Leading with Strength: Three Women Shaping Plastipak’s Success

February 28, 2025

March 8 is International Women’s Day — the perfect time to highlight the women who have been instrumental to Plastipak’s success. Throughout Plastipak’s global operations, female associates bring insight and leadership to the teams they work with. While there are thousands of women who help set the foundation of Plastipak’s success, today we’re featuring three of our female team members from distinct sectors of our operations to illustrate how women advance our mission across all departments.

Deb Ruck

Deb has been a dedicated Plastipak employee for over 30 years — and she’s filled many roles along the way. She currently serves as the Logistics Manager at our Jackson Center, OH facility, where she works closely with customers to make sure their needs and timelines are met. “My biggest thing is to make a difference — that’s what motivates me every day,” she said. “And that’s both personally and professionally.”

Deb’s ability to juggle the individual needs of her external customers along with those of the Jackson Center facility is a large part of what keeps operations running smoothly at the plant. “I really want to impact everyone in a positive light,” she said. “If we have difficult situations, I want to go through that with people to bring them out on the other side. It’s an effort of growing their abilities — and my own, too.”

Sara Sendín

Sara Sendin has been with Plastipak for 10 years and now leads production at our rPET manufacturing and recycling site in Toledo, Spain. She keeps her plant’s operations running smoothly by overseeing several parts of the production process while also thinking quickly and solving challenges when problems arise, such as raw materials arriving at the plant with inconsistencies or imperfections.

Sara’s journey at Plastipak is a testament to how hard work and a willingness to learn can open a world of opportunities for advancement. She originally started with Plastipak as a Quality Technician, where she would inspect production materials and test samples before shipping to customers. Today, she has worked her way up to Production Manager, where she oversees and makes executive-level decisions for the Spain plant’s entire production wing.

Not only is Sara proof that determination and willingness to learn can open doors to new opportunities, she also understands the importance of showing school-age girls that someone who looks like them is succeeding in a leadership role. “Sometimes, I am invited to my children’s school to talk about what I do, and if kids hear that there are women working in the industry, they often see you as a role model,” she said. “It’s much more likely that they consider jobs like mine when they learn what I do.”

Vera Machovska

Vera Machovska has been with Plastipak for 20 years and plays a key role as a Logistics Manager at our Rudna plant. Her responsibilities range from reviewing night shift operations to planning customer requests, managing inventories, coordinating shipments, and completing purchase orders.

Like Sara, Vera’s eagerness to learn has driven her success at Plastipak. A few years ago, she led the integration of SAP software at the Rudna plant, which has had a massive impact on improving overall operational efficiency. SAP helps simplify logistics, manage inventory, and track shipments — and Vera’s expertise with the software allows her to handle those responsibilities while teaching her co-workers how SAP can make their jobs easier. “The biggest opportunity for me was to set up the SAP program here, and in the meantime, I became a SAP guru,” she said. “It was also a chance for me to bring new things here, and to help my colleagues set up processes that help a lot in our work.”

About Plastipak Packaging, Inc.

Plastipak Packaging, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Plastipak Holdings, Inc., is a world leader in the design and manufacture of high-quality, rigid plastic containers for the food, beverage, and consumer products industries. Plastipak is also a leading recycler of rigid plastic packaging, producing food-grade post-consumer recycled resin for inclusion in new packaging. Plastipak operates more than 40 sites in the United States, South America and Europe, with a total of over 6,500 employees. Its customers include some of the world’s most respected and recognized consumer brands. Plastipak is also a leading innovator in the packaging industry, holding more than 420 United States patents for its state-of-the-art package designs and manufacturing processes. In addition, Plastipak licenses various packaging technologies around the world. Plastipak was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan. Additional information about Plastipak can be found at www.plastipak.com.

Statements in this press release concerning Plastipak’s intentions, expectations or predictions about future results or events are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements reflect management’s current expectations or beliefs, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to vary from stated expectations, which variations could be material and adverse. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the time made, and the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any such statements.