Bainbridge Manufacturing CEO Abraham Levy is underway looking for employees to join the company in its production of air units for vehicle use.

After a summer interning with Bainbridge Manufacturing, Bainbridge High School graduate Daniel Medrano has been offered a full-time position as an engineer.

“We are the luckiest company, because he is an extremely smart individual, and everything we have thrown at him, he’s been able to do very well with,” Levy said.

Levy approached BHS in the spring about creating an internship program that would feed into Bainbridge Manufacturing, where students could become acquainted with the software and engineering process behind what went into a real job at the company. Medrano showed interest and was chosen for an internship soon after.

More than $18,000 has been invested in Medrano’s training, including trips to Miami, Florida, and Atlanta to practice designing products, reverse engineering and other equipment use.

But it doesn’t just end with Medrano. Levy said he would like 8-10 other students to come on board as interns and ultimately employees. He said he was going to approach Bainbridge State College in the coming weeks to work out a program there, too.

“Our company, instead of being very top heavy, in terms of having a ton of managers and a few employees, we are going to have few managers and a ton of engineers,” Levy said. “Anything we have to do to further the education of current and future employees, we won’t hesitate to do that.”

Levy has also received more than 300 resume submissions, and has reviewed and interviewed many of them. He confirmed some of those applicants would start work once Bainbridge Manufacturing begins full-scale production later this year.

The work ethic of those from Bainbridge is impressive, Levy said, and he hopes that all employees he has bring the same level of enthusiasm as the ones he has met so far.

“In the 20 years I have spent hiring people in Florida and overseas, the best employees I have ever had are from Bainbridge,” Levy said. “The work ethic is incredible, the dedication and passion for what they are doing is incredible.”

In the wake of last month’s mass layoff of 267 employees from Shaw Industries Group in Bainbridge, Industrial Development Authority Executive Director Rick McCaskill said a job fair would be taking place at BSC on Aug. 20 specifically for those workers. Levy said Bainbridge Manufacturing would be there. He has already reached out to hire up to five of them when they finish work in October.

For the past two months, the building itself has seen sweeping electrical repairs. Currently, the inside ceiling is being pressure washed. Afterward, the floor, walls and ceiling will be coated in white.

“It will look sort of like huge aerospace lab,” Levy said. “Hopefully the white floors and the cleanliness will translate into employees being happy working in that kind of environment and will translate into a very high quality product.”

Levy said they have about $4 million worth of equipment in the building. Another $7 million of equipment is on the way and will be installed by the end of the year.