Star Manufacturing in Smithville plans to hire another 35-40 people to fill engineering, technical, and customer service jobs.
The announcement was made by Star officials Monday afternoon, August 14 followed by a Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting for the new office work stations built within the existing warehouse. Plans are to add an engineering lab for research purposes and a kitchen for potential customers to test cooking equipment manufactured here before making purchasing decisions.
In addition to company representatives, Chamber Director Suzanne Williams and Immediate Past President of the Chamber Kathy Hendrixson, the ribbon cutting was attended by County Mayor Tim Stribling and officials of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
“ We built inside the warehouse space that we already had which we weren’t utilizing to its fullest extent. It was the only feasible alternative we had to house this many people in an environment that would be conducive to talking to customers on the phone all the time,” said John Perruccio, Group President for Star Manufacturing in Smithville and South Bend Manufacturing in North Carolina.
“The new office space is 115’ x 50’ and another 115’ x 50’ will be immediately adjacent to it half of which will be allocated to an engineering lab for research and development and the other half for a test kitchen and training facility where customers will come in, visit with us, and test the equipment here before they actually purchase it for themselves out in the field. We have a very similar set up at Southbend where we bring in all different types of customers ranging from very large chain accounts to single unit operators who want to test our equipment prior to making purchasing decisions,” said Perruccio.
The addition of the new jobs will bring the number of employees at Star Manufacturing to 330 working two shifts.
“We will probably have about 35-40 new jobs when its all said and done. We did have about five or six people come down here from St. Louis, Missouri who actually transferred down to the area but all the other jobs are new. We have actually filled probably most of the customer service and technical service jobs but we are still looking for some more engineering team members who can do anything from varying levels of mechanical and electrical engineering,” said Perruccio.
“About 80% of our new jobs across the whole state of Tennessee come from existing industries so we’re very thankful to have a presence like Star Manufacturing here in DeKalb County. We appreciate them being able to expand and grow right here in really what we would call rural Tennessee. We’re very appreciative of the jobs they provide for the hundreds of families here in this operation,” said Cody Huddleston, Regional Director of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
“I want to say thank you to Star Manufacturing for the investment they made years ago in this county and for maintaining jobs and adding new jobs here today. This company has been here long enough that they have provided jobs for people in DeKalb County who have now retired. That means a lot that you have served the people of DeKalb County well and hopefully the people of DeKalb County have served Star well,” said County Mayor Tim Stribling.
Company Overview
With entry level to Heavy Duty gas and electric Griddle, Charbroiler and Hotplates categories, as well as their world¬class toasting, sandwich grill (Panini) and hot¬dog product solutions, Star is among the largest manufacturers of Heavy Duty and Medium Duty commercial cooking equipment in the world.
Star Manufacturing was founded in 1921 in St. Louis, Missouri and quickly became a leading supplier of a wide range of restaurant equipment – the name became synonymous with hot dogs (“red hots”) machines, fryers, popcorn makers and toasters. Over time Star outgrew its manufacturing plant in St. Louis, and opened its current factory in Smithville, Tennessee in 1982, eventually expanding it in 1990.
With the acquisition of Toastwell in 1997, Star added a range of new products to its catalog, including twosided grills (aka – panini’s), drawer warmers, popup toasters and waffle bakers. In 2000 Star acquired the Holman brand, adding conveyor ovens and conveyor toasters to its growing product line The Lang brand was acquired by Star in 2006, adding convection ovens, ranges and a robust Marine equipment line.
In December 2007, the Star Group was acquired by the Middleby Corporation, making them a proud part of the world’s largest family of food equipment manufacturers.
The Star Operation Center, Customer, Technical and Engineering services are still out of the office in St. Louis, Missouri. Still proudly Made in the U.S.A., the plant in Smithville, Tennessee is home to all the Star Group brands, including Star, Wells, Lang and Toastmaster.
(PICTURED ABOVE)
Front Row: Chamber Director Suzanne Williams, DeKalb County Mayor Tim Stribling, TN ECD Business Development Consultant Angela Regitko, Chamber Past President Kathy Hendrixson, Star Mfg. Director of Services Keisha Milken, Star Manufacturing President John Perruccio, Star Mfg. HR Director Kara Davis, Star Tenures employee Henretta Colwell, Manufacturing Engineering Manager Jason Norris
Back Row: TN ECD Upper Cumberland Regional Director Cody Huddleston, Director of IT Dean Parkinson, Manufacturing Engineer Daniel Hullett, VP of Engineering Todd Fenton, Plant Manager Anthony Brewer, Plant Controller Carrie Cantrell, Star Tenured employee Oscar Hendrix
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