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Job prospects improve for Casey  Share
New employment opportunities are on the horizon for Casey, a community that has been hit hard economically over the past year. Quality Concepts LLC, a company owned by former Casey resident Greg Yates, has purchased the Stingray Lighting Company and all of the Casey Tool & Machine (CTM) assets and will be closing on the real estate in both Casey and Charleston before the end of August. Yates said a more comprehensive manufacturing plan in Casey will be released in the near future. Quality Concepts LLC is Yates' primary company that owns and operates 14 companies and a significant amount of commercial and residential real estate in Kankakee County. Currently, Yates said, a small number of employees are working as needed to produce lighting products being sold as they reintegrate back into that business. ''We will be accepting applications to fill specific key positions during the next few months, but there are several factors yet to be determined as related to the growth and capacity that will occur in the first year,'' Yates said. ''Economic factors have put a lot of pressure on all business, but unless we protected the equipment and assembled technologies in Casey, I don't know how it could ever have been duplicated there again. Now we are very optimistic that with all concerned parties participating together, we can bring these facilities back over a period of time to their former strength. We hope that the city and county and even the state will participate to help us in this process.''
Yates said from an ownership and investment perspective, his strategy will always be to build back this business based on budget driven and market driven results that drive growth. CTM initially announced the closing of its Charleston plant on November 3, 2008, terminating 58 employees with job loss looming for Casey as well. A November 17 press release announced the company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Unfortunately, CTM was unable to obtain the bankruptcy court's approval for ongoing financing, resulting in terminations beginning on November 10 at both the Charleston and Casey locations. The remaining workforce reductions began on November 28, 2008 and continued through December 11, 2008, resulting in an additional 123 employees being terminated and losing their jobs. The loss of these jobs and the bankruptcy of CTM were a big blow to Casey and definitely contributed to an economic downturn for the community, but given this recent news, an upturn is in sight. ''The former CTM facilities retain the capability for production and employment that it previously had,'' Yates said. ''We will be prepared to respond to the market as it returns and do so in a strong and well capitalized fashion.'' More information will be forthcoming in the next 30 days. Staffing is not in place at the plant at this time; therefore, anyone seeking employment is asked to wait for more information. Previous employees will be contacted and further updates communicated through the Casey Reporter. To contact Quality Concepts LLC, please call Cherie Schmidt at 815.304.6300 or email cschmidt@qcfamily.com. Sharon Durham is a staff reporter for the Casey Reporter.
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