Published: July 21, 2008 10:26 am            

Good news on local front | Three area employers adding jobs to market

Despite an economic slump that has troubled an entire nation, and certainly created anxiety among our region’s residents, three area employers recently had good news for job-seekers.

Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown’s 8th Ward; North American Hoganas Inc. of Hollsopple and Johnstown’s Moxham section; and Sheetz Inc., headquartered in Altoona, all made major announcements that included good employment news.

Here’s what is happening or has happened:

Memorial this spring will open a new heart catheterization lab, its fourth, with a 16-bed outpatient unit. And this fall, it will open a 19-bed in-patient unit in the area formerly housing Select Specialty Hospital.

The 19-bed unit should ease overcrowding in Memorial’s emergency department and other areas, according to spokeswoman Francine Bodnar, who added that both expansions likely will create jobs at the hospital. Memorial already is the region’s largest private employer.

Bodnar added that May saw 41 hires, and more than 100 have gone through orientation classes for new positions since June 1.

Hoganas announced that it has acquired Kobelco Metal Powder of America Inc., a subsidiary of Japan-based Kobe Steel Ltd. That will lead to new jobs at its regional operations, company officials said without releasing a number. The Kobelco plant in Seymour, Ind., employs more than 100 people.

Sheetz last week opened a $46 million kitchen facility in Claysburg that is expected to create 435 jobs. The kitchen will prepare ready-to-eat food products that are delivered daily to hundreds of Sheetz locations across six states.

The convenience store chain has more than 11,000 employees and certainly some of the new Claysburg positions will go to Cambria-Somerset residents.

This is more welcome news for our region, which has seen much more positive than negative economic news over the past two years or so after struggling for nearly 21/2 decades.

We can’t help but reflect on the comments recently by Will Obeid, president of New York-based Gemini Real Estate Advisors, after his company purchased The Galleria in Richland Township:

“We feel the Johnstown market is strong economically and probably will not decline as much as other markets that have seen a run-up in their home values over the past few years.

“That gives us more confidence in this market, and we view this as a very promising investment.”

It’s obvious that many investors are seeing the same bright signs here as Mr. Obeid. Let’s hope we can keep the ball rolling despite what is happening across the country.

        

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