Wynright moving to bigger Indiana facility

After manufacturing conveyors in Chicago’s suburbs for more than 20 years, Wynright Corp. is closing locations in Elk Grove Village and Oak Lawn and moving operations to a bigger facility in Hobart, Ind.

For Illinois, it means the loss of a growing manufacturer that’s expected to add hundreds of jobs in the next two years.

More than 250 Illinois employees are affected by the closures, although most of them — more than 200 — will continue working for the company in Hobart. About 40 employees declined offers to work at the new facility, citing the long commute, Wynright President and CEO Kevin Ambrose said.

Wynright accepted $5.9 million in tax credits from Indiana to make the move, which is expected to be complete by year’s end.

The new $26 million Hobart facility, on 44 acres, will give Wynright the ability to double its production, Ambrose said. The company was acquired by Japanesebased Daifuku, a large manufacturer of conveyors and robotics, five years ago.

“We have been growing significantly. To support that growth we needed a new manufacturing facility. We made improvements at Oak Lawn, but we couldn’t expand there because we were land-locked,” Ambrose said.

The company considered nine properties in Illinois — three in Bolingbrook, three in Romeoville, Hazel Crest, New Lenox and Sauk Village, Ambrose said. It also looked at seven sites in Indiana before announcing the selection of Hobart.

“We weren’t lured by incentives. The primary factor for moving was finding bigger land,” Ambrose said.

Wynright’s new facility is expected to add more than 580 new jobs over the next two years, including administrative, engineering and manufacturing positions.

As retailers turn to ecommerce, Wynright is seeing an increase in demand for itsconveyors, which are frequently used in distribution centers, Ambrose said.

But operating three separate facilities was getting costlier, Wynright marketing director Joe O’Connor said. The company will continue to operate a technology and engineering facility in Bolingbrook.

In addition to the $5.9 million in tax credits, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered the company $100,000 in training grants. Wynright needs to meet hiring goals in order to receive the incentives, agency spokeswoman Erin Sweitzer said in a statement.

Wynright was approved to participate in Illinois’ Economic Development for a Growing Economy program, but the company never received any tax credits, according to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.