The Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) says a leader in the window and door industry plans to build a $65 million plant in the mid-Missouri town of Eldon. Freeburg-based Quaker Windows and Doors plans to purchase more than 100 acres in Eldon to construct a new 200,000 square foot manufacturing facility. DED says the decision will create 300 new full-time jobs in Eldon, which is about 30 miles south of Jefferson City.
Quaker Windows and Doors plans to start construction in Eldon by December, and expects to begin manufacturing at the new facility next fall.
Eldon Mayor Larry Henderson is thrilled.
“Well I think it’s a very positive thing for all people involved,” Henderson says. “For Quaker Windows and for our community and for the people that live here and things of that nature.”
Henderson is pleased that Quaker, which has two large campuses in Freeburg, will partner with the Eldon Career Center to offer apprenticeships for high school juniors and seniors.
“Well I think that would be a very good opportunity for children who want to come out of high school and go right into work in a technical atmosphere,” says Henderson. “I think that’s very positive.”
DED notes there are about 1,900 students in the Eldon School District, and 1,100 of them qualify for free and reduced lunch.
Mayor Henderson tells Missourinet he agrees with Eldon School Superintendent Matt Davis, who says their vision is to create a community that kids want to come back home to.
“If we have opportunities here for our children, they will continue to make this area their home, and that’s what we’d really like to do,” Henderson says.
The company began operations in 1949, and was started by Marge and Bud Knoll. The Knoll family was well known across central Missouri.
Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe (R) praises Quaker Windows and says they’re “at the top of their industry, in terms of both quality and customer service.”
Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Eldon Mayor Larry Henderson, which was recorded on October 11, 2018:
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