Category: News

Close to 700 Business Leaders Attend 8th Annual DuPage County Regional Outlook Event

Posted on | by brent

Howard Tullman, CEO of 1871, shared his perspective on the impact of innovative technologies on the DuPage County economy with an audience of 700 top business leaders during the 8th Annual DuPage County Regional Business Outlook event on May 3 at the Drury Lane Conference Center. The annual event, hosted by Choose DuPage Economic Development Alliance, Mesirow Financial and Ice Miller, brought together nearly 700 local business owners, executives, government and education leaders, as well as other members of DuPage County’s business community to share insights about the emerging technologies and their effect on the current regional and national economic landscape, as well as to discuss best practices and growing potential in today’s economy.  

 

During his keynote address, Tullman expressed to the crowd that to remain relevant in the growing economy, companies must quickly adapt to new, innovative technology and services that enhance the lives of consumers—whether that be by saving time, money, or energy. From ground breaking new wearables to the latest social trends, Howard Tullman offered a no-nonsense and straightforward talk inspiring local business leaders to get active inventing the future. 

 

Howard Tullman

 

“This is the right now economy, people want things now,” said Howard Tullman, CEO of 1871. “Businesses need to be there—to be helpful, to be quick, and to develop the methodology to pay me for my attention—meaning that the business saves me time, helps me make a better decision or saves me money.”

 

Tullman provided an exciting and rapid fire review of the major tech trends that will radically shake up the ways we think about disruptive innovation, new product development and satisfying the accelerating demands of your customers.

 

Prior to Tullman’s remarks, Dan Cronin, DuPage County Board Chairman, provided an overview of the current DuPage County economic outlook, while Leo Harmon, managing director, equity management for Mesirow Financial and Peter Hegel, senior managing director, fixed income management for Mesirow Financial, presented a U.S. Market Outlook. The presentations offered an optimistic view about current market trends provided pro-growth and pro-business policies are enacted by the local, state, and national governments.  

 

 

“I’m pleased to report our DuPage economic picture is positive,” said Chairman Dan Cronin.  “We strive to create an atmosphere in which both new and established businesses can grow and thrive.  Our unemployment rate is among the lowest in Illinois and we know employers are attracted by our highly trained and educated workforce and our outstanding quality of life.”

 

 

Following the keynote presentation, business journalist Lisa Leiter hosted a panel discussion on advancements and opportunity in DuPage County with Vincent Tomkinson, Midwest managing partner, Grant Thornton; John Carlisle, interim director, Chain Reaction Innovations, Argonne National Laboratory; and Roman Kuropas, CEO, president and founder, Innova EV. The panel’s remarks echoed the theme of the overall event which positioned DuPage County as a smart choice for overall business success. DuPage County offers a business-friendly environment, skilled workforce, high quality of life and growing industry sectors including manufacturing, business services, healthcare, retail and technology. DuPage County is experiencing a prosperous business climate and today’s event reinforced the spirit of innovation and opportunities throughout the business community.

 

 

2017 First Quarter Economic Indicators Show Low Unemployment, Vacancy Rates

Posted on | by brent

Choose DuPage has released its 2017 First Quarter Economic Indicators Report this week, once again confirming DuPage County maintains a thriving business climate. Due to its low unemployment, skilled and educated workforce, high quality of life and growing business and industry sectors, DuPage County presents opportunities for job creators and entrepreneurs during a time when the state struggles with high taxes, pension challenges and a hostile business climate. 

 

2017 First Quarter Economic Indicators Report Highlights:

 

  • DuPage County maintains the lowest unemployment rate in the Chicagoland six-county region at 4.1%, lower than both the State of Illinois (5.5%) and United States (4.9%).
  • DuPage County‘s current top job opportunities include positions in computers and mathematics, management, office and administrative support, sales, business and finance, healthcare practitioners and transportation.
  • Industrial vacancy rates are at 5.4%; DuPage County continues to have the lowest industrial vacancy rate in the region.
  • Sales tax receipts increased by 2.47% over last quarter indicating consumer spending habits have increased in DuPage County

 

DuPage office vacancy rates have continually declined and are holding steady around 16-17 percent, with industrial vacancy rates running around 5.4 percent.  While space is being acquired by new businesses moving into the area as well as the expansion of existing DuPage businesses, DuPage County continues to have the lowest industrial vacancy rate in the region; this creates a great opportunity for developers.

 

“Local commerce and industry continue to flourish, while unemployment remains at its lowest in the Chicagoland region,” said John Carpenter, president and CEO of Choose DuPage. “Remember, DuPage County dropped its sales tax by a quarter percent last June, putting $36 million back into taxpayer pockets – consumers are putting that money back into local commerce.  DuPage County is ripe for increased business and industry expansion.”

 

DuPage County has consistently maintained the lowest unemployment rate in the Chicagoland region and boasts an AAA bond rating due to its strong economy, fiscal management and healthy budgetary performance. Low taxes and operating costs, strong labor demographics, close proximity to hotels, dining, shopping, golf and recreation are just a few of the benefits our community provides to business and industries considering relocation or expansion of operations. For all these reasons and more, DuPage continues to maintain a solid, thriving economy.

 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT

Internet Park Could Be Coming to Naperville

Posted on | by brent

 

A space outside of City Hall could soon transform into an outdoor internet workspace open to the public.

 

“The idea is that we have comfortable seating, shade, electrical outlets that are handy and convenient, and possibly other small amenities throughout the area, in a space that’s otherwise just completely unused,” said Steve Chirico, the Mayor of Naperville.

 

An idea first brought up to the mayor, who then involved other local leaders, this proposed space would utilize sustainable materials and energy sources like solar panels to help power visitors electronics.

 

This space was first publicly discussed at the recent State of the City address, but plans are far from complete.

 

“Next steps are I have to convince our City Council and other stakeholders in our community that this is a great idea, and so far everybody has really thought it is a great idea, but we also need money,” said Mayor Chirico. “So that I envision being a public/private partnership, members of the community who want to give a gift to the city, other governmental bodies who think it falls into their wheelhouse of being a part of this.”

 

The budget for this project is not yet known, but the mayor does have a timeline in mind.

 

“I would love to see it done this year, but it’s a lot of work and it’s a big project. So maybe it’s a little optimistic but that’s the way I think,” said Mayor Chirico.

 

If constructed, this area would be free and open to the public, with Wi-Fi and power provided.

 

Originally published by: NCTV Channel 17 News | View Article

 

NAI Hiffman completes lease renewal at Butterfield Centre in Lombard

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Butterfield Road Waste Management

NAI Hiffman announced that Waste Management has signed a lease renewal at 700-720 E. Butterfield Road in Lombard, Illinois.

NAI Hiffman Executive Vice President, Michael Van Zandt, and Vice President, Brian Edgerton, represented the landlord, St. Paul Fire & Marine, in the 86,110-square-foot office lease. Waste Management has been an active tenant at Butterfield Centre since 1991 and continues to benefit from the property’s prime location in DuPage County.

 

NAI Hiffman currently provides leasing and management services at Butterfield Centre, a two-building, 280,672-square-foot, Class A office complex centrally located at 700-720 E. Butterfield Road. The property features close proximity to major interchanges like I-88 and I-355, as well as popular restaurants and shops within Yorktown Center Mall in Lombard. Amenities, include: newly renovated common areas, on-site deli with “made-to-order” service, fitness center, covered parking, storage, and training center with auditorium. To learn more about Butterfield Centre and its leasing opportunities, visit: www.butterfieldcentre.com.

 

Let’s reshape view of blue-collar jobs

Posted on | by brent

A Letter to the Daily Herald Editor

 

A March 23 editorial published by the Daily Herald, “Community colleges help students find jobs on the road and in the trades,” is right on target — but the concept has much wider reach into advanced manufacturing that continue to be unrecognized opportunities.

 

The editorial talks about the value provided by community colleges and vocational education’s role in leading to good career opportunities. At the Choose DuPage Economic Development Alliance, we have continuously advocated on behalf of innovative industries. DuPage County is home to a number of small and large manufacturers. There is a wealth of opportunity that exists in the industry and great training programs being offered through our community colleges. College of DuPage offers everything from associate degrees to certification and vocational skills programs; several of their programs work directly with employers to ensure the skills being taught in the classroom appropriately prepare students for the workplace.

 

Choose DuPage encourages the next generation to consider the field of manufacturing. Jobs are becoming more technologically savvy, require expert training on high tech equipment and be adaptable to an advanced workplace. The days of using a hammer are long gone for the average manufacturer — positions in today’s shop room floors are advanced, they use technology, and the jobs pay well… usually without any student debt. According to the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, the average manufacturing employee in Illinois earns about $25,000 more than the average worker in other industries, yet many manufacturing jobs remain unfilled. We need to do a better job of communicating the good jobs, wages, benefits and opportunities that exist in the manufacturing industry.

 

Evolving technology is leading the way to new and exciting opportunities. I encourage us all to reshape our perception of trade industries and manufacturing — these are no longer “Blue Collar Jobs” — but rather, “White Coat Professions.”

 

John Carpenter
President & CEO
Choose DuPage

 

 

Chicago to deliver on western access facility for passengers at O’Hare, officials say

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Western Access O

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY: DAILY HERALD, APRIL 7 | VIEW ARTICLE

Suburban officials have high hopes an actual building where fliers can check bags, go through security and ride a people-mover train to terminals is coming to the west side of O’Hare International Airport.

 

The Illinois tollway is extending Route 390, the former Elgin-O’Hare Expressway, east. The road is expected to penetrate O’Hare by 2019 or so, providing western access to the airport for suburbanites.

 

Previous, more modest plans involved a parking lot and bus to convey passengers, but that underwhelmed DuPage leaders who wanted a western terminal.

 

Recent “conversations (with Chicago) have been positive,” Tollway Chairman Robert Schillerstrom said Friday.

 

In addition to parking, “they’re going to construct a building where people can come in, get their tickets, go through security, check their bags and take a people-mover to anywhere in the airport,” he noted.

 

A Chicago Department of Aviation spokesman did not comment.

 

Development on the western side of the airport comes amid other significant changes. The city is retiring one diagonal runway in 2018 and will open a new parallel runway on the north airfield in 2020.

 

Last summer, Chicago announced a massive redevelopment program at O’Hare that includes nine new gates at Terminal 5 and redeveloping the outdated Terminal 2.

 

At the time, CDA officials said a people-mover train was coming to the west side of the airport eventually. They could not confirm when, saying they were prioritizing the other expansions.

 

The city intends to expand Terminal 5, which opened 23 years ago, by 25 percent.

 

Plans for Terminal 2 would convert the underused facility into a central hub with a new U.S. Customs and Border Patrol center and TSA screening stations.

 

DuPage County leaders have pushed for a western entrance and terminal at O’Hare for decades, with expectations it would spark an economic boom.

 

The tollway is currently building Route 390 along Thorndale Avenue and will complete a section from I-290 to Route 83 this year.

 

Choose DuPage Panel Discusses Workforce Issues Facing Manufacturers

Posted on | by brent

Contributed and originally published by: Pioneer Service Inc. | View Original Article

A number of organizations joined forces to discuss the growing challenge of fueling the manufacturing labor force and making more people aware of the career opportunities uniquely available in this thriving part of our economy. Experts representing manufacturers, educational institutions, non-profit governmental organizations and even a representative from the U.S. Department of Labor joined the discussion and made valuable connections at the DuPage Metals and Machinery Manufacturing event sponsored by the Choose DuPage Economic Development Alliance and the Chicago Metro Metals Consortium. 

 

In the opening remarks, Dan Allen the Chairman of Choose DuPage Workforce Committee reminded us of the huge shortage of workers expected in the next 10 years. Millions of jobs in the manufacturing segment could go unfilled unless something is done to nurture the next generation of employees. DuPage and the surrounding Chicagoland area has a benefit of being one of 24 regions in the United States designated for manufacturers, so it qualifies for preferential treatment in the disbursement of grants and other incentives. Manufacturers, associations and educational organizations need to come together to take advantage of these opportunities and fill the gap.

 

In this panel discussion, Pioneer Service President, Aneesa Muthana was asked about the challenges and solutions facing manufacturers. Ms. Muthana kicked off the conversation with her story of re-training her entire workforce when she had to change her business model due to overseas competition. Because skilled talent was nearly impossible to find in her new market, she relied heavily on the manufacturers of the CNC equipment for training. It took out-of-the-box thinking and strong employee loyalty to weather the change from making relatively simple parts on older screw machines, to making highly complex medical and automotive parts on new advanced Swiss CNC lathes.

 

Aaron Wiegel, President of Wiegel Tool Works agreed that finding skilled labor was so difficult that his company now focused most of their efforts on educating youth about manufacturing careers and funneling them into apprenticeships. Mr. Wiegel emphasized the importance of manufacturers coming together with associations such as the TMA to promote manufacturing careers on the whole, rather than poaching employees from one another, which drives up costs for everyone. “We have to have a pipeline of applicants. This means we need to do things like sponsor high school competitions, involve parents and provide summer jobs.” Ms. Muthana discussed the need to engage students younger, and has plans to have plant tours for middle-schoolers in the near future. Jim Jett, President of Chips Manufacturing, agreed and asked the educational institutions to focus on math skills which are a key component of qualifying entry-level applicants at his company. 

 

John Bradarich, Affiliate Relations Manager of IMEC, who has provided countless resources to manufacturers in the region, including Pioneer Service, said that with the grants and resources available, employers in manufacturing can “hire for attitude, train for aptitude.” 

 

This panel discussion, which was followed by very practical advice in the subsequent panel, was a reminder to all manufacturing executives to take time to work not just in their businesses, but on their businesses, to develop tomorrow’s workforce today.

Luxury Amenities, Restaurant Planned for Marq on Main Apartment Complex in Downtown Lisle

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Development in Downtown Lisle

Proximity to the Lisle commuter station is not the only attraction of Marq on Main, the mixed use residential community currently under development on the site what once was the Old Village Hall in Downtown Lisle. The project has a host of luxury amenities to offer residents seeking the vibrancy and convenience of downtown living coupled with the small-town ambience and natural surroundings of the “Arboretum Village.”

 

The mixed-use development includes 202  1- and 2-bedroom apartments in five stories on Burlington Avenue and three stories along Main Street, with indoor parking for residents and tenants, as well as 35 new on-street parking spaces. Some 15,000 square-feet of new commercial space will add restaurant and retail uses that will strengthen the commercial district, build foot traffic and enhance the downtown as an attractive dining destination. The development will feature a new public plaza offering outdoor dining at Main and Burlington, as well an additional public plaza at Spencer and Burlington, and two rooftop courtyards providing along Burlington Avenue. An upscale restaurant and craft beer tap room is planned.

 

“We are pleased to be adding to the vitality of Downtown Lisle,” says Marquette President and CEO Nick Ryan. “Mayor Broda and the Village have remained committed to economic development and this transit-oriented development is the type of development that has seen great success in surrounding communities. We expect to see the same energy and interest in downtown Lisle.”

 

Amenities residents can enjoy include a resort-style pool with cabanas and sun deck, as well as a pergola lounge, fire table and grilling stations. Indoors, residents will have access to a tech lounge and a chill lounge with coffee available 24-hours. An onsite health club is also planned. The development brings an investment of $45M to downtown Lisle, and is now leasing for an expected Fall 2017 opening.

 

Spotlight on Carol Stream

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Carol Stream, Illinois

In the last year, Carol Stream economic development has been booming. Several projects (listed below) have resulted in over 1 million square-feet of new or expanded industrial building space. These projects have either been completed, are currently under construction, or under review.

 

Mercedes Benz Parts Distribution Center

Construction has been completed in October 2016 on an 84,000 square-foot addition to the company’s existing 210,000 square-foot Parts Distribution Center. Future plans call for further expansion of the Parts Distribution Center, and possible construction of a Central-US Technical Learning and Performance Training Center. 

 

DCT Industrial/CoreCentric Solutions

In October 2016, DCT Industrial completed the teardown and redevelopment of a 20-acre property on North Avenue (IL-64) with a new 350,000 square-foot build-to-suit for CoreCentric Solutions. The reverse logistics supply chain company, serving the appliance and other industries, consolidated its three previous locations in Carol Stream, Glendale Heights and Hanover Park into this single, modern building. For more information, click here.

 

Packaging Personified

Construction is currently underway on a 33,000 square-foot addition to Packaging Personified’s 81,000 square-foot headquarters facility. Packaging Personified is a flexible packaging manufacturer serving the food service, consumer products, medical, lawn and garden, and pet care industries. Work is scheduled to be completed in July 2017, and the company will add 5 new jobs in the near term, with plans to add 25 jobs over the next few years.

 

Antunes

Antunes, a custom solutions provider of countertop cooking equipment and water filtration systems for restaurants, is expanding their headquarters facility in Carol Stream. Construction is currently underway to bring their existing facility’s footprint to 144,000 square-feet (a 40,000 square-foot addition). Construction will be completed in August 2017, and the company plans to add 30-50 jobs as a result of the expansion. 

 

Dermody Properties

Dermody has demolished a 240,000 square-foot, obsolete building on North Avenue to make way for a modern, 381,000 square foot LogistiCenter, designed specifically to accommodate a future e-commerce tenant. As the largest new construction opportunity in the Central DuPage submarket, this state-of-the-art building is anticipated to be completed in Spring 2017. 

 

S&S International

S&S International, a specialty sheet metal fabricator, is currently in permit review for a 100,000 square-foot addition to its existing facility, located at St. Paul Boulevard in Carol Stream.

 

Devanco Foods

Devanco Foods, a manufacturer of gyros, chicken, Italian beef, Italian sausage, hamburgers and other meat products, moved to Carol Stream from Elk Grove Village in 2016. The company has already started construction of a 30,000 square-foot addition to their new facility.