AUBURN — Carlex Glass is ready to work with the community.
The company acquired the former Guardian Industries plants in Auburn and Ligonier on Nov. 1. The company invited community leaders Wednesday for a presentation on the company and how its Auburn plant will be different following the acquisition.
Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Carlex Glass has locations in Lafayette, Indiana, and Canton, Michigan. The company is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Central Glass. Until recently, Central and Carlex were competitors in the automotive glass industry, but Carlex Vice President of Human Resources Debbie Radish-Respess said the change has been great for both companies.
“We have been able to double in size,” Radish-Respess said.
The Nashville plant is the only glass manufacturing plant in North America that receives raw materials and turns them into a finished product, according to the company’s website.
The Auburn plant handles fabrication and customization of glass for certain makes and models of cars. The plant is the sole provider of glass for the General Motors plant in Fort Wayne, Plant Manager Jeff Fraelich said.
Radish-Respess said the company values retention of employees as well as safety and teamwork. She said the company has concerns about the lack of basic skills in the present young generation. Her department has come across applicants who cannot read and write, she said.
DeKalb County Economic Partnership Executive Director Ken McCrory pointed out programs in the county such as DeKalb High School’s New Tech Program and Learning Link. He said the area is working to develop basic skills in its young people. DeKalb High School Principal Matt Toth said the first class of four-year New Tech students is set to graduate in 2016.
DeKalb High School Director of Learning and Talent Development Rebecca Pfeffer said Guardian Industries had always reached out to the school, and said Carlex would surely do the same.
Fraelich said the company is growing and recently added a $1.2 million line for products for GM. He said the company’s personnel policy is strictly performance-based, but supervisors work to coach, teach and develop new workers.
Auburn Mayor Norm Yoder said the city would be ready to help out when Carlex is ready to expand its operation.
Radish-Respess said in addition to being the go-to manufacturer of automotive glass, Carlex wants to be the go-to employer for the area.
“We want to reach out to the community,” she said. “We want to get people interested in working in manufacturing again.”