O-Flex Metal Finishing in Clanton celebrated the location’s 20th anniversary with a lunch gathering for its employees on Sept. 22.

“We wanted to show our appreciation toward the employees, because without them we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish our goals and grow the workforce over the past 20 years,” plant manager Troy Thompson said. “It’s a great morale booster.”

About 135 workers are currently employed at the Clanton facility, which is up from roughly 90 workers at this point last year.

The plant’s primary focus is automotive parts, with 95 percent of its business supplied to companies such as BMW, General Motors, Subaru and Nissan.

According to Thompson, Chilton County is a perfect fit for O-Flex’s business model due to its central location between manufacturers and assembly plants.

Thompson has witnessed the growth during his 12 years with the company. He is from Indiana, but now calls Jemison his home.

“We’re continuing to grow and we feel like 2019 will be our biggest year,” Thompson said.

O-Flex is a family owned company based in Tokyo, and some of the board members made the trip from Japan to take part in the anniversary celebration.

Thompson joined various department managers and president Tsukihito Yamamoto in dressing up in costume as the “Village People” and performing “Y.M.C.A.” for all those in attendance.

Department managers Frank Martin, Clint Smith, Ricky Phaturos and Michael Lasley teamed up with Thompson and Yamamoto for the performance.

“We saw the Y.M.C.A. video and figured we’d give it a shot,” Thompson said. “As you could see, none of us could dance.”

The dance routine provided both entertainment and laughs, and the group was a popular photo opportunity for employees after the event.

Other festivities included an employee talent show and drawings to give away prizes.

Ashley Montgomery’s comedy routine won first place in the talent show.