Success Story
Cleveland Steel Container
Anything not made by Cleveland Steel Container “pails” in comparison. With a focus on company culture and creating the highest quality steel pails on the market, Cleveland Steel Container pledges to “build good pails and deliver them on time.
Cleveland Steel Container (CSC) has been operating in Synergy Park since 2008. One of four CSC plants throughout the nation, the Kilgore facility produces tens of thousands of cold rolled steel pails every day. CSC is vertically integrated, utilizing its network of production facilities to make various parts of their pails. CSC even owns the patents on the machines that they use to manufacture their pails, making Cleveland Steel pails completely unique in the industry.
Sheet steel is delivered to the Kilgore facility, where it is cut into sections that are rolled and welded into the body of the pail. The top and bottom sections of the pails, as well as handles and other hardware, are fabricated at another CSC facility and delivered to the Kilgore plant for final assembly. Pails ordered from CSC can be custom painted, or even lithographed with artwork, to match a client’s needs.
Much of Cleveland Steel Container’s manufacturing process is automated, from cutting and welding to pressure testing. However, skilled human hands still make sure each and every pail that rolls down the assembly line is perfectly built to CSC’s standards before it gets wrapped on a pallet and loaded into one of the many trucks waiting to deliver to customers all over the United States and beyond.
One thing that truly sets Cleveland Steel Container apart is their status as an employee-owned company. In 2014, then sole owner of CSC, Christopher Page, decided to give the company to the employees, with the belief that having a stake in the company would give CSC’s employees more pride in their work, leading to increased productivity and higher quality products. Everyone who works for Cleveland Steel, from plant employees working on the production line to executives, receive an annual financial contribution into a retirement account, benefiting from the continued hard work and attention to detail that makes CSC pails the best in the industry.
“It’s been a very prosperous thing for all of our employees,” said Troy Welborn, General Manager at Cleveland Steel Container’s Kilgore Facility. “It’s a very good selling point to retain people and to get new people. In addition to the retirement benefit, each eligible employee also receives an annual profit sharing bonus. Cleveland Steel believes that everyone should share in the success of the company.”
CSC employees also enjoy a 5 day, single shift work week that, according to Welborn, “allows us to play as hard as we work”.
CSC’s team in Kilgore continues to grow, with the Kilgore facility accepting applications for a small number of manufacturing positions. Planning for long-term success, the forward-thinking leadership team is already making hiring plans for the future. When someone is preparing to leave CSC, company policy is to hire their successor sometimes up to a year in advance, so the person hired to fill the role is able to learn directly from the experience of their predecessor. This ensures a seamless transition that maintains CSC’s high standards of efficiency and quality of work.
“The best person doesn’t necessarily have to be the most knowledgeable person, we can train people how to do their job,” said Welborn. “Nobody knows how to make a pail when they get here. But, if you come in with an open mind and you’re willing to learn and work, you’ll have a very successful career here.”
If you’re interested in learning more about the work that CSC does ,or would like to join the Cleveland Steel Container family, you can visit them on the web at cscpails.com
Anything not made by Cleveland Steel Container “pails” in comparison. With a focus on company culture and creating the highest quality steel pails on the market, Cleveland Steel Container pledges to “build good pails and deliver them on time.
Cleveland Steel Container (CSC) has been operating in Synergy Park since 2008. One of four CSC plants throughout the nation, the Kilgore facility produces tens of thousands of cold rolled steel pails every day. CSC is vertically integrated, utilizing its network of production facilities to make various parts of their pails. CSC even owns the patents on the machines that they use to manufacture their pails, making Cleveland Steel pails completely unique in the industry.
Sheet steel is delivered to the Kilgore facility, where it is cut into sections that are rolled and welded into the body of the pail. The top and bottom sections of the pails, as well as handles and other hardware, are fabricated at another CSC facility and delivered to the Kilgore plant for final assembly. Pails ordered from CSC can be custom painted, or even lithographed with artwork, to match a client’s needs.
Much of Cleveland Steel Container’s manufacturing process is automated, from cutting and welding to pressure testing. However, skilled human hands still make sure each and every pail that rolls down the assembly line is perfectly built to CSC’s standards before it gets wrapped on a pallet and loaded into one of the many trucks waiting to deliver to customers all over the United States and beyond.
One thing that truly sets Cleveland Steel Container apart is their status as an employee-owned company. In 2014, then sole owner of CSC, Christopher Page, decided to give the company to the employees, with the belief that having a stake in the company would give CSC’s employees more pride in their work, leading to increased productivity and higher quality products. Everyone who works for Cleveland Steel, from plant employees working on the production line to executives, receive an annual financial contribution into a retirement account, benefiting from the continued hard work and attention to detail that makes CSC pails the best in the industry.
“It’s been a very prosperous thing for all of our employees,” said Troy Welborn, General Manager at Cleveland Steel Container’s Kilgore Facility. “It’s a very good selling point to retain people and to get new people. In addition to the retirement benefit, each eligible employee also receives an annual profit sharing bonus. Cleveland Steel believes that everyone should share in the success of the company.”
CSC employees also enjoy a 5 day, single shift work week that, according to Welborn, “allows us to play as hard as we work”.
CSC’s team in Kilgore continues to grow, with the Kilgore facility accepting applications for a small number of manufacturing positions. Planning for long-term success, the forward-thinking leadership team is already making hiring plans for the future. When someone is preparing to leave CSC, company policy is to hire their successor sometimes up to a year in advance, so the person hired to fill the role is able to learn directly from the experience of their predecessor. This ensures a seamless transition that maintains CSC’s high standards of efficiency and quality of work.
“The best person doesn’t necessarily have to be the most knowledgeable person, we can train people how to do their job,” said Welborn. “Nobody knows how to make a pail when they get here. But, if you come in with an open mind and you’re willing to learn and work, you’ll have a very successful career here.”
If you’re interested in learning more about the work that CSC does ,or would like to join the Cleveland Steel Container family, you can visit them on the web at cscpails.com
