SOUTH POINT, Ohio – HarbisonWalker International had plenty of qualified candidates for the more than 30 jobs it’s planning for the company’s $30 million plant scheduled to open next year at The Point, a South Point industrial park, company officials said Monday.
“We’re very, very impressed by those applying for jobs,” said Mona Dine, director of talent management for HarbisonWalker. The company held a job fair Monday at the Greater Lawrence County Area Chamber of Commerce.
The company plans to hire several dozen people to work at the plant starting in January, Fine said. The company could begin production in February and be into full production in March, she said.
About 250 people had applied for the jobs by 3:30 p.m. and could see 500 to 600 by the end of the day, said Bill Dingus, executive director of the chamber and the Lawrence Economic Development Corporation. The jobs could pay $16 to $17 per hour for entry level positions as well as health insurance, 401(k) and vacations.
Brad McDowell of Ashland, a former AK Steel worker for a dozen years, was among those applying for the jobs. “It’s a tough job market out there,” McDowell said. “I’m hopeful to get a job. You have to be hopeful, especially at this time of year.”
Sharonna Fannin of Huntington, who worked at Alcon Industries on W.Va. 2 in West Virginia for about seven years, also was among those looking for a new job. She said she was laid off at Alcon.
“I’ve applied at Calgon,” she said. “I have manufacturing experience. I hope it helps.”
“We’re very pleased with the turnout and the quality of those applied,” Dingus said. “My concern is that we will have more qualified people than jobs.”
He’s happy to have the company locating in the industrial park, Dingus said. “They’re extremely professional,” he said. “They’re bringing in the most modern technology in the world. We hope they become a pacesetter for the region.”
HarbisonWalker is the nation’s largest supplier of refractories and services.
The company began working on the plant in June. HWI announced in March it would invest $30 million to build a technologically monolithic plant at the industrial park.
Refractories are ceramic materials designed to withstand high temperatures in manufacturing.
From Herald Dispatch | November 14, 2017
