For the several dozen job seekers filtering through Gotion’s first local job fair, the reason for attending was simple: they’re looking for a job, and Gotion is looking to hire.

In the first part of a two-day job fair, four representatives from Gotion’s California location — as well as local recruiter Luke Jolly and Gotion Manteno Plant Manager Mark Kreusel — had meet and greets with applicants at Kankakee Community College’s main campus.

Day two runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today at the KCC North Extension Center, 450 N. Kinzie Ave. in Bradley.

While Gotion’s impending arrival to Manteno has been met with mixed emotions, plans are moving ahead for the lithium battery plant that’s being built inside the former Kmart distribution center on South Spruce Street just west of Interstate 57.

“Lots of jobs — good paying jobs — and lots of money,” was what came to mind for Manteno resident Kim Coleman when she first heard about Gotion. Having worked a full career in manufacturing, she’s not so much interested in a career as she is looking for something to do.

She dropped off an application in the hopes of finding something in logistics. At the job fair, she saw a former coworker also seeking employment.

“Some of my friends are looking for work opportunities,” she said, noting it’s ideal in that it’s close to home.

Being a Manteno resident, Coleman has seen her fair share of “No Gotion” signs posted throughout the village.

A group named Concerned Citizens of Manteno is opposing the plant for various reasons; among them are concerns of the Chinese-owned Gotion having ties to the Chinese Communist Party, as well as concerns with safety and pollution.

Coleman said she understands.

“They have every right to oppose it. We have every right to work. I understand their side, but they have to understand the side of the people who have bills to pay.”

The $2-billion Gotion project promises to create 2,600 jobs with an average salary of $55,000. The company’s goal is to fill those roles by 2025.

James Richardson, a retiree who served in the U.S. Army and has lived in Kankakee for 10 years, hopes to be one of those 2,600 people hired.

Richardson said he’s been to at least eight job fairs in his time here and, of the approximate 75 applications he’s filled out, he’s heard nothing back.

Though this is discouraging, Richardson said he’ll continue to network in the hopes of finding a little bit of work during his retirement.

KCC students Laron Hawkins and Julian Uriostegui, both 25, are studying electrical engineering. They were excited to hear of Gotion’s appearance in the area as they’re hiring jobs in their field.

“This is right up my alley for my field,” Hawkins said. “Lots of teachers recommended [attending the job fair].”

“This would be a good opportunity for people who want to start [their careers] close by,” Uriostegui added.

<strong>THE GOTION PORTION</strong>

Standing with recruiter Jolly, who was just hired last week, Kreusel explained that, up until the hiring of Jolly from the western suburbs, he’d [Kreusel] had been the closest hire to Manteno, having been the former plant manager of the Stellantis Belvidere plant.

He said that the two-day job fair was the first local recruiting event Gotion’s hosted for the Manteno site and that the events were for collecting resumes and answering applicants’ questions.

An official recruiting event is in the works for next month.

“We’ll probably be onboarding 50-60 people in the first wave [of hiring],” Kreusel said. “The idea is that we’re gonna start bringing in some of the simpler processes in at the plant and continue to build on that until the plant is completely filled.”

Because there wasn’t extensive advertising for the job fair, the plant manager wasn’t sure what to expect upon arrival. The recruiters told him about 15 people had been waiting outside the door for the event to start.

“This event kind of shows, ‘Hey look, we’re here — we’re interacting with the local community and we’re really reaching out to hire local people.’”

Despite opponents vocalizing concerns during Manteno zoning board meetings— where it was ultimately approved to rezone the property from light industrial to heavy industrial — Kreusel said his interaction with the community has been mostly positive.

“This is mostly the interaction I get in the community is people interested in the jobs and wanting to know what’s going on.”

Around the time of the zoning meetings was when Kreusel was hired, but the opposition wasn’t much concern for him.

“I heard about it when I was doing my research before joining the company. It’s all part of the job. Do whatever you need to do to move forward.”