Working at Ruger

[gmerkt]

I got to reading about Ruger starting up production of Marlin products again in the near future. You know how that goes, on the internet it leads from one thing to another. Which included reading employee reviews on sites such as Glass Door and Indeed. It was interesting to read what employees making guns thought about the company and their jobs there. Some were on-board employees, many were former employees.

I began by reading reviews left by employees at the Mayodan, NC plant. Which is where Ruger has relocated most of the former Marlin parts and equipment, and apparently where they will re-start production of that brand.

There were a number of common themes in these reviews. One that stood out to me is that of high employee turn-over, oft-mentioned.

The starting pay for machine operators (not "machinists") was $12 / hour or a bit less. Granted, this is in North Carolina, a lower wage area than "up North" and a major reason many gun and ammo businesses have relocated into this region.

Mandatory overtime in the plant is common. Some employees complained of not having enough time off to "have a life."

Lots of complaints that all work in the assembly and finishing jobs is all standing or walking with two short breaks and a half hour lunch.

I don't have a clear mental picture of how the plant might be set up. But Ruger doesn't use a line system for assembly. They have what employees refer to as circular loops, and a single employee might have to work at as many as 4 to 9 different machines in the loop.

Several comments were made that the Ruger factory discount on guns (granted after six months of employment) is very generous.

My take-away. CNC machining is common in gun manufacturing these days; for some time, I thought this might be a process that reduced errors in how things are made. Then I started seeing goofs on Smith & Wesson products that are made this way. Now I'm starting to understand how the human end of CNC work might result in some careless work. In particular, high employee turn-over as mentioned at Ruger can't be good for any process.

New thought: I didn't know that in addition to gun making, Ruger has a foundry business in several locations. Naturally enough, they got started on this in order to make their own cast steel parts for guns. They also do outside contract work for other firms. They have a titanium foundry and at one time, made golf club heads out of this metal.

The Ruger factory in Prescott, Arizona, includes Ruger Investment Casting - Prescott Division, and these facilities are located right next to the airport there. Perfectly located for fast shipping. And receiving warranty work?

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[CLT65]

I find it interesting how different companies have such different corporate cultures.It seems that the modern corporate standard in most places is to milk as much profit as you can, by putting the screws to both customers and employees. This results in high turn-over. Other companies (though I think rare nowadays) prefer to hire the best people and treat them well enough that they stay.

I've seen both sides, having worked for a company who paid very well and had top benefits. They hire lots of skilled people and want the best people. They also want experienced people, without training new people all the time. That's changed now and they wonder why they can't keep good people.

 

[Ducati_Meister]

Interesting take. Kind of shows how corporate politics can make or break people. One of the reasons I went into civilian government service as most of the people I've dealt with are easy to have a conversation with etc. I think when you have the decent pay, benefits, retirement etc, it all comes full circle. As with any government organization there's a process to everything, so government isn't for everyone.
I personally could never fit in with the private sector with its bottom line above everything kind of culture per se. In my experience with government, while there are budget constraints, there's a more defined focus on mission.

 

[Ruger Rich]

Good commentary, thanks. Obviously I'm a Ruger guy though I own many different brands. In these times negativity has caught
caught up with me. Though I have not thought about it much at all, I really didn't expect Ruger to be much different than most
other American companies. I spent 27 years at one company, Quotron Systems, and they respected the folks who worked for
them. I don't believe there are many large companies now days that do this.

 

[Aero Denezol]

CNC Machines can do a lot of things faster, but only a skilled operator can set the machine up. You need to pay for good people or you will end up scrapping a lot of expensive castings.

I'm surprised how much poor workmanship escapes QC these days. Even expensive ("high quality") firearms have burrs, rough edges and fitment issues I would never allow to escape our shop.

The culture of craftsmanship is long gone. It's all about squeezing every possible dime out of the process.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

what are these "breaks" and "lunches" you speak of?

 

[CRBMoA]

I personally could never fit in with the private sector with its bottom line above everything kind of culture per se.

You might want to work there for a few decades making payroll and providing for several families before you besmirch the small engine that drives this country.

I do agree with other parts of your post, but you have no idea how a small business thinks.

EDIT - For the record, today is payday. We are cutting checks that will go to 8 households in two counties.

We don't just get to print money when we run out.

 

[dangerranger60]

Ruger was built on the idea of making things easier to mass produce. Part of that is driving employees to do more and faster! DR

 

[Alexx1401]

I got to reading about Ruger starting up production of Marlin products again in the near future. You know how that goes, on the internet it leads from one thing to another. Which included reading employee reviews on sites such as Glass Door and Indeed. It was interesting to read what employees making guns thought about the company and their jobs there. Some were on-board employees, many were former employees.

I began by reading reviews left by employees at the Mayodan, NC plant. Which is where Ruger has relocated most of the former Marlin parts and equipment, and apparently where they will re-start production of that brand.

There were a number of common themes in these reviews. One that stood out to me is that of high employee turn-over, oft-mentioned.

The starting pay for machine operators (not "machinists") was $12 / hour or a bit less. Granted, this is in North Carolina, a lower wage area than "up North" and a major reason many gun and ammo businesses have relocated into this region.

Mandatory overtime in the plant is common. Some employees complained of not having enough time off to "have a life."

Lots of complaints that all work in the assembly and finishing jobs is all standing or walking with two short breaks and a half hour lunch.

I don't have a clear mental picture of how the plant might be set up. But Ruger doesn't use a line system for assembly. They have what employees refer to as circular loops, and a single employee might have to work at as many as 4 to 9 different machines in the loop.

Several comments were made that the Ruger factory discount on guns (granted after six months of employment) is very generous.

My take-away. CNC machining is common in gun manufacturing these days; for some time, I thought this might be a process that reduced errors in how things are made. Then I started seeing goofs on Smith & Wesson products that are made this way. Now I'm starting to understand how the human end of CNC work might result in some careless work. In particular, high employee turn-over as mentioned at Ruger can't be good for any process.

New thought: I didn't know that in addition to gun making, Ruger has a foundry business in several locations. Naturally enough, they got started on this in order to make their own cast steel parts for guns. They also do outside contract work for other firms. They have a titanium foundry and at one time, made golf club heads out of this metal.

The Ruger factory in Prescott, Arizona, includes Ruger Investment Casting - Prescott Division, and these facilities are located right next to the airport there. Perfectly located for fast shipping. And receiving warranty work?

I have heard a LOT of bad from people who either worked for them or were relating what they heard. To me it means little to nothing. The ones who claimed to work there and hated it to me was one of those "so why did you stay?" things. Many said low pay was the big one and again, then why work there? I like the stuff they make. Like the price, like the product. Would I work for them? Most likely no. They IIRC either invented the investment casting process they use or greatly improved the tech. It is part of how they could undersell so many others when they first hit the market with the wheel guns they make.

 

[albin25]

Ruger also probably has a lot of employees that have been with them for many years, and are experiencing the same problems that all employers are having with the current crop of (for the lack of a better term), workers.
l usually give the on-line gripes of ex-employees and (often) those that say they worked somewhere (but are really just trolls), the same consideration as I give many of those, "product reviews"....
.... "I give this bookshelf a zero rating because the UPS guy had a mustache."

 

[Old Dog]

Mandatory overtime in a factory job? For that little compensation? I'd rather work at Dick's up here flipping burgers for $20/hour and get to go home after my shift.

OP's statements jibe with what has been related to me by a guy who worked at the Prescott Ruger facility. Not a great company to work for if you're working on the factory floor.

As for me, I do assign a bit more credibility to the "internet gripes" of (self-reported) former employees of a business over internet product or customer service reviews. Just a little. Enough to detect patterns.

 

[Dungannon]

They have what employees refer to as circular loops, and a single employee might have to work at as many as 4 to 9 different machines in the loop.

I'm retired now but my "working in a factory nightmare" would be doing the same task all day long. Working at several different machines sounds like a good way to break up the tedium, and maintain some degree of consistent focus on the task at hand during a long shift.

I worked many years for a land management agency, and ignored recruiting advise I got from Personnel wonks. All job candidates that passed the initial resume review were told up front that putting up with government BS was an unavoidable part of the job. I ignored their references and anything their current supervisor told me [Personnel did that sort of background look before I got names anyway, and I assumed references were friends and poor workers could be getting a glowing review from supervisors anxious to see them go]. During interviews I didn't tell candidates I was looking for two or three critical traits while listening to answers to my questions: 1 - evidence they identified with the agency mission and 2 - personality fitment to the job requirements. For any supervisory position I was also looking for 3 - evidence they had pushed back strongly on pressure to compromise their integrity.

With interns I learned early on to only select Juniors and Seniors as the party animals had already flunked out of college in their first two years. I wasn't looking for warm bodies, but serious students with a major directly related to my program responsibilities.

 

[CRBMoA]

Former employees tend to leave less flattering feedback than left by those that enjoy the company.

To put it another way, how many jobs that you liked did you quit?

 

[Certaindeaf]

 

[CRBMoA]

I think we all remember how THAT turned out!

 

[The Heretic]

One of the reasons I went into civilian government service as most of the people I've dealt with are easy to have a conversation with etc. I think when you have the decent pay, benefits, retirement etc, it all comes full circle. As with any government organization there's a process to everything, so government isn't for everyone.

I worked for the state of Oregon on a temp job (90 days at the state library), and it wasn't bad, but I saw a LOT of high paid people just putting the hours with little to no productivity - I suppose it was expected as they were mostly on call by the legislature (the did do archiving of things like a census, voting and legal records like court cases and adoptions, etc. - but also newspapers like the WSJ). It was kind of interesting because during slow days I could read some of what I was microfilming for the archives and the voting records were on fan fold dot matrix tractor feed, so it ran thru a machine that I just sat and watched mostly.

OTOH, being in the USCG was not for me. But I think that was partly the people I served with - there was some dysfunction & friction between the senior and junior enlisted, and many of the junior enlisted were immature. The other half of it was the fact that the military just wasn't for me; I felt trapped by the fact that I could not tell my "employer" to take their BS and shove it, then walk away - and they knew they could run the show as they wanted because they had a "captive audience".

 

[Stomper]

I find it interesting how different companies have such different corporate cultures.It seems that the modern corporate standard in most places is to milk as much profit as you can, by putting the screws to both customers and employees. This results in high turn-over. Other companies (though I think rare nowadays) prefer to hire the best people and treat them well enough that they stay.

I've seen both sides, having worked for a company who paid very well and had top benefits. They hire lots of skilled people and want the best people. They also want experienced people, without training new people all the time. That's changed now and they wonder why they can't keep good people.

I am blessed to work for one of those "unicorn" companies, 13 years there now and 7-1/2 more to go before retirement!

 

[USMC1911]

I also work for a pretty dang good place. I do my job and get left alone. Excellent pay, benefits and a crazy retirement. I can work 60+ hours or not. Only bad part is if I am working I am on the road. I am thankful for the position and trade I am in. Proud IBEW 125 hand!

 

[Pete F]

I also work for a pretty dang good place. I do my job and get left alone. Excellent pay, benefits and a crazy retirement. I can work 60+ hours or not. Only bad part is if I am working I am on the road. I am thankful for the position and trade I am in. Proud IBEW 125 hand!

Utility?

 

[titsonritz]

I could get behind Prescott.