Lithuania native finds opportunity in Donora
Moving across the Atlantic Ocean from Lithuania to Pittsburgh in December 2019 to become general manager of global plastic packaging manufacturer RETAL’s Donora plant was a career opportunity for Darius Janulionis that came about because of his proven leadership ability.
It has become just as important that he is positive by nature, as the COVID-19 pandemic has meant a very different situation has evolved.
With two young daughters in kindergarten and a singer wife with a career of her own, Janulionis’ life in Lithuania was successful and rewarding.
He has worked at RETAL for more than seven years, having progressed rapidly to the position of production director at the company’s Lentvaris factory, the largest and most profitable of its 19 global sites, after being recognized by the board of directors as one to watch. The company employs 2,000 people worldwide.
When the previous general manager of the RETAL PA factory left, Janulionis was offered the role, with the expectation that his understanding of the business and strong team-building skills would be an ideal fit for the Donora factory, which was the newest of the RETAL portfolio and contained considerable untapped potential.
“The plan was for me to come to Pittsburgh to start the job, get settled with a home and find schools for the girls, then my family would be able to join me,” he said. “But of course 2020 didn’t go as planned for any of us.
“I expected to fly home a few times before they moved over here, but I was not able to get home since the pandemic started as of course the majority of international travel has been banned; every time I booked a flight, it got canceled.”
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RETAL supports STEM student initiative in Pittsburgh
The non-profit program was founded in 2004 when industrial manufacturers got together with the Pittsburgh chapter of the NTMA (National Tooling and Manufacturing Association) to create an initiative that harnesses the experience of industry mentors and partners them with technically impressive students.
An inter-school robotics competition is at the heart of BotsIQ, with the teams of students tasked with building a 15lb robot, with every stage of the design and production carefully developed to support the overal STEM goals of the program.
Maria Campieri, Youth Services Manager at BotsIQ, said: “BotsIQ partners with 60 high schools across southwestern Pennsylvania. Through our program, students gain in-demand technical skills needed for a rewarding STEM career. This school year, we've had to think of creative ways to continue connecting industry and education.”
One such creative idea is allowing a small number of BotsIQ representatives to visit RETAL PA's Donora factory, taking all social distancing and health precautions, to film an educational tour of the production site and the administrative functions.
RETAL's HR manager Elizabeth Giecek added: “We are delighted to partner with such an inspiring program; the BotsIQ team are so motivated and the students themselves show incredible potential. It was great to have them here to gather information for an upcoming virtual event and to see first-hand how working with the next generation of STEM experts is important for progressive manufacturing companies like RETAL.”
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PET preform that helps to extend shelf life
Global plastic packaging manufacturer Retal is actively working with a leading food and agri-business to manufacture a PET preform that helps to extend the shelf life of its popular refrigerated drinking yoghurt in Africa. To achieve this, Retal is adding ColorMatrix Lactra SX Light Blocking Additive to its monolayer PET bottles for the multi-national producer’s refrigerated drinking yoghurt specifically for the Nigerian market. The PolyOne additive is claimed to block 99.9% of light, thus protecting the dairy product.
Jiri Nydrle, Sales manager at Retal Czech, is working directly with the customer, and said “Light blocking is a particularly hot topic in the African dairy market and, at present, we only export this monolayer PET preform with the Lactra additive as there is not the current demand for dairy milk in PET bottles in Europe as cartons have a clear dominance in the UHT sector.” He continued “The brand owner in Nigeria had a break in their supply chain so we were asked to help by our valued long-term partner Caraway Africa Nigeria Ltd. Our sales director got the initial contact and he was able to quickly close the deal. The whole offer was discussed online and we were able to agree prices and arrange for 10 containers to be sent to Nigeria. It was a very effective method of communication and kept everything moving quickly; it shows a new way of working.”
With all the constituents of the solid masterbatch ColorMatrix Lactra SX Light Blocking Additive certified as food safe, it offers a good way to extend shelf life without impacting the product quality; drinking yoghurt in Lactra preforms has a six month refrigerated shelf life. Lactra does not need to be dried before processing; it is solid state pellets that are added as close as possible to the extruder entrance, and it creates an opaque white preform with an almost total light block.
Retal expects to see continued demand for preforms with Lactra in other countries as it delivers good refrigerated shelf-stability for dairy products without adding weight as monolayer PET is used.
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Retal molding plant gives struggling PA town another chance to shine
Donora, Pa. — In 2016, Cyprus-based Retal Industries Ltd. decided to pick a former Spartech Corp. compounding plant in Pennsylvania as its first U.S. base.
Donora's nickname "home of the champions" proved to be as relevant today as it was in its 1950s heyday as the company's decision to locate there gave the community another chance.
While the well publicized difficulties of towns and communities throughout the rust belt are also true, the clear characteristics of hard work, loyalty and positivity shine through.
This undeniable spirit was one of the main pulls for global plastic packaging manufacturer Retal Industries decision to build in Donora, with the process of creating its factory and ensuring it quickly became successfully active gaining invaluable support from the local community.
Elizabeth Giecek, human resources manager at Retal PA LLC, joined the company in May 2017, and has a close understanding of how the community support allowed the business to find a happy home.
"I'm originally from about 35 minutes away from Donora, in Washington, and I've always been interested in the history of the valley. It used to be that each town had its own mill and there were plenty of good jobs for regular people, but as the mills started pulling out it got harder," she said.
"Steel production started to decline from the early 1980s, and it was also that pollution became more of an issue throughout the valley. So the tone changed; people and families needed to leave to find jobs, and young people graduated and left," she said.
But while the tone of Donora and its neighboring towns changed, that local pride and expectation of hard work remained.
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INCREASED OPTIMISATION WITH LABORATORY AND WAREHOUSE INVESTMENT AT RETAL BALTIC FILMS
The pace of RETAL’s ongoing development shows no sign of slowing down, even though 2020 has been full of unforeseen challenges.
The global plastic packaging manufacturer has been able to stay close to its investment and progression strategy this year, with its ambitious CSR strategy underpinning its success.
An important example of RETAL’s continued growth is the official opening of its dedicated new laboratory and warehouse at its RETAL Baltic Films facility in Klaipeda, which represents a considerable €4.5 million investment, resulting in enhanced testing facilities and a new 4000 square metre warehouse.
RETAL Baltic Films General Manager, Viktorija Griziene, explained how this investment illustrates RETAL’s focus on development.
“We are delighted that our new facilities will support our ambitions to deliver complete packaging solutions for our customers. We can now offer fast, reliable, expert testing in-house, which guarantees that customers can clearly understand every element of their products from RETAL. Essentially, we can imitate the actual industrial processes that our customers use, including capping and filling, allowing us to smooth out any details that could be optimised.”
This complete packaging solution now includes a highly sophisticated validation process, thanks to the investment in the laboratory at RETAL Baltic Films, which assures guaranteed product quality stability due to the in-house equipment and technical expertise.
“Our highly experienced team can effectively utilise the new equipment to analyse the product and any changes the customer requires, including new additives, slight design changes, or new materials,” continued Ms Griziene.
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PACKAGING WITH A COMMUNITY CONSCIENCE
Working for a plastic packaging manufacturer isn't always something people want to shout about at parties, especially if they are a passionate advocate of environmental projects in their local community. But for Danielle Cycak, Supply Chain Manager at RETAL, being on the inside is the perfect way to make a real difference.
We cannot get away from the fact that plastic packaging is not having a golden time at the moment. It's an easy bogeyman across the media, from wildlife programmes to EU legislation, so it can be hard to be a plastic packaging champion without looking like you're disconnected from the zeitgeist. And of course, we all want to be responsible citizens and leave the world a better place than how we found it, so it's not like packaging professionals want to waste loads of valuable raw materials and just dispose of them in the nearest river.
Yet with plastic packaging being so easy to criticise, it also means that the reality of plastic as a packaging material is also incredibly transparent; both literally (consumer studies show a slow uptake for 'non glass like' packaging with higher recycled content, even though it's more sustainable) and metaphorically (being under the spotlight means there's nowhere to hide).
For Danielle Cycak, Supply Chain Manager for global plastic packaging manufacturer RETAL at its Donora, Pennsylvania plant, her dedication to actively supporting and participating in community-based environmental activities predates her employment with this leading company. Integrating her strong sense of responsibility towards environmental projects and her career development was a crucial aspect in her taking the job in the first place. Cycak tells Sustainable Plastics, “I've been a part of a number of community projects for years; we're so lucky to have an abundance of natural resources to explore from waterways to state parks as well as Pennsylvania being rooted in agriculture.”
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«RETAL Украина»: инновации, нацеленные в будущее
Компания «RETAL Украина» входит в состав международной группы RETAL, которая более 20 лет работает на рынке пластиковой упаковки. Инновационная активность компании направлена на достижение целей устойчивого развития.
Одно из основных направлений глобальной стратегии устойчивого развития — экологическая безопасность. Осознавая высокую значимость такого подхода, группа RETAL ежегодно реализует инновационные решения в рамках направления корпоративной социальной ответственности.
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RETAL Cyprus celebrates its 5th Birthday
In all the best success stories, it is not one person that makes the difference, but rather a motivated team of like-minded individuals that come together to achieve a big goal. This is certainly true of RETAL Cyprus, the Limassol-based plastic packaging factory, part of RETAL Industries, which celebrated its fifth anniversary on 9th October this year.
The story first started with a big inauguration in 2015. The importance of RETAL opening and operating a successful factory in Cyprus, where it is headquartered, was clear from this event, as it was attended by the President of Cyprus Mr. Anastasiadis, senior local government officials, the President of RETAL Anatoly Martynov, all of RETAL's board of directors, and its global customers. The event was widely publicised as it highlighted the importance of opening such a modern factory in Cyprus.
RETAL's plans in this strategically important region - the south part of Europe - have come true. Today it is a successful and dynamically developing business that contributes to the Cyprus economy. The company’s president Mr. Martynov notes, “RETAL has over 20 years of experience in the production of plastic packaging. It is the synergy of our deep understanding of the industry and significant investments in our modern plant that are key to the achievements of RETAL in Cyprus.”
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Stay connected: Adapting intranet needs at RETAL
Effective internal communications for a global company brings many advantages but can be hard to implement and maintain. With various stakeholders and their differing needs, creating an engaging communications strategy is an opportunity for commercial and organisational goals to be met. Following their intranet launch in 2019, global plastic packaging manufacturer RETAL shares how developing its intranet has been both more difficult and more rewarding than it expected – and how they had to adapt in response to Covid.
For traditional manufacturing companies, the understanding of what effective communication is and why it’s necessary can be the first hurdle in developing a communications strategy. Different stakeholders can see the value of communications in opposite terms, with the ROI hard to quantify, especially in the short term. Yet the cost of poor internal communications may only be seen when it’s too late, so proposing, agreeing to, and, crucially, getting the budget for, a corporate intranet is the first hurdle.
RETAL develops and manufactures plastic packaging solutions to customers in over 60 countries worldwide. The business was founded in 1994 and currently employs around 1,500 employees. Today, RETAL has locations worldwide including Eastern and Western Europe and the US, so its wide range of cultures both internally with employees and externally with customers and other stakeholders means that communication is key. Having historically relied on separate communication within each of its locations, the company realised that integrated internal communication could add considerable value to both its employee engagement and its bottom line – as long as it was done right.
In 2019, the organisation invested in a new corporate O365 intranet. The project was focused on delivering enhanced communication across its 15 factories.
Using an Attollo Intranet out-of-the-box package, RETAL built its internal communications platform to allow for closer cooperation between colleagues and departments in a more efficient and effective manner.
However, the unprecedented changes that the spring of 2020 brought meant that the dedicated communication platform has more than earned its keep, highlighting how staying closely connected even when colleagues are working from home around the world supports a profitable modern workplace.
In this article, RETAL explains how its newly designed intranet had to quickly evolve to meet the needs of its employees in the face of Covid.
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RETAL BALTIC OPENS NEW OFFICE
Socially-distanced celebrations are still possible at RETAL Baltic thanks to the official opening of its new premises.
The new space is dedicated to an updated central group laboratory to maintain the company’s international-standard quality assurance and testing, as well as expanding working and auxiliary spaces for administration and production employees. It sees the previous 700sqm site now doubled to 1400sqm, in addition to its production facilities.
On 19th June, General Manager Viktorija Jurevičiūtė cut the symbolic ribbon to declare the facilities open, following 12 months of construction that was delayed earlier this year due to coronavirus. The RETAL Baltic team enjoyed a small ceremony to mark the event, with the additional space allowing for plenty of room between people. Each employee was also presented with a personalised plant to match the new office.
Viktorija says, “This new facility represents our continued growth, both professionally and personally, and so we wanted to give each employee something to mark the occasion. The bright, clean design is perfectly in tune with our focus on providing high quality, sustainable plastic packaging solutions and we’re all looking forward to utilising this investment.”
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