AIM Magazine 2016 | Page 56

A career at South Coast Baking could be as sweet as the cookie dough the company makes and ships across the country .
The company ’ s career opportunities include jobs in manufacturing , quality control , management and administration . Many of those jobs do not require a college degree .
Mario Oliver , Assistant Supervisor on the manufacturing line , found a career with South Coast better than all the others he had worked through a temporary job agency .
“ It ’ s a great team to work with ,” Oliver said . “ Every day they give me a chance to improve .”
Billie Zuniga took initiative to build a career in the plant ’ s quality control division . She started at the plant packing frozen cookie dough into boxes . She quickly moved up to the quality control position , since she had experience in the field .
“ I take pride in my job ,” Zuniga said . “ You can advance here . You have to pay attention , get along with people and have a good attitude .”
Eric Chappell , Transportation and Purchasing Manager , was one of the first employees hired well before the plant even opened in 2014 . During the renovation of the facility , Chappell helped with building maintenance , since the work he was hired to do would not be needed until it opened .
Chappell ’ s early duties included cleaning , sweeping and any other task to help with the renovation .
“ Whatever needed to be done , I did it ,” Chappell said . “ It was eye-opening . Working like that helped me better appreciate and understand our facility .”
Darren Taylor , Director of Operations for the Springdale plant , said baking can be a good career . Taylor , a native of England , started out helping his father . His work and consultation in the baking business has taken him all over Europe and to other continents .
“ I ’ ve traveled the world due to baking ,” Taylor said . “ I never thought it would take me that far . Instead of looking at your work as a job , you have to think of it as a career .”
Zuniga and the quality control team make sure the products leaving the factory meet company standards . Cookies baked for testing must meet certain requirements for size , appearance and taste .
South Coast looks for people who are not afraid to step up and do what needs to be done , no matter what their job is .
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