Pros
Silgan Containers division is stable, and has the dominant the market share in metal food packaging sector. As long as food goes into metal cans, it will be a force in the industry. Mid year peak season means that Christmas holiday times are often likely be slow for salaried employees—a perk for those who want to spend this time with family and friends. The west coast facilities are pretty closely grouped, and there’s large network building and lateral transfer potential to provide opportunity and flexibility without having to relocate. It’s a good place to work if you have prior experience in manufacturing, doubly so if you have an education in an engineering discipline. Good mechanical aptitude and troubleshooting ability will make you stand out. Work in operations is pretty informal and “blue collar,” especially for supervisors, and may not be your cup of tea if you don’t want to get your hands dirty from time to time. However, If you are competent, there’s a steady amount of people retiring/being promoted from mid-level management making good advancement opportunities. The plant support roles like manufacturing, electrical, materials, and quality systems engineer, or customer tech service rep, continuous improvement engineer are also good for someone with an engineering or operations degree. Most of these operate on a regional basis with some travel, and have more flexible schedules.
Cons
Succession planning is not something Silgan does well. Be prepared to tossed into the deep end. This is balanced out in part by fairly robust systems at the corporate level that make it possible to learn the essentials of your job, but don’t expect to get adequate ride-along time with the person holding your role currently.
