When placing an order for any desired product, you find yourself anxiously awaiting its arrival on your doorstep, almost like Christmas time. During the waiting period, you question if your package will ever make it to your house (especially in today’s world… if you know, you know!), if it will be on time (the struggle is real) and the most important question of all – will it be damaged? Chances are, the packaging material used for shipping your purchase wasn’t strong enough and received some dents from not being packaged and/or handled properly. That’s where Yazoo Mills’ expertise and strong shipping tubes come into play, giving you peace of mind and the protection of your products!
At Yazoo, we take great pride in making sure we meet our customer’s paper tube requirements. We recognize that one size does not fit all, which is why we offer high-quality and extremely durable packaging and protection tubes made to fit each customer’s specifications. Our protection tubes are generally used to slip over expensive parts, threads, cylinders, and other sensitive items to protect them during shipment. Our packaging tubes are commonly used to ship steel, aluminum, tooling, banners, vehicle parts, construction materials, and much more.
No order is too big or too small for our company. We offer no minimums and ship orders within 48 hours; the fastest in the industry. With over 350 tooling options available and a wide variety of finishes, the possibilities are almost endless with Yazoo’s packaging and protection tubes.
Sweet summertime – ahh… the season that (most) people look forward to — Sun, warm temperatures, vacations, breaks from school, etc. But the heat and humidity that summer brings can be a game changer when it comes to paper products.
As the temperature in the air increases, so does its ability to retain moisture. When humidity levels increase, the fibers in the paper draw in moisture very quickly, resulting in expansion. For example, think about the doors in your house and how they seem to stick during the summertime. That’s because materials expand due to the humidity. The same happens with paper tubes and cores.
During summertime conditions, paper tubes and cores manufactured in high humidity can shrink drastically if an end-user puts them into an air-conditioned room with extremely low humidity. Humidity can weaken the tubes and cores which will then cause them to fail. If used in a timely manner, less moisture will affect the product. Paper tubes and cores should not be stored near any heating or cooling unit, in an air stream of heated or cooled air, or in the path of a humidifying stream of air. Knowing your storage environment is very critical.
Understanding how moisture and humidity affect paper tubes and cores are imperative for end-users as they are looking for products to have the best appearance and performance. To ensure optimum performance, control the relative humidity (R.H.) levels and temperature in the processing and storage environments.
Yazoo’s Sales Department provides top-notch service to all customers, big or small. Our team focuses on your pain points and delivers innovative solutions to help make operations more efficient.
We are happy to announce that Wanda Bankert has been promoted to Lead Sales Representative. Wanda has been with Yazoo for 22 years and has been helping our sales department flourish ever since she started with the company. In her new role, she will be assisting the Sales department with any customer, Epicor, and operational questions as well as communicating with new and existing customers to discuss their needs and find solutions fit for them, provide quote pricing and lead times, and assist customers with the appropriate product selection that is beneficial for their company and customer’s needs.
The family-owned and friendly atmosphere is what she enjoys most about Yazoo. The secret to her 22-year tenure? She says “I enjoy helping customers with their tube and core requirements as well as the generous pay and benefits Yazoo has to offer!”
In her spare time, you can find her spending time with her grandson and family and going antique shopping. A hidden talent of hers? Well, I guess you can say finding new wineries that have great wine — we will call her an amateur wine connoisseur.
Congrats on your promotion, Wanda! We know you are going to help take our Sales Department to the next level!
Layke Ensor is a driven individual who is passionate about helping out his teammates and leading them to achieve daily success within their roles. An energetic employee who leads by example, Layke embodies Yazoo’s mission, vision, and values and strives each day to continue helping Yazoo be the leader in the paper tube and core industry.
Manufacturing has always been in Layke’s blood – he previously worked for a local manufacturer as a forklift driver, material handler, and production operator. Eight years ago, Layke set out on his journey here at Yazoo Mills on 2nd shift as a Winding Operator. He then transferred to a 1st shift Winding Operator position then floater and was recently promoted to his most current role as a Lead in the Winding department.
As a Lead, Layke is focused on learning the supervisory role as he manages six employees and their respective machines, helps maintain efficiency, collaborates with his teammates on innovative solutions, and maintains integrity day in and day out.
Layke contributes his tenure to enjoying his job and the family atmosphere here at Yazoo; a home away from home, where everyone has each other’s backs. The ability to be able to teach the younger employees and keep the company’s goals at the forefront are what motivates him.
In his spare time, you will find Layke pulling his camper to a new site to enjoy the outdoors with his wife and five kids as well as locating a cool, new hiking trail that allows them to explore and create memories.
Congrats on your job promotion, Layke! We know that you will shine in your new role!
We live in a world where we see celebrities or high-profile people getting custom clothes made, custom homes being built, custom cars being designed; the list goes on and on with the main focus being on the single word custom. The word “custom” usually tends to scare people away and typically their eyes (+ minds) see multiple dollar signs and excessive lead times that send you into the next year. However, custom shouldn’t be a scary word as it is meant to be tailored to be exactly what you want.
When looking to get something custom-made, keep in mind that not all products are made equally. You need to make sure that you do your research on the company you are looking at having to make custom products/items for you. When something is custom-made, you do not want to try to cut corners.
At Yazoo, we recognize that everyone needs something different – whether that be a specific I.D., wall thickness, length, etc. We manufacture our products to fit your specifications so you get exactly what you want and need. Not only do our products improve the way you do business, but they also provide peace of mind with our superior strength and top-notch quality, coupled with the fastest lead times in the industry. We also offer a variety of cost-effective custom capabilities to help your business grow. We help take the guessing game out of what you need. Our knowledgeable Sales team is made up of innovative thinkers + problem-solvers. We’re the paper tube + core experts… discover the difference with us!
Workplace safety is extremely important and should be a priority to all employers. That is why industries across the world have health and safety procedures in place. All employees desire to work in a safe and protected environment every single day which becomes the responsibility of not only the company’s but also the workers, too. We interviewed Yazoo’s HR/Safety Coordinator, Trisha May, to get her take on workplace safety and how Yazoo continues to implement safe practices throughout our locations.
- How are you involved with safety?
- As safety coordinator, I conduct safety orientation for new employees. We review safety policies and make sure that employees know where all emergency exits and first aid kits are located and where to report in case of an emergency evacuation. I coordinate safety training for all employees, such as Lockout/tagout, First Aid/CPR/AED, Fire Extinguisher training, SDS training, etc. and make sure our records are up-to-date. I am also the secretary of the safety committee, so I take notes during each meeting and make sure each member receives a copy of them. I also assist in the investigation of any workplace accidents.
- How long has safety measures been in place at Yazoo?
- Safety has always been a priority for Yazoo so some have definitely been in place for a long time! It’s important to review them periodically and keep them up to date. We do have some safety measure that have been recently put into place, such as new mandrel carrying procedures and forklift attachments.
- Since you have taken over, what kind of safety measures have you implemented/changed at Yazoo?
- This was definitely a team effort, but we developed a comprehensive safety manual so that all safety policies and guidelines would be in one place and accessible to all.
- How often does the safety committee get together? What all is discussed in your meetings?
- The safety committee meets every 2nd Wednesday of the month. The committee has a supervisor and representative from each department in the plant, and we have a new group of members each year. We go around the room and each committee member shares any safety concerns, successes, or ideas on behalf of their department. We also review any injuries and/or near misses that have occurred since the last meeting, and upcoming training.
- Are there any new safety measures that are going to be implemented in the future?
- Safety is always evolving and we are always looking for ways to improve so there will definitely be more measures put into place in the future. We welcome feedback and suggestions from our employees anytime and during the safety committee meetings. We also complete a quarterly safety observations checklist. In this process, an employee is selected to do a thorough walk-through of the plant and provide a rating on a list of about 30 safety observations.
Manufacturing – it’s what drives the world around us. Our plant workers are the backbone to our company. They work with pride all while manufacturing high-quality paper tubes and cores that our customers can depend on. Meet John Black – 1st Shift Winding Supervisor that has been with Yazoo for 32 years.
John likes to get a jump start on things so it’s no surprise that he’s an early riser at 3:45am. He hops in the shower to wake up, jams out to music while he packs his lunch and writes a note to his wife, makes a protein shake with a banana or fresh pineapple, kisses his wife and puppy goodbye and heads off to work on his short 2-minute commute.
Once he’s at work, he turns his computer on and brings up the production/recut dashboard to see what jobs came in from the night before. He takes the orders that were laid on his desk from 2nd shift and starts scheduling them into production. During scheduling, he will make the necessary adjustments needed in order to get the work out and over to the Recut department on time. Around 5:30am, he meets with a lead and floater to give them key points to focus on and listens to their feedback. John is a people-person and problem-solver so he likes to get others involved as much as possible. At 6am, the winders are fired up to begin the production day and John checks with his crew to see how their night was, all while assisting them with getting their machines ready. At 8am and 11am, you can find John running machines to cover his team going on break. Throughout the remainder of the day, he is communicating with the Shipping and Recut departments to ensure a good flow through the plant. He continues the day with checking on his winding lines to ensure that everything is running smoothly, receives paperwork from Order Prep and separates the orders between the front and back lines then schedules them. John thrives on being a part of a team-oriented company, knowing that he is helping manufacture the highest-quality of paper tubes and cores that industries across the nation can trust.
John credits his tenure at Yazoo to the people and the challenge of making everything flow together. Those two are the driving force behind his 32 years of service, which also include his previous positions of table person, winder operator and lead.
A few fun facts about John:
What would you do if you hit the lottery?: Make sure the older generation in his family as well as his kids are set up for life
Dream vacation: Travel to Ireland and hangout in a real Irish pub with locals
Hobbies: Spending time with his family and puppy, riding his motorcycle, watching his grandchildren play sports, hanging out with his friends while enjoying some beverages, shooting guns and lifting weights
Fun facts: John is a member of the Green Springs Fish and Game, NRA and HOG (Harley Davidson Owners Group)
This is been a great debate for many decades. It’s a very simple concept that is taught to us throughout our years but it can also be a controversial as well. This very simple concept can be applied in every day life and changes for all types of circumstances. For example, if you’re going through a fast food drive-thru, you’re more likely concerned about quantity versus quality… how many items can you get for a small amount of money? Whereas at a restaurant, you’ll most likely be more concerned about the quality of the food you are receiving.
In today’s competitive world, a lot of companies “claim” to have quality products when in reality, they are more focused on pumping out a high quantity of products in a short amount of time. This typically results in lower quality work that’s hiding behind a product that a company manufactured by cutting corners and it marketing it as a “quality” product.
When it comes to Yazoo and our 100% recycled paper tubes and cores, quality most definitely trumps quantity. Quality has been a part of our fabric for decades and we have over 15,000 customers to prove it! We have spent an abundance of time, research and money into creating a high-quality product that has led our company to be an industry leader as well as taking our customers to the next level. Our skilled employees make sure that companies are getting exactly what they order as our products are made to fit your specifications. When customers order our paper tubes and cores, they are getting so much more than just a first-class product. Yazoo’s products give excellent satisfaction in knowing that they are going to be paying once and will be pleased with the end-result, compared to spending money again and again and again on a low-quality product from the competitors.
A few take aways – quality should always remain a priority for companies. A quality product that works effectively based on little quantity will take you far in the long run. You can have an abundance of paper cores from the “other guys” but if they are manufactured cheaply and not reliable, it doesn’t matter how much you have. Do not sacrifice quality, as it’ll end up costing you more down the road.
Over the years, we all have acquired a lot of stuff. More stuff than we would like but finding a place for said stuff can be hard, especially when you need to protect certain items from the elements. Whether you’re storing things in a storage unit, garage, or shed, Yazoo’s paper tubes have your items covered, literally.
Storing items such as carpet remnants, butt rolls of finished goods, rugs, posters/artwork, and much more can be kept safe and protected when stored in a paper tube. The spiral casing of a paper tube helps keep items in tact rather than packing it in a box where objects can move around and become damaged. Plus, paper tubes aren’t as big and bulky as boxes so they don’t take up as much room, either. Yazoo’s plastic end caps help furthermore protect items from slipping out of the paper tube and help keep the tube enclosed, protecting objects from the elements.
If you’re looking to store artwork/prints, you’ll want to purchase paper tubes that contain liners as this is a solution that can help resist environmental conditions such as humidity. Liners are extra added protection to make sure that nothing touches your precious pieces of art. Our paper tubes can be as big as 20″ inside diameter and up to 52′ long. Whatever your needs are, we have you covered.
Our ever expanding and growing company has seen a major growth over the past year with not only customer growth but also career growth. The manufacturing expansion at our Hanover Distribution center this past fall has led to a career opening at our New Oxford location.
Meet Jared Wolf, Yazoo’s new 2nd shift Winding Supervisor at our New Oxford location. Jared started his career at Yazoo in 2008 as a 2nd shift Winding Operator which then led him to a floating position and then to a lead position, all in the 2nd shift Winding Department. His prior background experience in manufacturing helped Jared not only excel in all of his positions with the company but also prepare him for his role as a Supervisor.
In his current role as a Supervisor, Jared’s duties consist of overseeing the manufacturing of paper tubes and cores on 2nd shift, making sure that quality control checks are done by the operators and himself, finding new ways to limit the downtime of each winder that is running and make certain that policies and company goals are being met. One thing he likes about Yazoo is the smaller working environment. He said “You have a better chance to know everyone on a first name basis and job security… we’re always busy.” He continues to say “I enjoy the responsibility of overseeing my own shift. It gives me great pride.” One of the many reasons Jared has remained with Yazoo is because of our hourly pay rate. He said “It’s one of the best in the area!”
In his spare time over the spring to summer months, he enjoys recreational bass fishing as well as taking his kids out on his small boat to enjoy the outdoors. He also likes to fish in a small tournament trail at one of his local lakes. In the winter time, he enjoys skiing with his family and just recently started bowling in a couple leagues at a local bowling alley.
A job well done on our promotion, Jared – it’s well deserved!
Are you looking to make an exciting career switch? Check out our current openings!