Lorain Manufacturing Plant Hosts Family Fest for Staff and Families

A car manufacturing plant held a well-attended festival on June 25 for its employees and their families to reinforce the company’s family culture in Lorain.

Camaco Lorain Manufacturing, located at 3400 River Industrial Park Road, opened in 1996 and employs approximately 300 people at its facilities.

Camaco manufactures and supplies Ford Motor and General Motors Corporations with seat frames, according to Tracie Pabon, human resources coordinator at Camaco.

“Over the past 18 years, the company has grown exponentially in the automotive industry by expanding its global reach to include six countries with eight factories and four sales and engineering offices. Our global footprint has grown to 1.1 million square feet of floor space and a global workforce of 2,000 employees,” its website states.

Like many businesses, Camaco has recently experienced high turnover and the HR team decided to transform the business into a more family-like atmosphere.

The facility currently employs 297 hourly employees and 40 salaried employees, Pabon said.

Every employee was personally invited to the event, she also said.

“We’re trying to build a family-style culture here,” said Pabon, who brought family members with her to enjoy the event.

The festival included a big bouncy house and entertainment for the kids as well as plenty of food for everyone.

Moose Head Grill, of Vermilion, was on hand to serve food from its food truck in addition to other catering services.

A small cake was placed on the table in place of each guest, adding a special touch to the picnic.

The idea to hold a Family Fest this year was an idea of ​​Charles Kruger, head of the human resources department who was hired by the company about 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 organize the event, McElrath Penn was also supervising the kids 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 staffing agency, which has offices located in Camaco’s manufacturing plant.

The temporary staffing agency helps provide employees for the workforce, Pabon said.

Throughout the five-hour event, raffles were held every half hour and rewarded attendees with paid days off, televisions, gas gift cards and more, a also said Pabon.

“It’s a great turnout and it’s still early days. I’m glad it went well,” Pabon said.

In less than two hours, at least 100 people attended the event.