Last night, at his primetime news conference, Pres. Obama kicked things off by telling a story about a company in Pennsylvania that is able to put people back to work thanks to the $787 billion economic stimulus bill.
Needless to say, that got our attention here at OTM. On Wednesday’s show, Carmen spoke to the CEO of that company, Serious Materials. His name is Kevin Surace and he is the man behind the creation of hundreds of new jobs amid the worst economic downturn in generations.
Serious Materials is a company that specializes in manufacturing energy-efficient windows. Surace credits Pres. Obama’s focus on energy efficiency for up to $40 billion coming down the pike that can help companies like his retain and grow their workforces. Surace is now able to rehire 150 to 200 positions in the company’s Pennsylvania plant. But better yet, for every worker he hires, another two are hired by his partners to install the windows that Serious manufactures. That sort of reverse domino effect could be how we stop the unemployment from spiraling out of control, he says.
The company also has a plant in Chicago that can hold 600 workers, positions Surace said he expects to fill in the coming months. Ultimately, the stimulus money will allow Serious Materials to create upwards of 1,600 jobs in its Chicago community.
And it’s all types of jobs, too. From contractors, to skilled to unskilled to union labor, plus installation experts, management and manufacturing positions, Surace expects to fill jobs “across the board.”
If you build it, the jobs will come, he says.
On being referenced by name by the President in front of a national audience, Surace said he and his colleagues were “honored, tickled and shocked.” He praises the administration with being rightly focused on getting people back to work and saving energy – a sweet spot for a company like Serious Materials.