Now hiring

James Hardie Building Products Inc. plans to add 27 workers to the staff of its production plant at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center east of Sparks.

The company currently employs 82 at the facility, which manufactures cement-and-fiber siding and backer board products for customers throughout the West.

The new hires will include 22 production workers and five salaried employees, said Todd Gardner, the plant manager.

Gardner said the company is staffing up to be positioned to meet more of the West Coast demand for its products from the Reno facility, which opened in early 2005.

The plant's employment also is increasing because it's the only Jamies Hardie facility to manufacture a line of siding panels designed for commercial and industrial buildings, and it's the only facility in the company to manufacture a line of premium siding for residential markets.

The northern Nevada plant, housed in a 620,000-square-foot facility on Waltham Way, has the capacity to produce up to 300 million square feet of siding and related products a year. The company's long-term plans call for doubling the production capacity with the installation of a second manufacturing line.

"It is very much a key piece of James Hardie's future," said Gardner.

James Hardie keeps tight wraps around the proprietary technologies that allow it to combine cement, silica and wood pulp, along with other ingredients, into its products.

And the company also keeps tight wraps around the products and processes it uses to add long-lasting color to exterior siding products.

Gardner said the plant relies heavily on raw ingredients from nearby sources including suppliers in Hawthorne, Fernley and Oregon.

The Australian company operates plants in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. It's expanding into Asian and European locations.

The company has been advertising for production workers for several weeks and plans a job fair this week. Gardner says it's moving slowly to find workers with the right combination of skills and winning attitude.

"We have to take in a lot of resumes to find the right talent," he said. "James Hardie wins every day because of its people. They allow us to generate high-quality products."