May 20, 2021 – Lieutenant Governor Mike Foley made a stop in Sidney on Tuesday, May 4th, and toured the Agri-Plastics plant. The City of Sidney’s Economic Development Manager, Melissa Norgard also came along for the tour. The Lieutenant Governor’s tour of Sidney included stops at five other Sidney businesses, many of which received aid from the state in their opening or development. The purpose of the tour was to see how area businesses were managing after Covid, the challenges with the current economic landscape, and opportunities to promote Nebraska’s plastic manufacturing capabilities to the U.S. as well as worldwide companies.
Darren VanBuuren showed him the recent developments inside the plant, including the newest Ferry rotomolding machine. Rainwater barrels, portable sink washing stations, and trash can liners are now also being produced in the Sidney plant for the Agri-Plastics Custom Rotomolding division.
Because of growing orders that have come in the past few months, Agri-Plastics is actively hiring 2nd and 3rd shift Machine Operators.
Throughout the Sidney tour, Foley said several commonalities and patterns stuck out to him. “Workforce availability is a big issue in Nebraska,” Foley said. “This is a national issue, really, but it’s more acute in Nebraska.” Foley said the workforce issue comes down to pipelines of workers. It’s important to showcase factory jobs to kids as young as middle school. “We don’t want to lose them to other states. We need the warm bodies in Nebraska,” Foley said. “And when kids realize there are great jobs here with good paychecks and good benefits, they’ll be inclined to stay and live a good life.”
If you are interested in joining a growing company with competitive wages, incentives and benefits, please email us today at hr@agri-plastics.net, call us at 308-254-1137, or come on site to pick up an application at 701 East Elm Street, Sidney, NE 69162.