenticeship program in
cooperation with local and state higher education
technology institutes and colleges.
Case in Point: In May of 2019, Tom Quaas of the
Maintenance Department earned his Millwright
Journeyman certificate from the State of Wisconsin.
As per tradition, Plenco President Mike Brotz
presented him with his certificate. The Millwright
certificate is earned after four to five years of
apprenticeship, additional school work and over
7,500 hours of on-the-job training. Certified Mill-
wrights and the skill and expertise they bring to
installing, maintaining and repairing sensitive ma-
chinery are absolutely crucial to Plenco’s success.
This policy is
proactive
in designing equipment,
building customized production processes, and
executing preventative maintenance, while it is
reactive in solving unexpected maintenance chal-
lenges.