With the advent of 2015, opportunities to start fresh are abound. But, the decisions of 2014 don’t leave us entirely either — whether they are good or bad decisions. This week, IMPO shines the light on Hasbro and GE Aviation for a bad design decision and a very successful venture, respectively, in this week’s “Manufacturing Winner and Loser.”
Winner
GE Aviation has earned the winning nod this week, as they continue pushing forward with their new $100M jet engine manufacturing plant in Lafayette, Indiana. This week, in particular, the company reported that they are beginning the initial hiring of employees.
According to WLFI-TV and company officials, the plant should have more than 200 workers within five years.
Mayor Tony Roswarski explains that, "As this facility moves forward in its construction phases, you want to have people trained when they have to get ready to set the machinery and bring in the equipment and those things, so it's great to see that hiring process start."
Plant manager Eric Matteson estimates that all positions within the new facility will be filled between 2016 and 2018.
When the factory is complete it will be producing a new engine to be used in jets by Airbus, Boeing and Comac.
Loser
This week the stamp of “Loser” goes to Play-Doh maker Hasbro after the company was forced to initiate damage control after comments that one of its extruder tools in Play-Doh Cake Mountain resembled a penis.
Hasbro has been receiving complaints about the toy since November, however, the Christmas season brought a bevy of new comments. In fact, Play-Doh’s Facebook page has received thousands of comments alone, and all the public attention seems to have prompted Hasbro into action.
In a statement posted on Tuesday the company stated, "We are in the process of updating all future Play-Doh products with a different tool." The company also indicated that anyone who had already purchased the toy could exchange the part if they want to by contacting Hasbro’s Customer Service Department.
Not all parents appear to be as upset about this apparent mistake as others though. For example, one woman posted that she found it funny, and her daughter is too young to know what the toy resembles anyway. In fact she ends her Facebook comment with praise stating, “Well done design team... you guys are hilarious.”
To read other thoughts on the issue, visit Play-Doh’s Facebook page, where the debate on the toy is taking place.
