Robin Scott, a Vandergrift native whose parents were a cook and coal miner, worked at several shuttered factories before Kensington Windows closed. When Serious Materials bought the plant, he returned to the job, describing himself as "giddy as a little schoolgirl." He sees the green manufacturing work as a chance to revitalize his struggling town.
Good afternoon. My name is Robin Scott, and I'm getting emotional right now. I'd like to welcome you all here to my factory in my hometown. Excuse me. I thought I'd be nervous, not emotional. Now, I was born here in Vandergrift. I grew up here. My mom and dad— my mother was a cook, my dad was a coal miner. And when I turned 20 years old, I got married and I moved far away, like 4 miles down the river to West Leachburg. So And I took my first job out of high school at Pioneer Tool and Forge in Apollo. And very filthy, dirty job, but it provided me the opportunity to take care of my family. So, which was fine. I would do it. But one Friday I walked in and they told us, well, you no longer have a job. So following week they boarded it up. Well, I did get lucky. A good friend of mine who I was playing ball with got me a job at a window factory. Oh. So then I moved on to an industrial laundry after that, and then I ended up here at Kensington Windows. And my microphone's falling. I guess I have to hold it. Yeah, okay. Some of those jobs weren't so great, but some were pretty good. But, you know, it Oh, I'm losing my mind here. Okay, I'll be all right. I'll be all right. You're doing good. But even the good jobs, you know, it was hard to feel good about, you know. It didn't take a PhD in economics to realize that some of these factories were just fleeing this area. You know, so it really— I really wasn't very surprised when Kensington shut down in, you know, last October. But still, my wife and I had the same responsibilities as most Americans. We still had utility bills to pay and, you know, and children to take care of. So— and a couple of older relatives I still take care of also. So— and I still have one child left to put through college. Whew. If my other one gets through here in a year or so. But I was willing to take any job I could just to be able to support my family. But in this economy, you know, there's no guarantees. So when I got the call from my friend Chuck, he told me that this company, Serious Materials, Was ready to buy the plant and said, ask me if I was interested in coming back. Well, my response was, when and where? So, but getting back, the male ego is a very fragile thing. So, all I ever really wanted to do in my life was just support my family, keep my job. They shut this place down. It was the worst feeling I ever had. But when I got back, I can honestly tell you I was giddy as a little schoolgirl. Honestly. And the way I see it, you know, this is more than just a job to me. It's also doing some our small part in this tiny corner of America to move this country forward. I am not a triager by no means, but you know, but even even I know we have to change. We cannot leave this world the way it is now. So if we can get this green, you know. Bandwagon rolling here in Vandegrift. Well, you know what? That's what I want to see. Just let it roll here. We can start here in Vandegrift and create a whole bunch of new jobs. Well, that's even better. And I want to thank you all for showing up and putting up with me. That's right.
