We believe the strongest knowledge is built on the ground. The stories of Dima Tchainikov and Osama Awad, alongside the insights from Nadav Zamir, demonstrate how investing in employees and promoting them transforms the production floor into a genuine career path

For anyone starting out in a factory production hall without prior experience, it might seem difficult to imagine a path for promotion. But at Rion, the story is different: production workers are encouraged to delve deep into processes, gain hands-on experience, and seize opportunities to advance into technological and professional roles.

Our approach is clear: those who demonstrate capability, responsibility, and a willingness to learn are propelled forward. This cultivates an organizational culture where “promoting from within” isn’t just a slogan, but a fundamental way of operating.

Dima Tchainikov: 30 Years of Experience Forged into Technological Expertise

Dima Tchainikov began working at Rion back in 1996, when the factory was very young – just one year old. He had recently completed an intensive Hebrew language course and was among the first employees to join from outside the kibbutz.

He started on the production line, progressing to assistant shift manager and then shift manager, all while learning about the machines, troubleshooting, and understanding the entire system. The next step came when the organization recognized his aptitude and offered him a move to the Injection Department as a set-up technician.

From there, a broad professional world opened up: molds, materials, machines, and diverse customers ranging from the automotive industry to the medical field. This eventually included advanced technologies like two-component injection and working with challenging materials like PVC.

Nadav Zamir and Dima Tchainikov

Continuous Learning: Beyond Experience – Professional Development

Alongside his on-the-job learning, Dima actively pursued professional development over the years through various training programs:

Courses at Shenkar and Rupin, mentorship from leading industry professionals, and additional training both in Israel and abroad.

Naturally, his accumulated experience also led him to the Molds Department – driven by a desire to comprehend the entire process thoroughly. He joined the department when it was still relatively small, learned the subject, and even completed professional training at Plasson.

Today, Dima has been Rion’s Injection Technologist for nearly a decade, with extensive responsibilities: overseeing new product launches, conducting trials with molds, troubleshooting, modifying materials, and improving processes. Furthermore, as part of Rion’s expansion and engagement with overseas suppliers, he travels to China to receive new molds, performs injection trials there, and supervises the process until full integration into production in Israel.

Dima describes Rion as an organization that is constantly evolving, which in turn allows its employees to continually develop.

“We Almost Always Start with Internal Recruitment”

Nadav Zamir, Rion’s Operations Manager, is intimately familiar with this path. He himself started at the organization after his military service in 2004 and advanced over the years to his current position.

According to Nadav, Rion has a clear preference for internal promotion: “We are very much in favor of internal recruitment before we look externally, and we will never refuse to promote an employee just because we need them in their current role.”

This approach stems not only from the difficulty of finding qualified professionals externally but also from a genuine belief that veteran employees possess deep knowledge of the company, understand production inside out, and can integrate more quickly into complex roles.

Identifying Potential: Through Work, Not Just Certificates

Nadav explains that one of the greatest advantages of promoting from within the organization is the ability to identify qualities that are difficult to teach: orderliness, meticulousness, responsibility, process-oriented thinking, and self-learning capabilities. He emphasizes that often, on-the-ground experience is worth more than any degree: someone who has worked for years on products, understands molds and materials, and comprehends the entire process arrives with a significant advantage, even over professionals coming directly from academia.

Investing in Employees: Training, Exhibitions, and Professional Learning

To bolster these development pathways, Rion also invests in education and training. When a need for knowledge enhancement is identified, the company sends employees to professional courses, advanced training, and industry exhibitions. This is alongside internal training initiatives, which we strive to integrate into our routine despite operational challenges.

Usama Awad: “From Week One, I Knew Where I Wanted to Be”

Usama Awad’s story of advancement powerfully illustrates the opportunities available to employees who demonstrate seriousness and motivation. He began as a production worker in the Fusion department with a professional background as a mechanical engineer. After about six months, he requested a transfer to an open position in the Inserts department.

There, he found himself in a challenging situation: colleagues were absent due to injury and military service, leaving him almost entirely alone. This very moment, however, became an opportunity. Usama learned on the fly and proved his ability to handle complex tasks independently.

After approximately three years, once management fully recognized his capabilities, he moved to the Molds Department – precisely the place he had aspired to reach from the very beginning.

Usama Awad

Toolmaker in the Molds Department: Expertise Built Over Time

Since 2020, Usama has worked as a toolmaker in the Molds Department, handling a wide range of tasks: milling, grinding, maintaining molds, receiving molds from China, building oil and water systems, and more. Today, he speaks of a genuine sense of belonging: professional challenge, responsibility, and feeling empowered to grow. Over the years, he has also completed internal Rion courses, including an injection molding course and a safety officer course.

Usama emphasizes that his advancement was not solely due to personal ambition, but also thanks to managers who supported him along the way. He also notes that when he moved to the Molds Department, he himself recommended another employee to replace him and trained them for the role – driven by a sense of commitment to the organization and the team.

Rion – A Place That Grows People

Ultimately, Rion’s development pathway isn’t just about filling vacant positions; it’s rooted in the philosophy that employees are a valuable professional asset, and the factory is a place that enables individuals to build a real career – from the ground up to key leadership roles.

As Dima aptly puts it, the industry may be small, but anyone who enters the world of plastics and understands the entire chain can grow and go far.

And at Rion, it seems, we make sure that happens.