KC gets check to train CSI employees

A Texas Workforce Commission official on Tuesday presented a check to Kilgore College to fund employee training which is designed to keep the manufacturer in town for many years to come.

Ronald G. Congleton, TWC commissioner, presented a check for $180,092, which represents a grant from the TWC Skills Development Fund to allow the college to train employees of Kilgore's Closure Systems International, Inc.

Congleton said the Skills Development Fund was created by the Texas Legislature to help business and industry keep highly skilled employees in high-paying jobs.

"We are very proud to partner with Kilgore College and CSI to upgrade the training of 133 people at an hourly rate of almost $18 an hour," Congleton said. "Those are the kinds of jobs I like to see created in Texas. Those are the kinds jobs that build your economy. And when Texas builds its economy, the rest of the country builds its economy as well."

CSI is a plastics manufacturing facility that produces bottle tops and closures for food containers. The grant will give CSI employees training in injection molding techniques and skills.

Charles Cox, vice president and general manager of the North and Central American Region for CSI, said the KC training will make a real difference for his company. As regional leader, Cox oversees management of facilities in the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Canada.

Cox said during 2008-09, CSI laid off workers and closed plants. Kilgore's plant could have become a victim but TWC's training grant influenced the decision to keep the local facility open.

"This training grant is absolutely going to help provide the skills and knowledge that's necessary for us to compete in the global marketplace," Cox said.

KC will train the 133 CSI employees over a period of 18 months.

For more information contact Gem Meacham with the KC Workforce Development Department at 903- 983-8170.