A $540,000 grant will be aimed at helping former employees of Homecrest Industries find new jobs.
The Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program received the grant from Department of Employment and Economic Development to help former Homecrest workers.
About 200 employees worked for Homecrest at the end of July. Employees had been on an extended layoff since Aug. 1 and received a termination notice on Sept. 23.
The grant will help with services such as job counseling, assessment, employment planning, occupational skills training or education, job search assistance and support, according to a press release.
Just shy of 100 employees have been hired at HC Holdings LCC, formerly Homecrest, said John Sundet, president and chief executive officer. Some of the new hires are former Homecrest employees, and some are new employees.
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Most positions have been filled and are full-time permanent jobs. The company is continuing to hire people for seasonal full-time positions, Sundet said.
Homecrest was sold to HC Holdings in October. Residential furniture is being manufactured under the Homecrest name, and commercial furniture is manufactured under HC/Crestmark. When the Homecrest plant was closed for about two months, production got behind.
Were near the end of our catch-up phase, Sundet said.
Because of Homecrests seasonal nature, the company ships most of its orders in December and January for early spring consumer demand in the warmer climates.
Bruce Gorghuber is the new production manager at the company.
Gorghuber worked at Homecrest for 32 years in a variety of positions in accounting, scheduling, warehousing and receiving. His new job requires Gorghuber to manage the production supervisors and see that the product is quality and completed in a timely manner.
Im looking forward to new challenges and help the new company grow and be successful, Gorghuber said.
He and his wife, Carol, have two children and two grandchildren.
