Elkhart Plastics looking for new employees

A Michiana manufacturing company is doing so well it needs to hire new people. Managers at Elkhart Plastics say they're looking for good people.

A plant on Nimtz Parkway is producing unusual plastic shapes that end up being a part of pretty commonplace items.

"Anything from a piece of furniture that goes on a pontoon boat or a fuel tank for a tractor or some other part for a bus or RV tank," said Jack Welter, CEO of Elkhart Plastics.

Welter says for 27 years they've been doing custom rotational molding with a heavy focus on the RV industry.

Even during the economic downturn in 2008.

"Our business was down significantly and from that we went out and grew into some other markets agriculture and heavy truck being two of them" Welter said.

That diversification paid off resulting in a 13 percent increase in sales from 2013 to 2014, which has Welter planning to bring on more employees.

"We are certainly expecting to hire somewhere between 35 and 50 people over the next 12 months," said Welter.

Those jobs will be in one of three plants here in Indiana - where Mike Bauman has been growing his career for close to 30 years.

"When I started I was floor position mixing materials and worked my way up through basically every department," said Bauman.

Bauman is now a Plant Manager and the type of employee welter says is hard to find.

"Our biggest challenge is finding and retaining people - we are looking for people that are interested in putting in a good days work for a good days pay," said Welter.

The work isn't glamorous. It's labor intensive.

Some of the ovens reach 500-degrees.

"It's warm here in the summer but it's pretty enjoyable in the winter," said Bauman.

Bauman understands why it's not for everyone but says there's a lot more to it than working the machinery.

"There are always challenges and as long as you are always looking at it that way that's where I get my enjoyment and that's what I thrive off of. People take pride in what  they do here and that makes it worthwhile," said Bauman.

If you're interested, you can apply at the Middlebury or Elkhart plants or through the following staffing agencies: Specialized Staffing, Forge Industrial Staffing and Spherion Staffing.