Pros
The company has the least red tape in the industrial gas industry due to its small size. Leaving the company has made me much happier.
Cons
The company works on a "good old boy" system. There is an extreme lack of diversity, and they do not promote or encourage it either. The company has very few operation managers holding an actual bachelor degree. The plants are run by operators who become plant managers after years of operation. Technical engineering is an after thought and outsourced if it is thought of. Operations is micro-managed by the VP. Their growth is through purchasing old plants that other companies are trying to get rid of after they calculate the percentage of profit is not worth keeping the plant. The company is Japanese backed by Nippon Sanso. Benefits are poor where it shows how little executives care about their people. Company does not offer short term disability unless you pay for it yourself. Medical and dental insurance is higher than my current employer. There is no personal life left when you work for them since the VP will call you at all hours when he thinks of questions whether important or not. All their plants are falling apart, morale is low, and the salary is low. Those with the highest salary are the recently acquired plants as they can't change their salary right away. One of their plants in TX has had a plant manger turn over rate yearly where the plant manager quits after a year. Their relocation package is light, so a lot of talent will not relocate for a Matheson opportunity. Therefore the company lacks talent. The company counts on the talent that their competitors paid for and Matheson buys the plant with the people. The talent they do have are all limited to local people that put up with Matheson since they don't want to move or lack the education or ambition for change. While their competitors can recruit and hire the best and the brightest, Matheson hires people that their competitors get rid of and have no where else to go. The company lacks ethical practices from executive on down. Corporate directives may violate your moral compass. Logistics people are known to leave for lunch at corporate head quarters and just quit, they refuse to return to the job.
