Employees grateful for owners rebuilding Burke County company after 2019 fire

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — A community in Burke County has new hope after it lost its largest employer to a devastating fire back in 2019.

Now, the family that owns Parker Industries has rebuilt the plant.

Back in Nov. 2019, an electrical fire in one of the pieces of equipment spread to the plant, destroying it and causing millions of dollars in damage. Reporter Dave Faherty was there that day. He said the flames could be seen from miles away.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Dozens of firefighters battle huge flames at Burke County industrial plant

Now, there is a new 27,000-square-foot facility in the same spot in southern Burke County, just south of Morganton.

The owner, Jeff Parker, showed Channel 9 inside the company his family started 65 years ago in 1957. The plant uses metal like steel and aluminum to make parts for other companies.

“The people in this community rely on this company,” Parker said. “I felt an obligation to the people in this community that something was taken away from them and we needed to do the best we could to bring it back.”

The commitment dates back many years to when the Parker family donated land next to the plant to the fire department -- the same department that would later battle the fire.

Burke County- more than two years after a fire destroyed Parker Industries the company is making a comeback with a new facility. Some of the workers here are firefighters who fought that big fire. The story today on channel 9 eyewitness news at five pm. pic.twitter.com/d3Xj8Na9t7
— Dave Faherty (@FahertyWSOC9) April 13, 2022

Some of the firefighters who fought the fire in 2019 are back inside the plant working Wednesday, thanks to the two-year process to rebuild the plant.

“We got a lot of local families that depend on this place for their livelihood,” said production engineer Kevin Toler. “And this being here gives them a place to come and earn a living.”

While the Parkers were rebuilding, they were able to use a classroom at the fire department to keep 30% of the manufacturing up and running, but couldn’t keep all the workers.

Press Foreman Jason Bumgardner will never forget arriving at the plant that morning in 2019.

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“It was pretty devastating,” he said.

Like most of the workers, he lives in the community and is grateful to be back.

“About everyone who works here only live a few minutes away,” Bumgardner said. “Yes, it means a lot that they did rebuild.”

Not only does the company have a new building, but it has new equipment that the Parkers hope will allow the company to grow and stay in the community for future generations.

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