By JOEL FRADY, Staff Writer
Mt. Airy News
MOUNT AIRY — The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History closed its doors to the public for a few hours on Thursday afternoon to host a luncheon and reception for CK Technologies, LLC. Several representatives from CK Technologies, which is building a 165,000-square-foot facility at the Piedmont Triad West Industrial Park, were on hand to meet with politicians, community leaders and local business leaders.
Jack J. Arb, marketing manager for CK Technologies, said the point of the company’s visit to Mount Airy was for the “board of directors to come down and get a look at the building progress and meet all of the local people that have been involved in bringing CK Technologies to Mount Airy.
“There’s been a lot of help from city and county officials, local entrepreneurs and really everyone we’ve met that’s been instrumental in getting us to where we are now,” he continued, noting the luncheon as an opportunity to say “Hello” and “Thanks.”
Tim Kline, president and CEO of CK Technologies, said that he “just wanted to thank all the local folk for all their assistance in getting us here, and we’re looking forward to being a part of the community.”
The luncheon was visited by several notable leaders, including U.S. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx.
“I just wanted them to meet me and put a face with a name and let them know that if there’s anything they need from our office that we stand ready to help,” said Foxx. She noted that “I think it’s important that they see me in person,” as opposed to simply receiving a letter, to “give them encouragement that we do stand ready to help if they need us.”
Mount Airy Mayor Jack Loftis expressed similar sentiments, saying, “I thought it (CK Technologies) had, and is continuing to have, a very positive impact. ... They’re good corporate citizens, they want to participate in a lot of our community activities, and they give back to the communities where they’re located.
“We truly, truly believe that they’re going to be very successful here and provide some great job opportunities for a lot of our folks,” he continued, “and these are jobs that are not likely to go overseas.” He noted that he wanted the members of CK Technologies “to get that real Mayberry feeling when they’re with us today. We just want them to be as happy to be here as we are to have them here.”
Arb said that the company’s new facility should be completed by mid-June, and that the walls and half the roof have been completed. The operation itself, he added, will “start off with about 15 associates, and it will eventually grow to about 50 within a three-year period.”
He added that the company chose Mount Airy because “I saw it was a very friendly community. There appears to be a lot of skilled workers in the workforce, and the workforce is what we’re looking for.”
Kline said, “A lot of the industry is moving out (of Mount Airy), so there’s a trained workforce here and a willingness to help train further workforce.” The company will only be bringing one employee from Ohio to work at the new facility; the rest will be hired locally.
He added that the geographical location of Mount Airy was also a big factor, since the company “needed a southeast location for Volvo and Freightliner,” and that the “community is very similar to what we’re used to” in Montpelier, Ohio. “The quality of life is about the same, and that’s important to us.”
PHOTO CAPTION:
Tim Kline, left, CEO and president of CK Technologies, talks with U.S. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, right, while Jack J. Arb, second from left, marketing manager for CK Technologies, and Richard Vaughn, chairman and CEO of John S. Clark Co., look on during an event at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History Thursday.
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