TCAT Students Tour McKenzie Industries

McKENZIE (October 24) — In an initiative to keep McKenzie’s future technical workers in the community after school, McKenzie Chamber of Commerce and Industrial Development Board Director Monica Heath invited students from the Tennessee College of Applied Technology - Henry/Carroll (TCAT) McKenzie campus to tour Plastic Product Formers and Pottery Direct.

“These students are our future workforce,” Heath said, “so I think it’s important for them to get out and see what jobs are here [in McKenzie]. We want to retain all of our local talent.”

The McKenzie Chamber has brought TCAT students on tours of McKenzie industries every year since 2021, with tour groups growing in size each year. This time, the group consisted of full-time TCAT students from the McKenzie campus and dual enrollment students from McKenzie High School, Weakley County Schools and Trenton Peabody High School. Also attending were Tessa Kyle, northwest Tennessee business development consultant from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development; Jan Latimer, vice president of student services at TCAT Henry/Carroll; and several instructors from TCAT McKenzie.

The information technology systems management (IT), welding technology, industrial maintenance/integrated automation technology, administrative office technology (AOT) and machine tool technology classes were each represented in the tour group.

The morning began at Plastic Product Formers, where Operations Manager Patrick Ross led students through the industry’s production lines and vast warehouse.

Plastic Product Formers, owned by VP Racing Fuels, mass-produces plastic multi-purpose utility jugs, which are sold in many hardware and utility stores.

Ross explained the industry’s machining processes — how their three machines turn tiny plastic pellets into five-gallon jugs twice per minute — and what skills he looks for when hiring machine maintenance technicians. He also told students that the Plastic Product Formers building is climate-controlled, unlike many other local industries.

Students asked Ross about the company’s starting pay and how to stand out in the hiring process.
“Look, you guys in maintenance,” Ross said, “don’t be afraid…Go on Indeed and apply. When we see your TCAT experience, we’re probably going to call you.”

Plastic Product Formers employs 39 workers. They are broken into two shifts — first shift from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and second shift from 3:30 p.m. to midnight — and work five days a week.

Plastic Product Formers has two open positions: one machine maintenance technician and two production line workers.

After the general tour, students broke into groups to receive more targeted tours. IT and AOT students toured the office rooms; welding, maintenance and machine tool students toured the machines and production lines.

The tour group then migrated down the road to Pottery Direct, where Plant Manager Nick Davis met them.

Pottery Direct, recently bought by Syndicate Grower District, completes a flower pot every five to six seconds. The plant runs six days a week and produces around 60,000 pots per week.

Though the production line was down, Davis led the TCAT students through the plant and showed them the different steps of pottery-making while maintenance technicians troubleshot the issue.

“In manufacturing, there will always be something that needs to be fixed. I promise you that,” Davis said to the students.

Davis responded to students’ questions about starting pay for maintenance employees (about $25/hour) and where their IT work is handled (Kokomo, Indiana) before concluding the tour.

Following the Pottery Direct tour, maintenance student Michael Watson said he thought the tours were really interesting. “They gave me a chance to better look at how the industries operate,” he said.

Watson will graduate from TCAT in December and said the tours were very helpful as he plans his next steps.

At the conclusion of the tours, students headed back to TCAT and enjoyed pizza provided by the McKenzie Chamber of Commerce and Industrial Development Board.