Recently, local manufacturer Chesapeake Bay Candle (Glen Burnie, MD) hosted Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Jane Oates, and RMI’s Mike Galiazzo.

The group toured Chesapeake”s 125,000 square foot facility (opened in June, 2011), the company’s first manufacturing plant based in the United States. The plant has 35 employees currently, with plans to expand to 100 within the first 12 months.

From left to right: Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training, Jane Oates; Mike Galiazzo, Executive Director of the Regional Manufacturing Institute; Mei Xu, owner and president of the Chesapeake Candle Company; and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis upon arrival at the Chesapeake Candle Company’s manufacturing facility in Glen Burnie, MD.