RAVENSWOOD, W.Va. — A lot of tough stuff gets made at the Constellium plant: aluminum for aerospace, for military armor, for truck bodies and a whole lot more.
So if everyone is in pink — if the whole plant’s practically in pink — well, that makes Constellium no less tough.
“I have no problem with pink,” said Ben Estep, a bearded, burly engineer from Ripley. “My girls love it.”
Like many of his coworkers at the plant, where more than 70 percent of the 1,050 employees are men, he’s taking pink to heart. The effort every Friday in October coincides with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Estep said his mother is a breast cancer survivor. When she was going through chemotherapy, he had his head shaved for solidarity. She never lost her hair, and he never really got his back.
Other organizations go pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Police might paint their cruisers pink. Some people paint their trucks pink. Some consumers might procure pink products. In Dubai, the world’s tallest tower is even going pink.
But few manufacturing plants seem to be doing it up like Constellium is.
There are pink ribbons as you drive into the plant. There are pink wreaths hanging on the front entrance to the offices. There are pink ribbons painted on doors and walkways. An entire building has been painted pink.
And, yes, the workers wear pink T-shirts every Friday this month.
Some more enthusiastically than others.
“This is the only time I wear pink,” said Charles Mullinex, a saw operator from Cottageville. “They say real men wear pink — but nah.”
This entire effort was the brainchild of Ripley resident Lori McKee, who had already been very involved with the plant’s Relay for Life outreach. She had a feeling that no matter their gender, her coworkers would be on board with a new anti-cancer initiative.
“I’m passionate about this, I truly am,” said McKee, who works in production planning at Constellium. “I’ve watched people survive and fight and go through torturous rounds of chemo. Let’s detect it early.”
She hatched the idea to go all out with pink and ran it up the flagpole, all the way to chief executive officer Buddy Stemple.
“Hey, I have a proposal,” McKee said. “Let’s pink up the plant.”
Stemple did not reject it: “I thought it was an excellent idea.”
The initial conversation with Stemple was in May. The plant then sought corporate approval. A lot of work happened over the summer, and they launched Oct. 1.
They call their initiative “Paint the Plant Pink.”
The goal for Constellium is to remind its workers and their families of the values of early detection.
“Pens, bracelets. Guys can take them home to their family and it just might be a reminder,” McKee said.
“Make sure you’re having the necessary exams. Having those is the key. It’s vitally important for people to get involved with their health.
This is a plant that believes in community outreach of many kinds. Today, for example, Constellium employees, their families and community members may participate in the Constellium 5K, a run around the border of the plant, to benefit West Virginia flood relief.
“Our employees here are very active,” Stemple said.
Next year, all five of Constellium’s plants in North America are expected to be on board.
“We’re really starting something great here,” McKee said. “Hopefully next year you’ll have five pink aluminum plants in October.