Constantia Flexibles Makes New Investments and Increases Jobs Following SCMEP’s Training Within Industry Program

Constantia Flexibles, located in Blythewood, South Carolina, is third largest manufacturer of flexible packaging. Based on the guiding principle of ‘People, Passion, Packaging’, some 8,530 employees manufacture tailor-made packaging solutions at 36 sites in 16 countries. The company provides products to various multinational corporations and local market leaders in the food, pet food, and pharmaceuticals industries.

In early 2020, the company added approximately 90 employees within the previous year. This had resulted in a strain in the onboarding process and an associated drop in productivity per person and quality. To add to this challenge, the Columbia, South Carolina, region was at an historically low unemployment level. This turnover had further strained the onboarding process. The business was at a cusp, with improvement in quality, productivity, and inventory being a requirement to continuing to do business in Blythewood. Constantia Flexibles needed to change and engage the workforce to create a high performing organization. For help Constantia turned to SCMEP, part of the MEP National Network™.

A highly effective training program – Training Within Industry (TWI) – was recommended and implemented. Employing TWI methodologies would ensure new employees gain confidence in the tasks they are asked to perform before the supervisor/trainer leaves them on their own. The TWI program consisted of 10-hour modules of job instruction (JI) and job relations (JR). Job instruction consisted of training up to 10 employees in a proven methodology to standardize training so that skills are taught faster, better, and more consistently from learner to learner. Job relations consisted of training up to 10 employees in simple strategies for building employee cooperation and a 4-step method to handle employee issues to ensure best possible outcomes.

Participants learned how practicing these skills over the long term builds a culture of trust and sharing of knowledge that builds cohesiveness among teams and sets them up for success. The program was delivered using TWI’s proven four-step methodology of preparation, presentation, application and check results/follow-up. Trainer was available to provide one-on-one coaching in JI and JR for class participants as well as support to develop a plan to integrate TWI activities in the company’s facility and a pilot project. SCMEP also conducted additional TWI practice at the direction of the company.