When most executives at manufacturing facilities think of strategies to becoming more competitive in the marketplace, they think of investments in technology, that is investments in latest machinery that promise to increase productivity and improve quality.  However, what they often overlook is how investments in their people can can positively impact productivity and quality. The fact of the matter is, for companies in the plastics manufacturing business, an investment in plastics training for their employees quite often yields a far superior return on investment (ROI) than a similar investment in capital equipment.

Paulson Training Programs, Inc., a supplier of plastics training to the plastics manufacturing industry for over 30 years, has done numerous surveys of its customers on this exact topic.  The results of these surveys have been eye opening.  Executives who used to only think in terms of capital equipment investments to maintain their competitive edge began to have a totally different outlook when presented with the results of Paulson sponsored training at their plants.  They could quickly see the data that clearly showed how increases in knowledge and skills was impacting productivity and quality.  Not all companies agree with this of course, but companies that want a well-rounded competitive toolkit are using their employees as their competitive ace in the hole.