An automotive manufacturing plant held a well-attended festival for its employees and their families June 25 to bolster the company’s family-style culture in Lorain.
Camaco Lorain Manufacturing, located at 3400 River Industrial Park Road, opened in 1996 and employs approximately 300 people at the facility.
Camaco manufactures and supplies Ford Motor and General Motors Corporations with seat frames, according to Tracie Pabon, human resources coordinator at Camaco.
“Over the last 18 years, the company has experienced exponential growth in the automotive industry by strengthening its global reach to include six countries with eight factories and four sales and engineering offices. Our global foot print has expanded to 1.1 million square feet of floor space and global workforce of 2,000 employees,” its website stated.
Like many businesses, Camaco has experienced a high-turn over rate recently and the human resources team decided to transform the business into more of a family-friendly atmosphere.
The facility currently employs 297 hourly-employees and 40 salaried staff members, Pabon said.
Each employee was personally invited to the event, she also said.
“We’re trying to build a family-style culture here,” Pabon said who brought family members with her to enjoy the event.
The festival included a large bouncy house and entertainment for the children as well as plenty of food for everyone.
Moose Head Grill, of Vermilion, was on hand to serve food from its catering truck in addition to other catering services.
A cupcake, provided by Little Blue Mixer Bake Shop, was placed on the table at each diner’s seat, adding a special touch to the picnic.
The idea to host a Family Fest this year was an idea of Charles Kruger, head of the human resources department who was hired by the company approximately a year ago.
“It’s good… It’s all positive,” said Elois McElrath Penn, a member of the human resources department, who attended the event.
In between helping with the organization of the event, McElrath Penn was also supervising children at the bounce house in addition to mingling with the crowd of company employees.
The bounce house was provided by Just In Time Staffing, a staff recruiting agency, which has offices located at Camaco’s manufacturing plant.
The temporary employee staff agency assists in providing employees to the workforce, Pabon said.
Throughout the five-hour event, raffles were held every half-hour that awarded participants with paid days off, televisions, gasoline gift cards and more, Pabon also said.
“It’s a nice turnout and it’s still early. I’m happy it turned out well,” Pabon said.
Within two hours, at least 100 people attended the event.
Editor’s note: This story was edited at 5 p.m. June 26, 2022, to clarify who provided the cupcakes.
