Whimet expansion means 15 new jobs
Michael Schroeder
The Journal Gazette
At a glance
Company: Whimet Inc.
Business: Finishes metal components for surgical tools, cases and trays and other surgical instruments
Location: Warsaw
Employees: More than 70
Ownership: Privately owned
2008 revenue: Not available
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A bleak unemployment picture brightened ever so slightly Friday in Kosciusko County where a metal components finisher unveiled plans to expand.
Warsaw-based Whimet Inc. expects to add about 15 jobs during the next two years, company President Lori Whitehead said.
The family-owned operation will invest more than $1.2 million to add an automated line by mid-March and expand existing lines at its 93,000-square-foot plant.
Whimet plans to add entry-level production workers who would make $8 to $13 an hour, depending on experience, and supervisory staff who would make at least $17 an hour, Whitehead said.
The company finishes metal components for orthopedic and surgical equipment manufacturers and currently employs more than 70.
The components go into surgical tools, cases and trays and other instruments used in operating rooms.
“Increased customer expectations have enabled us to continue to grow our business,” Whitehead said in a statement.
“Producing parts with higher quality, improving efficiencies and working at a faster pace will allow Whimet to increase our workload and grow our business.”
Whimet got a $54,400 grant from the state’s Skills Enhancement Fund for employee training. The company previously received a similar-sized state skills enhancement grant for training from 2006 to 2008, Whitehead said.
Like other counties in the area, Kosciusko has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state.
Kosciusko’s is 11 percent.