Genesee: Made for the Trade, Volume 9

Campaign highlights variety and quality of jobs available at the state's oldest brewery

Note: This newsletter is a sponsored partnership between the Genesee Brewery and the Cleveland Prost.

Cross paths with Alton Davis and you’ll undoubtedly see a smile on his face. Davis is among the most positive people you’ll ever meet.

Whether he’s at work or at home, Davis remains positive and he wants those around him to do the same. So when asked about his job at the Genesee Brewery, Davis can’t help but smile. That’s because he loves his job and he loves the people he works with.

Davis has worked in packaging at Genny, working his way up to his current position as the variety pack supervisor.

Alton Davis, a Rochester native who is closing in on his 12th year at the brewery, is the latest Genny employee to be featured in the brewery’s Made for the Trade campaign.

The campaign shows the wide range of rewarding careers at the brewery. Genny employs more than 600 people and the brewing department, which numbers about 50 people, isn’t even the largest department at the expansive 28-acre St. Paul Street campus.

The digital campaign showcases careers in packaging, operations, maintenance, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, security, and so much more. It aims to show the range of careers available without a college degree, those that can be obtained through union and trade training.

More details about jobs can be found here: https://www.fifcousa.com/careers/.

Here’s a bit more about Alton:

Q: What do you do as supervisor of the variety pack packaging line at Genny?

A: I take care of all the day-to-day work orders, making sure we hit our goals. I do the scheduling for labor and help with scheduling of product, basically everything entailed in being a supervisor.

Q: What is packaged on the variety pack line?

A: We really only do outsourced products and Seagram’s Escapes variety packs.

Q: How did you train for your job? Was it on-the-job training, college, an apprenticeship through a union? What prepared you for your current role?

A: On-the-job training. I started out on the line in 2011. After six months, I became a line lead. About two years after that, I became the department lead. I just transitioned into supervision in April.

Q: What are some of the challenges you face with scheduling and packaging?

A: The difficult part of the job is managing labor. People have their own lives and a lot of things going on, so putting people where they need to be, replacing people when others are out, that’s the most challenging. You need every person to make the line run correctly.

Q: How many people normally work on the packaging line?

A: It’s seven people per shift, but we run three shifts. So it’s 21 people total.

Q: If you were to estimate it, how many variety packs are packaged in a day?

A: About 24,000 per day.

Q: That’s amazing. That’s so cool. So you can safely say it’s moving fast? How do you deal with the pressure of everything moving so quickly?

A: We’re a team. If we all work as one, if we communicate, if we help each other where we need to be helped out, we’ll get it done. I think teamwork is basically the key, keeping everybody even-keeled, keeping everybody’s morale up. Morale is what matters to me. I am big on having happy people in the building. Happy people do a better job. We’re a pretty tight-knit bunch. We communicate well and help each other out.

Q: What’s your favorite part about working at Genesee?

A: The people. It’s different people from all walks of life with one goal — deliver the best product to the public. During that COVID year, it felt like I was spending more time here than with my family. So we had to become closer.

Q: What advice would you give someone hoping to work at the brewery?

A: Be prepared for a fast-paced job. It’s time-demanding. Working in production, it’s a fast pace and it’s time-demanding. So you’re going to be in the building a lot and working overtime. You have to be present.

Q: What’s your favorite Genesee beer?

A: If I had to pick one, it would be the Lemon Strawberry Cream Ale we made a few years ago.

Q: What’s your favorite part about working at Genesee?

A: I like the fast pace. I like how our team can come together and put out a quality product. We’re always making our orders, getting our orders out on time. There is an opportunity for everybody here. I also frequent the Brew House and the food there is awesome.

More about this partnership

Genny wants to hire you! By highlighting the wide variety of positions available at the brewery, the hope is that folks will see a college degree isn’t a necessity for a great career. Many of these union and trade positions come equipped with opportunity for learning and advancement.

Over the next three months, we’ll highlight some of the people behind the iconic beers in this space.

“We want to continue to attract people to union and skilled trades. There is a shortage of skilled workers, and the industry needs to attract more women and minorities. There are viable career opportunities for virtually anyone who wants to work in beer,” said Mary Beth Popp, vice president of communications, FIFCO USA. 

To learn more about working at the Genesee Brewery, go to: https://www.fifcousa.com/careers/