Working Iowa: Well known yeast manufacturer seeks more workers in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - A well known yeast manufacturer is hiring at its Cedar Rapids campus. We took a look inside Red Star Yeast.

”People know us because of our name, because it’s the name of a brand, but it’s also the name of the company,” said Mathieu Cagnard, plant manager at Red Star Yeast.

Lesaffre owns four business units on the Cedar Rapids campus.

”We here on campus have a Red Star plant, and we have our Biospringer plant, and then we have our Lesaffre blending facility, and our pilot plant,” explained Nicole Drennon, HR Generalist at Red Star Yeast.

Lesaffre is a global company that employs 220 people in Cedar Rapids alone, and growing.

“We have a handful of positions that are open, all ranging anywhere from an operator all the way up to a production manager right now,” Drennon said.

Derek Hammes started at Red Star as an intern while attending Kirkwood Community College, now he’s been with the company nearly 4 years.

”They offer scholarships while you’re going through the program, so they will help you with your schooling,” said Hammes.

He says the facility’s cleanliness, overall culture, and emphasis on safety set it apart.

“When you’re working on equipment, we make sure everything is de-energized not only electrically but mechanically as well,” Hammes said.

The company values experience and will hire within, but they also train each person who comes on board.

“Nobody does what we do the way that we do it. So we have a very unique way of training our employees,” said Drennon.

The company hopes to have more people to train soon, as they’re hiring for several open positions. Those brought on can expect benefits like health insurance to start day one.

“We have seen fantastic growth. I mean, when we started back in 2005 the plant was only 85 employees, today the campus is 220,” said Cagnard.

It’s a chance to make an impact worldwide.

“One in every three slices of bread in the world has our yeast in it,” said Drennon.

You can apply here.

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