Novelis bills itself as the world's largest producer of rolled aluminum and the leader in beverage can recycling. It employs 11,000 people in 11 countries, and its customers include big names such as Coca-Cola and Anheuser-Busch.
But here in Atlanta, where it is headquartered, the company is somewhere between low-profile and no-profile. That's not helping as it seeks to fill 20 openings at the Novelis Global Technology Center in Kennesaw, which is scheduled to open in June.
Jobs for metallurgists, engineers, machinists, researchers and technicians have gone wanting, even at six-figure salaries.
"Why are we struggling a little bit to fill these positions in an economic environment as we're having now?" asked Stefan Erdmann, vice president for global research and development for Novelis, referring to high unemployment.
He answered the question with an anecdote.
"When I moved here [from Germany] last year with my family," he said, "people asked me, ‘Who do you work for?' I said Novelis. They said, ‘Ah, the pharmaceutical company.'"
They were probably thinking of Novartis, not exactly a household name itself.
The research and development center is expected to eventually house 140 workers. Some of those slots will be filled with Novelis personnel transferred from other locations. The company still plans to hire a total of about 60 people in 2012.
Building brand recognition isn't a concern for every employer looking to hire, but many companies struggle to fill highly skilled jobs. In a Manufacturing Institute study last year, two of three businesses reported a moderate to severe shortage of available, qualified workers. ManpowerGroup found 52 percent of employers, a record, had trouble filling critical positions.
Novelis has been using the usual recruiting tools, including search firms, online portals and word of mouth. But it has struggled for a few reasons: Its brand is not well-known outside the aluminum industry, the available jobs require specialized skills that few people possess, and aluminum is not as fashionable a sector as electronics, for example.
The company has succeeded in filling some openings, including research and development technology director. That post went to Devesh Mathur, who started in December.
Formerly with General Electric and Honeywell, Mathur said that before he got a call from an external recruiter, he "hadn't heard of Novelis."
"If you're trying to hire outside the industry," he said, "you have to tell them about the company."
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