By By SPIROS GALLOS / Niles Daily Star
NILES - The applications are piling up at the Lowe's Home Improvement hiring office in Belle Plaza at 1958 S. Eleventh St.
The company began taking applications two weeks ago to fill the 70 to 80 positions needed when construction on the new store is scheduled for completion at the end of September.
Jennifer Cunningham, the store human resource manager, said they have started first interviews and have called some applicants back, but have not made any job offers yet.
With over 500 applications being submitted in two weeks and many more to follow, the process of hiring a staff for the store will take some diligent work on the part of the management.
Construction of the 116,000 sq. ft. store is expected to be completed Oct. 6, when it will be handed over to the management by Skanska USA Building, Inc., the company in charge of construction.
Once the building is complete, the 70 to 80 employees hired in the month of September will go to work, preparing all the steel in the store for racking, and setting up the rack for merchandise.
The grand opening of the store is scheduled for the first week of December, but Cunningham said they're hoping to be open before Thanksgiving.
The company will keep taking applications the first two weeks of October as it looks to hire about 130 total employees to staff the store.
Marlowe said that Lowe's is very customer service oriented. "Taking care of the customer is the first priority of all Lowe's employees," he said.
Lowe's will also bring its contributions to a number of charities to the Niles store when it opens in December.
Lowe's Home Improvement currently supports the American Red Cross, the Boys' and Girls' Scouts of America, and Habitat for Humanity.
The store will also hold special community events like kid's clinics one Saturday every month, where children can come and learn how to build various items, such as bird houses or video game stools, Marlowe said.
Lowe's also has a community support program called the Lowe's Heroes program.
Every Lowe's store gets funds from the corporate office to put towards bettering their local community.
Lowe's was founded in 1921 in North Wilkesboro, N.C., where the corporate home office is now located. The company recently opened its 1,000th store July 30th, in Marion, N.C.
Marlowe started working Lowe's 10 years ago as a part-time cashier in Indianapolis.
Anyone interested in applying with Lowe's is invited to walk into the hiring office located in Belle Plaza at 1958 S. Eleventh St.