Quaker Windows and Doors' new, 185,000-square-foot production facility is up and running, after construction that began last year was finished earlier this year.
A ribbon-cutting and grand-opening ceremony this week formally launched the vinyl window and door manufacturing that 200 employees already were doing in the Maries County facility, built on what the company calls its "South Campus" - about 2 miles south of the company's main campus and headquarters in Freeburg in Osage County.
"This new facility combines the quality and craftsmanship that Quaker is known for with state-of-the-art automation and robotics," the company said in a news release. "The facility was designed and built in order to meet the growing demand for Quaker's vinyl window and door products from all over the United States."
Since 1988 - nearly 40 years after Marge and Harold Knoll began operating as Quaker Shade Co. in St. Louis - the main campus in Freeburg has housed aluminum, vinyl and wood windows manufacturing all in the same location.
The new facility is the second building on the new campus, which is just south of the Osage/Maries county line - and almost three times the size of the 65,000-square-foot glass manufacturing and tempering facility that was built on the South Campus in 2004.
Quaker Windows and Doors employs more than 650 people and produces between 1,500-2,000 vinyl, aluminum and wood windows and doors each day.
The company also was a key partner in the certification process that led to Maries County being designated a Certified Work Ready Community, or CWRC, by American College Testing (ACT).
A Missouri Department of Economic Development news release last week noted the CWRC designation "aligns workforce training programs with the economic development needs of communities, matches appropriate applicants to jobs based on skill level, and strengthens businesses by strengthening the workforce."
In a ceremony at Vienna High School, DED Director Mike Downing said: "This day is a culmination of much hard work on the part of Maries County leadership and so many talented students who proved their skills by undergoing Work Keys testing and earning certificates for career readiness.
"This is a testament to the county's dedication to talent development - the number one tool for growing local economies and attracting more business activity to the community."
In 2012, Missouri was selected to be one of the first four U.S. states to participate in the CWRC initiative. Jasper County's CWRC designation in 2013 was the nation's first.
Missouri now has 75 counties actively participating in the CWRC initiative, including 25 that are fully certified counties.
The CWRC status makes communities more attractive to businesses, and the benefits from CWRC certification include:
• Workers better understand what skills are required by employers and how to prepare themselves for success.
• Businesses can communicate their workforce needs to area education and workforce training programs more effectively.
• Educators have better tools for closing any skill gaps students may have.
• Economic development organizations are better equipped with an on-demand reporting tool to promote the quality of their workforce.
More information about the CWRC program is available online at www.ded.mo.gov.