Kennedy employees thrive after lean times

VAN WERT — Chrissy McHugh and Kirk Heck got profit sharing bonuses last year from their employer, Kennedy Manufacturing. It's the first time in recent memory the tool-box maker has been able to do that, and it's a far cry from 2007 when the company was shut down and its assets purchased by new owners.

“I never even knew we had profit sharing,” said McHugh, who's been at Kennedy about seven years. “Now after 30 years of being in the hole, these owners have turned it around and we all got a piece.” A year ago she was laid off, she said, but she has confidence in the company.

“I feel very comfortable now. This company, the new owners are good people. They're smart people. They know what they are doing,” she said.

Heck started with Kennedy about the time the new owners came in, he avoided being laid off, but saw his and all employees' hours drop.

“When the economy dropped out, we were down to 20 or 25 hours a week,” he said. A big order of tool boxes for the military helped out.

“That order from Afghanistan got us through the winter to the point where the economy kind of picked up,” he said. The famine became feast last summer.

“We were working 50 hours a week, pretty much through the summer,” he said.

McHugh said the employees are versatile.

“I can work from one end of the building to the other,” she said. “There aren't many people in here who work in one area. You go where the work is going and help out, get it out the door.”