PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
SPANGLER CANDY WORLD OPEN HOUSE … Niki Mosier, Vice President of Human Capital of Spangler Candy Company (left), poses for a photo with a pair of mascots, Bit-O-Honey and Dum-Dums, during the WEDCO Manufacturing Month open house on Thursday, October 2, at Spangler Candy World.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
As part of the Williams County Economic Development Corporation’s celebration of manufacturing month, Spangler Candy World took part in celebrating innovation, community, and the manufacturers who keep Williams County strong by hosting an open house on Thursday, October 2.
Hosted by WEDCO, ITW Tomco, and Spangler Candy World, the purpose of this annual event is to attract interest for those who decide to move back to Williams County and eventually become employed at one of the many manufacturing businesses in the county.
“We wanted to talk to the community about career opportunities in manufacturing and shared with them all the different types of jobs we have at Spangler Candy Company,” said Niki Mosier, who is Vice President of Human Capital for Spangler Candy Company.
Spangler Candy World, in coordination with WEDCO’s celebration of manufacturing month, decided to take part with ITW Tomco of Bryan, which is celebrating its 55th year in the manufacturing business.
“They (ITW Tomco) had asked other employers if they wanted to kind of share in their celebration. So, we wanted to open up our Spangler Candy World so the community can come up here and celebrate with ITW Tomco. It’s a significant accomplishment for them.”
During the open house, a video was shown on the big screen theater of Spangler Candy World, featuring several Spangler Candy employees describing their jobs and what they do for the company.
“We just basically want to tell the community there are careers in manufacturing and just a little bit about our company and what we do there,” said Mosier. “We have amazing benefits that we have, so our employees shared that in the video.”
Mosier commented that Spangler Candy has a great relationship with WEDCO.
“We have a great partnership with WEDCO,” noted Mosier. “They want to make sure that our manufacturers in the community are highlighted. And the community knows what the types of jobs and opportunities we have.”
For those who are looking to join the manufacturing job sector, Williams County has a lot to offer for all of those job seekers.
“There are a lot of job opportunities here, we also have a great school system and a beautiful park system here,” said Mosier.
“It’s just a great place to live. I lived here my entire life, and so I love our community, and Spanglers is a big part of it. So, we want to be a big part of this event today.”
Spangler Candy Company has been in Bryan since 1906 and has served Williams County quite well over the years.
“Spanglers is a very important asset to manufacturing all over,” said Abbie Singer, employee support coordinator of Spangler Candy Company.
“We have a lot of different jobs that we offer to people in the community, from office to management to traditional factory work on the floor. We have a lot of opportunities, and we’ve been here in the community for a long time.”
WEDCO’s primary goal for all of these manufacturing businesses is to eventually lure people come back into Williams County.
“It’s a great place to raise a family,” pointed out Singer. “We definitely would love to be the employer of choice for people to come back and want to work at Spanglers.
“We do hear a lot from people that say it’s always been their dream to work at Spanglers. That’s pretty exciting for them when they get a chance to work at Spanglers.”
Diana Moore Eschhofen, director of corporate communications of Spangler Candy Company, said the company and Spangler Candy World are big supporters of manufacturing and certainly the community as a whole.
“We have some amazing manufacturers in this community,” she said. ITW Tomco has celebrated their 55th anniversary, and it’s just evidence of that.
“This is a very important event just to kind of help people to get out and remember there are some great things happening. It’s definitely a good job recruiting tool and helps people understand. Spangler Candy Company is indeed a very, very good place to work. We like to think it’s one of the very best in the county.”
The open house also featured demonstrations, company history, games, and community fun. Attendees were given a complimentary small package of Dum-Dums and Bit-O-Honey Bars.