Customers Case Studies

Background

Menasha Corporation is one of the oldest privately owned companies in the U.S. Founded in 1849 and still owned by descendants of its founder, Elisha D. Smith, Menasha Corporation today is made up of four principal companies, each of which are independently operated and serve diverse industries. These companies help businesses package and label their products, move these products through the supply chain, and promote products to consumers in stores across the country. Menasha Corporation's four principal companies include: Menasha Packaging Company (corrugated packaging; ORBIS Corporation (returnable materials handling products); Poly Hi Solidur, Inc. (polymers); and Promo Edge Company (printing). With over 5,500 employees located in 65 facilities in 17 states and 19 foreign countries, the Menasha "family" of companies shares a strong corporate vision which celebrates their 150-year heritage, values, creative passion and respect for the environment.

Menasha Corporation credits 3E Company with helping them to continuously improve on their advanced and progressive approach to environmental health and safety management.

Challenge

In the late 1980's, when tough environmental health and safety regulations were enacted in the U.S. in response to increased concerns about industrial safety on a national scale, Menasha began to put their MSDSs online. This early system was small scale, modem-based and did not offer round-the-clock support services, according to Keith Kling, Environmental Health and Safety Manager at Menasha Packaging Company.

Over the next decade, increasing pressure on the company's relatively small group of environmental health and safety managers and their teams to push compliance responsibility down to the company's operating unit levels eventually dictated that they look for a more sophisticated and responsive MSDS management system—one that offered more extensive backup services, reliability and ease of use.

Solution

Menasha brought 3E Company on board in late 1999 after completing an extensive analysis of other solutions and outsourcing options available at the time. "3E was chosen for its ease of use, strong customer service capability and solid environmental management experience," says Kling. "They see the ‘big picture' in terms of giving the customer what they really need while maintaining cost-effective pricing. We wanted to phase out the need for keeping multiple copies of MSDSs at each plant, and with 3E's Online® - MSDS service we could rely on accessing MSDSs for our inventory whenever necessary, 24-7-365."

"The selection process was easy," Kling continues. "3E Company's team was very responsive, they didn't over-promise and they offered intriguing solutions in response to our needs. The 3E system was intuitive and easy to use, and the excellent training provided made them far superior to the competition."

Kling adds, "The transition from our internal system to the 3E MSDS On Demand and 3E Online services went very smoothly. 3E's training for using the program was great. Getting set up online was very easy. The expertise that is on tap night and day is extremely impressive."

Menasha Corporation's EH&S managers are placing an increasing reliance on 3E Company's training. Kling explains that within Menasha Corporation EH&S positions are usually part-time or temporary with a 15% turnover rate. With significant staff reductions as well there is no one available to help with training. "By using 3E Company's online training modules, a new employee can sit for an hour at a terminal and receive the knowledge and skills needed to work safely and productively in any of our plants, " says Kling. "We also do group training with 3E regionally and at a conference we hold every year and a half."

Results

The changeover to the 3E system was enthusiastically endorsed by all four of Menasha Corporation's principal companies as well as its corporate headquarters. Many Menasha plants with regional EH&S responsibilities were more than ready to use the instant accessibility provided by 3E's services. "At first if there were compliance questions or mishaps at ORBIS, employees would call me and then I would place a call to 3E Company. Now employees are perfectly relaxed about calling 3E directly. 3E is completely enmeshed in ORBIS' compliance program," says Kling.

Kling found that the instant response capabilities of the 3E system resulted in significant cost savings and manpower reductions overall, but that there was also a parallel need to educate and change traditional mindsets of longtime employees in order to optimize use of the system.

He cites for example a Menasha packaging plant in Iowa that was having issues with low levels of a chemical agent 1,4 dichloro-benzene. Kling researched similar cases using 3E and suggested the plant remove certain materials and re-test. The problem was resolved to everyone's satisfaction. "It proved to be an object lesson and it sold everyone on 3E Company's quick response capabilities. I solved the problem for them by phone in less than 15 minutes. Getting online with 3E was easy…it also stimulated a process for me to help our employees collect accurate inventories of their chemicals."

Kling says that partnering with 3E Company has been a win-win proposition for all four of Menasha Corporation's principal companies. For instance, ORBIS Corporation is a lean company and there is only one environmental employee. The EPA and OSHA would not consider one person to be adequate EH&S management for a 950-person organization that is in the materials handling business. 3E provides the support necessary to help with compliance at the individual sites and get the job done.

He concludes by stating, "I like 3E's instant access from anywhere, by phone or Web, 24-7-365. Having that capability allows me to serve my people more efficiently and cost-effectively. 3E helps me to be a better EH &S manager and that, in turn, helps Menasha Corporation to fulfill its mission."

Location:  Headquarters in Neenah, WI with facilities in 17 states and 19 countries
3E Services: 3E Online, 3E MSDS On Demand, 3E Spill, 3E Poison & Exposure
Industry/Market: Packaging & paperboard, material handling,
plastics, promotions & printing
Company Web Site:  http://www.menasha.com