Starting pay at Pembroke manufacturing plant raised $4 an hour in 2021

A manufacturing plant in Pembroke has raised the starting pay by $4 an hour this year.

Dan Mellen, the General Manager at KI, one of the largest employers in the Pembroke area, says they were short about 40 employees for most of the year, which pushed production times from a 3-week to a 12-week turnaround.

He adds in May the starting pay went up by $1 an hour and in October it was bumped up another $3 an hour.

Mellen says they’ve had about 80 applications in the last month and a half, which is about the same number they received all year.

Mellen says they are getting a wide range of candidates.

He says if they call three people for an interview, two would show up and might get job offers, but at the end of the week only one would show up for work.

He adds they’re still struggling with keeping new hires, but with 135 full-time hourly employees, more than half of them have worked at the Pembroke plant for over 20-years.

Resumes can be emailed to deborah.clouthier@KI.com or dropped off  in the front lobby at KI.