Compass Components, a
Compass Components, headquartered in
Compass will begin operations at the facility April 1. Compass and Sparton will seek to finalize the sale of the building by June 29. Thomas Maurer, vice president with Compass, will oversee all aspects of the Deming operation.
Sparton had announced January 8, 2007 that it would close the plant by March 31 and lay off its 76 employees. Sparton Technology has been in business in Deming since the early 1980s. Compass will initially hire up to 12 employees, and company officials say they would like to ramp up to 75 or more employees between one and two years from now. They intend to assume the name Deming Electronics, and to operate the facility as a division of Compass.
"Compass will bring new investment and new energy to Deming," Homans said. "They chose to come here because of the loyalty and skill of the workforce, and the red carpet treatment they received from the city, county, state and our federal delegation."
The announcement is the culmination of two months of hard work by local, state and federal officials to either help Sparton bring new contracts to the plant or to assist in finding a buyer that would put employees back to work. Homans said Governor Bill Richardson played a key role in the transaction by making phone calls to encourage the deal between Sparton and Compass. The state’s Department of Labor has also been working closely with Sparton to provide unemployment services to employees who have been or will be, laid off. Homans had formed a "Deming Strike Force" to try to save the plant and jobs. The team included: Homans, Sparton President David Hockenbrocht, representatives from Senators Domenici and Bingaman and Representative Pearce, officials from the City of
