MONROE, La. (AP) - Sapa Extrusions of Delhi, the largest private employer in the northeastern Louisiana Delta, is looking to expand its payroll.
The News-Star reports (https://tnsne.ws/1fuZ9PZ) Sapa will hire up to 75 people in February.
The aluminum manufacturer and its contract hauler, Knight Transportation, have scheduled a job fair for Feb. 15 at the Delhi Civic Center.
As many of 40 of the jobs will be new, while the rest are existing open positions.
“Things are looking great for our operations in Delhi,” said Ron Ballman, Sapa’s Delhi general manager.
The company has doubled its workforce since bringing in Ballman more than three years ago to turn around what had been a floundering plant.
“It’s an exciting time for the company, the employees and the community,” Ballman said.
Sapa, which operates two facilities in Delhi, already employs 332 workers in Delhi with an annual local payroll exceeding $13 million.
Ballman said about 15 of the new jobs will be drivers for Knight Transportation, while the rest Sapa employees.
“It’s a tough, competitive market, but our company is projecting modest growth in 2014,” Ballman said.
The Delhi plants recycle aluminum into aluminum logs, finishes products like window and door frames with an oxidized shine and extrudes and fabricates products for the auto industry, stadium seats and oil and gas platforms.
“It’s a wonderful success story for the Delta,” said state Sen. Francis Thompson, D-Delhi, who helped recruit the original plant owners to the site more than two decades ago. “Sapa is generating an economic infusion that is being felt throughout northeastern Louisiana.”
Delhi Mayor Lynn Lewis has called Sapa “a tremendous corporate partner that is a major contributor both economically and through its community service outreach programs.”
Ballman said Sapa and Knight Transportation are seeking workers with skills that include: aluminum welding; material handling with strong math aptitudes; machinist and equipment; industrial maintenance with electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic and mechanical familiarity; and over-the-road driving expertise.
He said military veterans will be given priority.
___
Information from: The News-Star, https://www.thenewsstar.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.