McHenry County EDC 2011 Business Champions!

McHenry County Economic Development (MCEDC) is pleased to announce the 2011 Business Champion Award winners. 

Pictured L-R: Larry O’Conor, Jr. Other World Computing, Aric & Sean Slavin, Dordan Manufacturing, Don Wallin, Joule Technologies,
Pam Cumpata, MCEDC and Doug Oberhelman, Caterpillar

For the past four years, MCEDC has recognized outstanding companies who have positively contributed to McHenry County’s economy and who have exhibited business acumen and vision. Judging is conducted by a panel of 9 independent and unbiased business leaders residing outside of McHenry County.

Ann Willits, MCEDC Business Champion Task Force chair, who announced the awards at the recent MCEDC Annual Dinner, commented that the selection process was very challenging with consistently high scores for all nominees. 

Congratulations to the 2011 Business Champions

• Category 1 (less than 25 employees) – Joule Technologies, McHenry, IL
• Category 2 (25 to 100 employees) – Dordan Manufacturing Company, Woodstock, IL
• Category 3 (over 100 employees) – Other World Computing, Woodstock, IL

Joule Technologies, McHenry,  was selected in Category 1 (less than 25 employees).  Recognized for having a corporate philosophy that embraces a culture for learning, Joule Technology capitalized on this philosophy by adopting new methods of planning, design, and management.  By moving from a traditional production model to the non-traditional employee-managed Self Directed Work Teams, they are making strides toward their five-year plan of creating an “awesome stakeholder experience”.   By including their employee base among their stakeholders (90% of whom reside in McHenry County), they empowered their workforce to be directly invested in their customers’ experience of the company which is resulting in a bright future of growth.  This company has been in business in McHenry for 12 years and contributes its growth to the access it has to excellent logistics as well as a dedicated workforce. 

In the mid-size company category of 25 to 100 employees, Dordan Manufacturing Company,Woodstock, is the 2011 Business Champion.  It was apparent that Dordan understands the importance of employing locally while staying economically competitive.  Their proactive “green” approach to recycling in 2009 resulted in industry-initiated dialogue that increased media attention, facilitated business inquiries, and grew revenues that by extension improved exposure and economic growth for McHenry County.  With a 5-year plan of achieving ISO certification, Dordan is looking to expand into the medical and pharmaceutical markets.  Our champion believes in the economic sustainability of community demonstrated by, for example, extending an invitation to a local organics farmer to use a portion of its land to grow produce for local consumption facilitating a closed-loop economic relationship between business and residents of McHenry County.  

Other World Computing, Woodstock, is the winner in the large category (over 100 employees).  They have being doing business in McHenry County for over 20 years and chooses to remain in the county because of the unique opportunities for growth supported by a forward-thinking business and educational climate.  Not only does the company value a forward-thinking approach, but it also walks-the-walk – their company facility achieved LEED certification at the Platinum level in 2010.  Their investment doesn’t stop at their building, however.  Their approach to our ever-changing market was to find local talent and invest in it.  In addition, they strive to find ways to inspire their workforce to keep up with emerging technologies.  This has helped them stay on top of changing technological trends.  With 76% of its workforce being McHenry county residents, this business champion has a local focus, in spite of serving customers in over 170 countries, and takes great pride as a major contributor to the revenue stream it provides the county. 

Pictured L-R: Larry O’Connor, Jr. Other World Computing, Aric Slavin, Dordan Manufacturing, Don Wallin, Joule Technologies, Sean Slavin, Dordan Manufacturing

Congratulations to all of the nominees for the 2011 Business Champion Award who were introduced to the over 500 attendees at the MCEC Annual Dinner on November 3rd. The three award winners Joule Technologies, Dordan Manufacturing and Other World Computing received their awards from Doug Oberhelman, CEO of Caterpillar, and MCEDC President Pam Cumpata.

McHenry County EDC 2010 Business Champions!

Photo L to R: Pam Cumpata – President EDC,  Mark Satterson – Jan Air, Orion Samuelson – WGN Keynote Speaker,
Otto Dschida - Astro Craft, Craig Weidner -Scot Forge, Jim Thorpe – EDC Chairman of the Board.

Congratulations to the 2010 Business Champions

Division III – Small

Astro Craft, Spring Grove, IL

Astro Craft is an outstanding company encompassing 19 employees with almost 200 years of experience.  From a modest 3,500 sq. ft. facility in 1968, they provided prototype and production part orders to the automotive service, spray painting, packaging and copying equipment industries.

They installed their first numerically controlled machine in 1974 and expanded to a 10,000-square foot facility featuring a combination of 10 computer controlled mills and lathes. In the late 1980’s, Astro Craft’s customer base included the communications, healthcare, high-speed packaging, and aerospace industries.

This past year, they too were challenged to manage their business through an incredibly unpredictable manufacturing business climate.  Realizing they were not going to be able to employ a ‘normal mode’ of business, they decided to embark on a Continuous Improve Process. They used the slow down time to re-invest in their facility, train employees, step up customer service, and enhance their image.

A proud family owned company, Otto, Ed and Rich Dschida are co-owners.  Please visit their website to learn more about Astro Craft and their capabilities. www.astrocraft.com

Division II – Medium

Jan-Air, Inc., Richmond, IL

Jan-Air Inc. was founded in Richmond 1949 with its focus on producing high-quality and affordable air movement products.  It  serves many industries including farm, construction & mining, and has many product specialties such as ovens, environmental chambers, generators, dust collectors, paper conveyors, computer board soldering chambers, industrial heating, AC units, and air knife/blow-off systems to name a few.

They have a strong commitment to investing in state-of-the-art manufacturing machinery and software. In 2008, a major 12,000 square-foot building addition and Trumpf TruLaser were added to the Jan-Air facility bringing the total square footage of the Jan-Air facility to 31,800.  They continue to add major equipment and a significant amount of work and investment has also been devoted to the overall digitalization and automation of the company through the use of CAD and CAM software.

Jan Air faced with the negative impact of the economy and the bottom dropping out of their core business head on.  Weekly meeting with employees were held to discuss the business climate, production flow and facility improvements.  They are now focusing on new equipment for process improvements.

Mark Satterson, President began working for Jan-Air in 1984 and purchased the company in 2005. Jan-Air is located in Richmond and has consistently employed 20 plus people for 61 years. Visit their website www.jan-air.com to learn more.

Division I – Large

Scot Forge Company, Spring Grove, IL

Scot Forge is a 100% Employee-Owned manufacturer of custom open die and rolled ring  forgings. Founded over 100 years ago, it has been in McHenry County for 32 years.  They have over 100 years of experience shaping, machining and heat treating forgings weighing from 5 to 80,000 pounds in carbon alloy, stainless, copper-based alloys and other ferrous and non ferrous materials and ship over 200 million pounds of forgings annually.

Virtually every metalworking industry has used Scot Forge parts including heavy construction and equipment, mining, power generation, defense, shipbuilding, machine tool, fabrication, engine and turbine, transportation, oil fields and primary metals.  Known as an industry leader with one of the most modern, progressive and respected forging companies with over 1,000,000 square feet of manufacturing space in five locations.

During this last year, Scot Forge expanded its Spring Grove location by building an addition for new machinery, a new quality inspection area, larger shipping and receiving capabilities and updated laboratory facilities. New machinery, more capabilities and updated laboratory space has positioned them to seek new industries (nuclear and aerospace) to add to the over 20 different markets currently served.  Scot Forge’s five year vision includes more capital investment in equipment, software, and employees with a broad range of skills; engineers, technical sales, quality, metallurgy, production planning, IT, to skilled and unskilled labor positions.  They believe in investing in training and skill building which provides them with a skilled, cross-trained and teamwork based workforce.

Located in Spring Grove, they have over 300 employees with more to come. Please visit their website at: www.scotforge.com.