The need for more employees is a combination of planned growth for the company as well as an increase in demand for its products, said Stephanie Parks-Gale, the director of human resources for Silfex.
The company creates precision components used to make and operate semiconductor tools. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lam Research, based out of California. Silfex has the world’s largest custom silicon growing operation across both of its locations in Ohio.
The tech market as a whole has expanded in recent years and the demand for those devices continues to grow, Parks-Gale added.
Current openings for the company also come at a time when more companies are shifting portions of their staff towards remote work. Some of those employees are also relying more on technology amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Any increase in the usage of technological devices would be impacting our industry as a whole and in turn has an impact on us,” Parks-Gale said.
The number of employees needed by Siflex continues to change as well, she added. The company currently has more than 100 open positions. But, more than 50 new employees have been hired since August.
The job fair on Wednesday will start at 10 a.m. and will last until 2 p.m. It will take place in the parking lot of the Springfield facility. It follows a similar event that was held in Preble County in August. Both were put together in an effort to find more candidates and those events represent a company first.
Representatives of Silfex said in August that the Eaton drive-thru job fair was the first time that they did an event like that. The idea came about as the company wanted to comply with safety measures amid the coronavirus pandemic.
After 150 people participated at the first one, the company decided to hold another one, but this time at its Springfield facility. Depending on the turnout on Wednesday, more of those events might be planned in the near future.
Parks-Gale said it gives them another avenue to find talent as the company has also relied on other virtual means to attract workers.
“As we are looking to ramp up. We have to get creative and use a number of different sources to recruit from. We do not want to rely on just one pipeline,” she added.
The goal is to look for candidates to fill open positions at either facility as Silfex continues previous efforts to grow its staff. There are plans to have up to 400 workers at the Springfield facility by 2022.
Silfex has about 200 people working in Springfield. That facility became operational in 2018 and since then representatives of the company have pledged to gradually grow its workforce there.
Though there is a larger focus on growing its staff in Springfield, Silfex is still looking to attract talent at its facility in Eaton, which currently has over 600 employees.
The company is looking to fill a mixture of entry level and skilled labor jobs, with the latter being more difficult to find candidates. As a result, representatives of Silfex said they have worked with local agencies as well as relied on employee referrals.
Open positions at both of its facilities include machinist, maintenance techs, manufacturing techs and engineers.
Those who wish to participate in the job fair are asked to bring two copies of their resume and the process is expected to take 20 to 30 minutes.
Candidates will move through multiple stations and masks will be provided. They will be required to wait in their car before meeting with a recruiter.
Those who fit the company’s qualifications will be scheduled to attend a follow up virtual interview.
Continuing coverage
The Springfield News-Sun continues to follow the development of Silfex and its presence in Springfield, which was established in 2018. This news organization has tracked efforts by Silfex to grow its staff in Springfield, including its drive to add more than 100 employees to its facilities in Ohio.
By the Numbers
More than 100: Number of employees Silfex is looking to add at its facilities in Eaton and Springfield
Over 50: Number of employees the company has hired since August
200: Number of workers at Silfex’s Springfield facility
400: Number of people Silfex wants to be working at its Springfield facility by 2022
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