VIDALIA — Louisiana Elastomer, which laid off approximately a third of its workforce in September, has kept its promise by re-hiring those temporarily laid off.

“Furloughed employees are back on the job manufacturing products for our customers,” CEO Mike Wells said in a written statement.

Wells said he did not have time for a phone interview.

Wells also said the employees were hired back sooner than LAEL planned.

“They were brought back two weeks earlier than our original estimate,” he said. “LAEL currently employs 30 full-time employees.”

Wells also said the rubber production company has started to see some positive results.

“LAEL is beginning to see the fruits of our sales efforts with beginning sales to U.S. companies as well as exports to China, Sri Lanka, Mexico and Canada,” he said.

Wells said he believes the company’s growth can lead to more positive results for area residents in the future.

“These are economically difficult times for the entire country, and in particular for start-up companies,” he said. “LAEL has marketing efforts under way that it believes will lead to a continued growth in sales and create the need for potentially a substantial number of new employees by the middle of next year.”

With the struggling economy, Wells said the possibility of new jobs depends on the customers.

“The pace of LAEL’s growth will depend in great measure, of course, on the recovery of business by LAEL’s customers over the next 1 to 2 years, who are struggling like the rest of us,” he said.

Wells said LAEL was recently invited by Sen. Mary Landrieu to the Baton Rouge Small Business Summit that featured the Small Business Administration.

“LAEL was the featured company of the meeting, presented as an example of a growing company the SBA has elected to stand behind,” he said. “We were quite honored to have been chosen for the occasion.”

Wells also said LAEL was appreciative of the help they received from the local community.

“We were most grateful for the important support LAEL (received) from the Vidalia and Natchez community, its vendors and contractors,” he said. “And in particular for the leadership of our Vidalia Mayor, Hyram Copeland.”

LAEL recycles discarded rubber into new rubber that is sold back to rubber products companies, such as tire manufacturers, Wells said.