Some Solo workers look for fresh starts

Solo Cup’s Springfield facility is hiring.
At least that’s what the sign in front of the building says.
But that doesn’t mean the plant isn’t closing before the end of the year, as the company announced last month. Many employees have decided not to wait for the factory to close before seeking new employment, creating a need for temporary workers to staff the line until the factory shuts its doors for good.
“They’re looking for about 17 people, and that’s within the bounds of the union contract, that they can hire a certain percentage of labor through temporary help,” said Angie Chaplin, spokesperson for Solo. “They know some people have decided to go ahead and retire, and other people are looking for new jobs – that’s one reason they gave so much notice – so they’re looking to fill some temporary positions. They’ll be machine operators and one or two other entry-level positions.”
David Doss has worked at the Solo plant for 21 years.
He, like many of the other 330 employees, is unsure what the future holds.
“If something falls in my lap then yeah, I’m going to take it,” he said. “But there aren’t any plans yet. I was hoping to go to school for a little while.”
He added that employees have not been informed about what kind of severance package, if any, they will receive.

A new start
Solo employees aren’t without resources.
The Missouri Career Center in Springfield has been offering services to plant employees – approximately 50 at press time – since the closing announcement was made.
“We offer retraining for people who feel that there is a need to go back to school or access vocational training, so that they can find a stable job,” said Alice Simpson, workforce development supervisor for the center.
“Others, we will probably assist with finding a job. There will be a lot of people from Solo who have marketable skills that will just maybe need some brushing up on interview techniques and writing their résumés. We hope that they’ll access the services,” she said.
The career center also has set up a Rapid Response team to meet at the factory, providing Solo employees easier access to the center’s services.
The team is a service of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, which created the Rapid Response program to help assist companies and their employees that have been affected by cutbacks or layoffs. Those meetings will be held several times throughout the day March 15 at the factory, 1100 N. Glenstone Ave.
“We’ve talked to the employer already and it looks like they’re going to be very willing to help us by letting us set up a career center at the plant, so staff can be there on-site to assist people with registering in the state’s labor exchange program, Great Hires, and also so we can begin the assessment process or do workshops with the company,” Simpson said.

The cup
While Solo is headed out the door, another building tenant is feeling right at home.
BioMetAccess Co. LLC leases space from Solo for its international export business. Co-owner Nat Sprague has been in the building for almost three years, when Industrial Solutions Group, one of his other companies, began leasing 12,000 square feet.
“One of my companies is a technology company that did work for Sweetheart, and that’s how we came to that relationship,” Sprague said.
“Then, as I grew, I had informed folks that I needed to relocate, and the plant manager, Paul Kraft, said, ‘We have space available – why don’t you use some of the offices and storage and warehousing in what we call the cup.’”
BioMetAccess sells, designs and distributes biometric supplies – products used to help identify someone by distinct
characteristics such as a fingerprint or voice – to companies and governments. Sprague said he had just quoted a large project for the U.S. Air Force.
That business could be good news for a few of the Solo workers.
“If I would get awarded that project, one of the (Solo) people would come on board with us,” Sprague said. “And this project is of such a magnitude that it could take two or three of them.”
He added that his company doesn’t need many people in the offices – he employs nine – but his network of resellers and agents numbers in the hundreds.
The fact that Solo is leaving may affect Sprague’s company.
“To be honest with you, I could be out of here if somebody bought the building. It’s not something where I’m here to stay, or at least I don’t think so,” he said. “(Solo) has been a great customer of my other companies, and I’m going to stick with them through thick and thin. As long as they’re open, hopefully I’m going to be here.”
Solo’s Chaplin was unaware if the company would sell the building after closing the plant.