New Plant Start-Up and Training Systems Implementation

Client Overview: The client is an 80-year-old, medium-sized, family-legacy fruit and flavor formulation company based in the Pacific Northwest. Originating from a fruit farming business after the Great Depression, the company grew into a respected processor and supplier to major dairy brands. As the founding CEO approached retirement and the business transitioned to private equity ownership, leadership sought to expand operations into the Midwest, opening a new processing facility.

Context and Challenges:

• Transition from family-led leadership to private equity structure.

• Startup of a new plant in Warren to support Midwest expansion.

• Reliance on one major customer for growth strategy.

• Critical need to professionalize and scale operations while preserving legacy values.

• Safety issues and communication gaps across levels.

• Cultural integration, turnover readiness, training, and onboarding infrastructure were lacking.

Our Role and Approach: Performance Solutions Partners was engaged to support startup operations and workforce development. We brought hands-on implementation across five integrated workstreams:

1. Train-the-Trainer (TTT):

• Built instructor capacity and training infrastructure through SOJT coaching and real-time support.

• Developed confident, invested trainers who own the learning process.

2. Recruiting and Interviewing Support:

• Designed behavioral interviewing guide with structured questions.

• Trained hiring leads on listening and evaluation.

3. Orientation Program Design & Implementation:

• Developed and implemented a practical and engaging orientation and onboarding process.

• Reduced cognitive load, increased speed and quality of learning, aligned expectations, and improved application (time to competence).

4. Standard Work & Performance Tools:

• Created job aids, SOPs, evaluation forms, and quick-reference tools.

• Supported trainers and team leads with just-in-time documentation.

5. Lean Daily Management (LDM) and Leadership Development:

• Coached plant leaders on systems approach to leading with data and engagement.

• Integrated metrics and visual tools into leader routines.

• Guided custom builds of leader standard work, by department.

Impact

Early Wins – Plant Perspective

Leadership Alignment: COO and plant leadership had a clear, practical plan to implement culture and capability changes.

Practical Engagement: Employees at all levels gained a voice in solving problems and sharing ideas.

Structured Learning: A scalable, reliable SOJT and orientation framework is now in place—ready to grow with the company.

Hiring Readiness: New evaluation tools help ensure the right people are being hired and supported from day one.

Communication Culture: Teams now have tools and language to stay on the same page and stay accountable.

Early Wins – People Perspective:

Transformed Orientation Experience: The biggest shift was the overhaul of the new employee orientation. By delivering the right information from Day 1, employees quickly gained clarity and confidence. “It’s amazing what a difference it makes to hear ‘that’s what that means’ on Day 1 instead of six months in.”

Trainer Confidence and Ownership: Trainers not only improved their instructional skills but also embraced their roles as leaders. Their early involvement and structured coaching led to strong buy-in, pride, and sustainability—without the need for top-down pressure.

Day-2 Readiness: New hires now come in stronger and faster. “The knowledge they’re showing up with on Day 2 is so much better. It’s such a robust training—everyone noticed the improvement right away.”

Cross-Functional Understanding: Our ability to speak the language of both operations and learning created trust across departments. Leaders didn’t have to explain the fundamentals of food

manufacturing—they felt understood from day one.

Confidence-Building in Key Leaders: Multiple team members experienced personal growth. One emerging leader became more grounded and confident in her role and communication. “You helped her see what she was already good at.” Others found themselves humbler, more self-aware, and more open to feedback. One leader took ownership of “stay interviews” and began exploring what keeps employees thriving beyond 10 years. This led to deeper employee insights and stronger retention strategies

Team-Led Engagement and Retention Efforts: The work sparked broader organizational initiatives. One leader took ownership of stay interviews and began exploring what keeps employees thriving beyond 10 years. This led to deeper employee insights and stronger retention strategies.

Flexibility and Partnership: Our ability to flex between sites (Boring and Warren) and meet teams where they were—both culturally and operationally—was deeply valued. “I’d recommend you and Gary to anyone.”

Summary

With deep manufacturing fluency and people-first implementation, Performance Solutions Partners helped transform the Warren plant’s training and onboarding approach. From structured orientation to confident trainers and visual job aids, the foundation for growth and cultural alignment is now in place. The result: a more prepared workforce, stronger communication, and a sustainable people-development system aligned to operational needs.

Direct Quotes - From Head of People:

“You get manufacturing and that really helped.”

“Trainer confidence skyrocketed: They care about doing it right. We saw buy-in from day one.”

Direct Quotes - From Plant Manager:

“Took our training to the next level.”

“Orientation “blew it out of the water.”

“We are prepared for turnover now.”

“Job aids are my go-to. Trainers know how to think about procedures.”