Gilster-Mary Lee recognized for employing neuro-diverse workers

Among the workers at Gilster-Mary Lee's Southeast Missouri and Western Illinois food manufacturing plants are ones with autism, and the company's integration of these workers has earned it a first-of-its-kind certification.

Courtesy of Ben Schatzel

Gilster-Mary Lee, a Chester, Illinois-based food manufacturer and Perry County’s second-largest employer, has received an inaugural award for hiring workers with autism.

It is the first employer in the nation to be given the Spectrum Certified designation for implementing an integrated neuro-diverse workforce.

Ben Schatzel, founder of Stannum Core Solutions LLC, said the invite-only award will be given to companies that show exceptional proficiency in hiring and retaining employees on the autism spectrum. Schatzel provides the Spectrum Certified certification and works with Gilster-Mary Lee to accomplish its goal.

Schatzel added that other companies would be honored in the future, but he wanted to recognize Gilster-Mary Lee for the effort it has already put into supporting workers on the autism spectrum.

Gilster-Mary Lee president Tom Welge said he had started exploring an integrated workforce in 2019. He was in need of extra workers and said he heard about how few adults with autism ever find full-time employment. Then, the coronavirus pandemic swept across the nation.

“There were a lot of uncertainties and it was not a time to start something new. But, in the fall of 2020, we realized our labor needs weren’t going away … and so we decided to move forward with the program,” Welge said.

Schatzel said his agency works to find those with developmental disabilities meaningful, full-time work. He said the connections benefit both employers and prospective workers.

“The idea is to engage with a neuro-diverse workforce population and create opportunities for them to enter the workforce in a setting where they can create a competitive wage for themselves and be working alongside other neuro-divergent employees as well as neuro-typical employees,” he said.

In essence, Schatzel connects autistic individuals with full-time careers as opposed to overseen work. Gilster-Mary Lee employs 18 neuro-divergent workers. Welge called them an untapped workforce for businesses to consider.

“Part of that was identifying which jobs were appropriate for people on the spectrum, what kind of accommodations those individuals might need to be successful in those jobs. Then it was just a process of going out and convincing those individuals to give us a try,” he said.

His neuro-divergent employees primarily work on manufacturing lines at Gilster-Mary Lee’s Perryville and Steeleville locations. The company trains workers on how best to support their coworkers with autism.

“We’re very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish and I’m personally very proud of the way our teams at those plants have grabbed hold of the program and made it something very successful and very positive for the company,” Welge said.

Schatzel will present Gilster-Mary Lee with the certification at a ceremony Tuesday, Oct. 1, at the Gilster-Mary Lee pasta plant in Steeleville, Illinois. This falls on the first day of both National Disability Employment Awareness Month and Manufacturing Month.

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