New Freedom plastic fabricator opens doors for Manufacturing Day

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The average worker at Crescent Industries Inc. is 53 years old. That fact is not lost on leaders of the New Freedom-based plastic fabrication company. 
As large numbers of factory workers near retirement, Crescent and other manufacturing employers are reaching out to a new generation.
In a concerted effort to help combat the so-called “silver tsunami” of upcoming retirements, Crescent invited students from area high schools and colleges to tour its facility over the past week.
The goal of the company’s first-ever week-long initiative, which falls during national Manufacturing Day, was to provide students with a firsthand look at job opportunities in manufacturing, said Kevin Allison, vice president of marketing at Crescent.
As part of the tour, Allison, who has been with the company for 26 years, and others staff members shared how they got into the field.
“I graduated from Susquehannock in 1991 and was certain that I was not cut out for college,” he said. “Our hope is that students see that the potential career opportunities in manufacturing require more than just brute strength to get the job done.”
During the tour, students were introduced to six jobs at two of Crescent’s three facilities. 
The company was founded in 1946 and has been employee-owned since 2003. It has 145 employees and annual revenue of $20 million, said Allison. Crescent is a supplier for injection-molding customers in medical, pharmaceutical, dental and defense markets.
The tour not only provided an inside look at an area manufacturer, but also presents an alternate opportunity to those who might not be college bound, said state Rep. Kate Klunk (R-Hanover), who was on the tour.  
“There are so many well-paying jobs that are available out there and tours like this help people see what manufacturing looks like today – clean, technical and math- and science-driven,” said Klunk.
Before going to college, Klunk worked as as a potato-chip packer for snack food maker Utz Quality Foods in Hanover. The role, she said, helped her pay for college.
In addition to trying to introduce the next generation of workers to the industry, the tours also offer a morale boost to Crescent’s staff, said Eric Paules, the company’s president and CEO.
“The manufacturing industry has not always done the best job in advocating for itself. This event affords students the opportunity to see what happens within these walls while re-energizing our staff to share their passions with the next generation,” said Paules.