Lee Gilmore

Lee Gilmore remembers what it was like when he and his fellow employees at MD Electronics were laid off in 2017.

Gilmore had spent about eight years with MD Electronics, which manufactured automotive cables that were used for cameras, navigation systems and other applications within automobiles. Products were sold to manufacturers who assembled them into wiring harnesses for BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Raj Das Gupta, Electrovaya CEO, told media members on a conference call on Friday that Heidenhahn, which used to own the building and manufactured optics and electronics , spoke glowingly about the employees who used to work in the building that Electrovaya now owns. Gilmore was one of those people – and the Chautauqua County native knows how many of those employees are looking forward to seeing activity in MD Electronics’ and Heidenhahn’s former space in the Mason Industrial Park.

“As Raj said I’ve had people reach out to me asking if we’re going to be hiring, when we’re going to be hiring,” Gilmore said Friday. “Not only people that I’ve worked with at other facilities, but a lot of people that have worked in this building. This building meant a lot to a lot of those people who lost their jobs when MD and Heidehnahn closed. So for me, for Electrovaya, I think it’s very important not only to bring those jobs back to Chautauqua County and Jamestown, but to bring those folks that lost their jobs and formerly worked in this building back to the building.”

Gilmore had spent roughly 18 of his 24 years in manufacturing working in Jamestown. After MD Electronics closed Gilmore worked for a Texas-based company – but kept a close eye on happenings in Chautauqua County. That’s how he saw Electrovaya had purchased space in Ellicott.

“When the opportunity arose to come back to Jamestown and Chautauqua County and this building and work with a great company like Electrovaya I jumped on that chance,” Gilmore said. “Actually it was one of the first articles that was posted after Raj (Das Gupta) and Electrovaya bought the building,” Gilmore said Friday. “I just happened to see it in The Post-Journal. Of course when I saw they bought the building that I used to work in, I actually reached out to Raj and Jason quite early on.”

Gilmore has more than 10 years of experience in plant management and quality control in industrial manufacturing. He is a certified IATF16949 / ISO 9001 Lead Auditor, VDA licensed Auditor and Product Safety Representative.

When asked about key factors in Electrovaya’s decision to locate its newest factory in Ellicott, Das Gupta, Electrovaya’s CEO, pointed to being able to hire someone like Gilmore to entrust the day-to-day management of the Ellicott Gigafactory.

“We’ve been able to hire folks like Lee,” Das Gupta said. “Finding someone like Lee is not easy. We’ve seen enthusiastic additional people wanting to join us, so it’s been really good. We get a lot of questions from suppliers, they so often struggle to find good personnel and I think we will not have the same level of difficulties.”

Gilmore was officially hired in November 2023 by Electrovaya. Since then he’s often the only one in the building while background work was being to prepare the factory building for its new use. At the same time, company officials were working to secure the last bits of financing needed. Now that those hurdles have been cleared, Gilmore will have company in the building.

“I know the first time I walked in the building after being away for six years that feeling that I got,” Gilmore said. “We’re definitely hoping to bring that back to folks who were in the same positionI was six or seven years ago.”

“Lee’s looking forward to being not the only person in the building,” Das Gupta joked.

“My dog visits every once in a while,” Gilmore replied. “That’ll definitely be a welcoming site.”