Women Reflect on their Plant's Award-Winning Supply Chain Performance

It’s an exciting time to be in manufacturing at Kellogg

It takes an incredible team to make the delicious Kellogg foods that millions of families around the world enjoy every day. The teams in our food production facilities start with responsibly sourced, sustainably-grown ingredients to make our grain-based, minimally processed foods. In this issue of #LikeAtK, we talk with Brenda Moses, Senior HR Business Partner, and Rochelle Hackney, Plant Operations Manager, from our Cary, NC bakery about what makes our manufacturing network a great place to build a career.

Tell us about the Cary bakery.

Rochelle: We have six lines making Cheez-It® and Austin® Sandwich Crackers around-the-clock. Cary has hundreds of full-time employees and temporary workers to meet the demand for these popular foods. This facility was built in 1988, but our company’s presence in Cary goes all the way back to 1968. Some of our employees have been with the bakery for more than 47 years! And, we’re especially proud of the diversity of our plant team, which represents more than 54 countries.

Cary recently won a significant Kellogg Plant Championship Award. What’s that all about?

Brenda: Every year, Kellogg North America Supply Chain holds the Plant Championship. Our food production facilities are divided in two divisions competing for two first-place prizes of $100,000 and two second-place prizes of $50,000. The competition is based on year-over-year facility improvements in people safety, food safety, financial performance and customer service. Cary won a second place award in 2018.

Rochelle The best thing about the Plant Championship is how our employees were engaged during the entire process. Tremendous excitement builds up as we get deeper into the competition and it gets close to the time the winners are announced. And, now that our team knows they’ve won, they have formed a committee and will be presenting their recommendations on how the award should be spent. We’re still deciding how to spend our winnings at the Cary Plant, but other teams have made great additions to their facility like cafeterias, gyms, and patios.

How do you build this type of winning team at a facility that operates 24/7?

Brenda: This was an absolute team effort. We worked very closely with our employees and engaged everyone. Full credit must go to our employees, who worked so well together and determined how they would meet the Plant Championship goals. They literally took the ball and ran with it. Now they’re working even harder to win first place in 2019.

Tell us a bit about your careers.

Rochelle: This year, I’m celebrating my 25th anniversary with Kellogg. Although I’ve always worked for one company, I’ve had so many different experiences within both the manufacturing network and our overall Supply Chain, that I’ve never felt the need to look elsewhere to grow my career. Today, I’m the operations lead with overall responsibility for our Cary Cheez-It® business. We’re investing a lot in creating a smart factory to keep our facility current, so it’s an especially exciting time.

Brenda: As the Senior HR Business Partner for Cary supporting four other facilities, I help our leaders like Rochelle with all aspects of recruiting, training, advancing and retaining our talented teams. I’ve worked in many facets of HR with Kellogg for the past 19 years.

Any final thoughts to share?

Rochelle: If you have the passion and courage for a fast-paced work environment that asks you to constantly look for opportunities, you’ll love working in Supply Chain at Kellogg.

Brenda: Working in the Kellogg Supply Chain gives you first-hand involvement in so many aspects of the business. There are few careers that are as engaging, challenging and rewarding.