Packaging & Filling Machine Operators & Tenders

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Millions of packages move around the country by a variety of means every day. The secure shipping and storing of goods relies on the workers who wrap them, label them, and box them up. Packaging and filling machine workers handle the machines that prepare industrial and consumer products for the marketplace and for transport, such as cannery workers who pack food products into cans that are then packaged together and shipped for sale. Paper goods machine operators set up and run equipment that cuts, corrugates, forms or seals paper or paperboard sheets into, or onto, products. These workers focus on the proper operation of the machines they tend to, they load materials into machines, operate machine controls, and monitor the production line for problems. They also prepare products for storage, shipment, or the next step in the production process. Machine operators may also keep records of production, malfunctions, and scrapped material. They keep equipment clean and well-maintained. Work schedules are typically 40 hours or more per week. Positions typically require a high school diploma or equivalent.