Ciji Wiley loves a teachable moment. In the past 8 1/2 years at First Quality’s tissue facility in Anderson, South Carolina, she estimates she has trained upwards of 50 team members on various aspects of papermaking and packaging.
“It’s great to train people who have curiosity because that’s what you need. You need to ask questions,” she said. “Then I see them a year later and see how much they’ve grown.”
Ciji works as a converting operator in the packaging department at the facility, which makes ultra-premium paper towels and bath tissue for leading retailers’ store brands.
“It’s my job to inspect the packaging and make sure we have 100% quality on every product,” she said. “We don’t want to sell anybody anything that we wouldn’t want to use ourselves.”
That commitment to quality is something she tries to instill in everyone she trains. She appreciates First Quality’s “train-the-trainer” approach, which provides a structured way to transfer skills and knowledge from more experienced team members to newer hires.
“When you’re training on the manufacturing floor, sometimes it takes people a few times to get it right and that’s O.K.,” she said. “As trainers we are working alongside them, helping them learn the correct way to do things. It’s all teamwork here.”
Choosing growth
When Ciji reflects on the last several years at First Quality, the word that comes to mind is “growth.” Not only has the Anderson facility added more paper machines since she joined, but it’s also increased its employee base—which now also includes Ciji’s husband and son.
“They have been here over two years, and they love it,” she said. “They are both learning so much.”
She’s happy to see First Quality continue to invest in the business, including the new tissue facility that’s currently under construction in Defiance, Ohio.
