Digi-Key’s Hiring Ramp To Spark Minnesota Real Estate

July 2, 2013

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Digi-Key will hire 150 new employees this summer at their headquarters in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. With a dip in business last year, 2013 has high promises with Digi-Key calling for more workers. In this case, real-estate and successful businesses go hand in hand with house prices jumping as demand for a place to live increases around the Digi-Key main campus.

Companies often experience ups and downs throughout the years. While 2012 was a challenging year for Digi-Key, due to a decline in electronic component shipments and sales than the year before, 2013 has been thus far a huge success. The company has been able to recover and surpass the shipment numbers from 2011 as they began to sell outside of the United States thanks to changes in the industry. With such a profitable year thus far, employment opportunities for 150 additional positions are to be available. Digi-Key has been working on instilling company incentives to bring in skilled employees from all over.

Digi-Key has always been a company concerned with employee happiness. Statistics have shown that Digi-Key workers hail from all over the northwestern part of Minnesota to their headquarters in Thief River Falls. Of the 2,000+ employees, 170 come from Red Lake Falls, 115 are from Newfolden, and 61 are from Middle River. In order to make things easier for the workers to get to the office every day, Digi-Key arranges buses to pick up employees in neighboring areas for $2 a ride. Rick Trontvet, a Digi-Key vice president, commented on the new bus system saying, “It’s a creative approach that we’re hoping will get us some traction in tapping a good labor market in the Crookston area.” Crookson is one of the targeted areas with a population 8,000 and a 45 minute drive. Crookson currently houses 13 Digi-Key employees but is expected to be a major market for incoming workers.

The housing economy is booming in northwestern Minnesota towns because of the high employment opportunities with Digi-Key. These towns will be put to the full test this summer when Digi-Key’s hiring process begins and future employees start looking for somewhere to live. In addition to the excellent transportation to work, Digi-Key workers receive a handful of other benefits hard to find at other companies in the industry. Employees work Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. until 9:30 p.m., which makes customer service available for international customers in different time zones. Benefits include a three day weekend, an almost-free bus ride to work every day, and health benefits. With these incentives, Digi-Key is hoping to hire 150 new employees before the end of the year.

For more information, visit Digi-Key’s website