McGregor, Texas (KWTX) – The President and CEO of Knauf Insulation, a global manufacturer of fiberglass insulation which will open a 600,000-square-foot production facility in McGregor, told a crowd of 350 people that he hopes to hire almost entirely locally.
Matt Parrish made the comments as the featured speaker of The McGregor Chamber of Commerce’s annual banquet at The Exchange Event Center Thursday night.
Parrish traveled to the sold-out event along with a group of other executives from the company’s corporate headquarters in Shelbyville, Indiana.
The speech marked the first public introduction of Knauf to the community of McGregor, which will be the first Texas home of the global company that plans to break ground in just weeks.
“We’re looking at bringing in a minimum of 150 employees of which I would hope that the majority of those would come locally,” Parrish said. “So, we’re really excited about that and getting the local knowledge and talent within the community.”
The job openings range from a plant manager, human resources manager, health, safety and environmental managers to engineers, business analysts, maintenance workers and mechanics.
Many other positions will also be open.
The community of McGregor has been buzzing about the potential business partner for months.
Knauff said it searched the U.S. far and wide before selecting the Industrial Park location near SpaceX.
Parrish said two of the Knauff family members from Europe even made the trip during the height of the pandemic to visit Central Texas.
He said after meeting the people and seeing the location, they were sold.
McGregor Mayor Jimmy Hering was heavily involved in the recruiting of the company and said the partnership is a great fit.
“This was kind of a celebration of Knauf finally being able to announce to the world that they’re coming to McGregor and going to bring great jobs,” Hering said.
Hering said the commitment of Knauff to hiring local people is important.
“They acknowledge they’re going to have to fill it from some right here in Mcgregor and surrounding communities,” Hering said. “Mcgregor ‚Oglesby, Crawford. Let’s fill it up with our local people. I think that’s the intent.”
Parrish also told the crowd how the family-owned business, which started in the 1930′s in Germany by the Knauf brothers and later expanded to the US in 1978, had big plans for being involved in McGregor.
The company has already supported the McGregor Bulldogs’ new video scoreboard at the high school football stadium.
In December, the German-based company hosted an authentic German holiday market in downtown which 900 residents came out to enjoy drinks, food, and a visit from Santa.
During the holidays, they also extended their companywide coat drive, Share the Warmth, to the McGregor Firefighter Auxiliary.
“The warm welcome we’ve received from McGregor residents and leaders and the immense interest in job opportunities has been beyond even our best expectations,” Parrish said. “It further supports our decision that McGregor is the perfect community to partner for the future.”
“We’re absolutely thrilled,” Parrish said. “When people ask ‘Why McGregor? My standard response is ‘why not?”
You can find a link to apply for a job here. Additional positions will be added in the coming months.
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