Schaumburg Gonnella plant to expand

Construction is rolling out at a multimillion dollar plant expansion at Gonnella Frozen Products in Schaumburg.

“Work is well under way. We hope to finish in mid-February,” said Tom Marcucci, Gonnella’s vice president of sales.

The bread company is building a 30,000-square-foot addition on the west side of its existing 66,000-square-foot facility at 1117 E. Wiley Road. The new space will consist mainly of freezer and dry storage space, which will cut down on the costs of leasing freezer space elsewhere, company officials say.

“We can now merge our product line at the Schaumburg facility. It’s a very competitive market out there,” Marcucci said.

As in any construction project, unexpected issues always seem to surface. Marcucci said it was determined that a sewer pipe was not in the best condition and had to be repaired. He added that they have moved the main driveway and built new docks. “We will be going from about 50,000 square feet of holding freezer space to about 75,000 square feet,” he said.

Though Gonnella’s corporate headquarters are in Chicago, its Frozen Products Division is based in Schaumburg. The company has other operations in Aurora and Pennsylvania.

The lure of a Cook County property tax incentive assisted in the decision to expand the Schaumburg facility.

The Class 6B incentive that Gonnella obtained for industrial uses reduces the level of assessment on the property from 25 percent to 10 percent for 10 years, resulting in a reduction of property taxes by about half during that period.

In Gonnella’s case, the incentive affects the addition, not the original building.

About 168 people work in the Schaumburg plant that opened in 1980. They produce about 2.5 million pounds of frozen dough that gets shipped coast-to-coast per week.

The expansion will increase the company’s overall freezer capacity from 3 million to 4.5 million pounds. The expansion will also house ingredients in a dry storage facility, employee services and additional office space.

What’s not to ‘like’

Facebook’s global revenue will hit $4.27 billion this year, about 114 percent higher than the $2 billion the company chalked up in 2010, according to marketing research company eMarketer.

The largest portion will come from advertising, expected to rise 104 percent from $1.86 billion in 2010 to $3.80 billion worldwide this year, driven by strong incursions in display advertising, eMarketer said.

Connecting

You never know what kind of connections you’ll make at a business conference.

Gary Skoog, director of economic development in Hoffman Estates, found the workshops and networking events very useful when he recently attended the International Economic Development Council conference in Charlotte, N.C.

He used every opportunity to network.

When his plane was delayed on the runway coming back to Chicago, he exchanged business cards with a source interested in building a gas station and convenience store at Route 59 and I-90. He also talked to another source on the plane about another possible development in Hoffman Estates.

“You never know when you’ll make a connection,” Skoog said.

Sign on

The Hoffman Estates Chamber of Commerce recently unveiled a new upgraded website at www.hechamber.com.

“From continuous live updates from Twitter to enhancements to our business listings, I believe that our chamber page will become a great tool for our businesses,” said Executive Director Cheri Sisson.

Moving right along

Ÿ Wheel Pros is relocating to a new location in Elgin. The company that distributes more than two dozen brands of wheels and tires is moving into a 32,122-square-foot space at 2554 Northwest Parkway in Elgin.

Ÿ Colbert Custom Framing has moved to a new space in Naperville. The new store is at 1283 S. Naper Blvd. The store houses a 64-inch wide art printer that can print on canvas or art paper. It also has three computers equipped with Photo Shop CS5.

Ÿ Nitto Kohki USA Inc. purchased a 1.33-acre parcel within the Roselle Commercial Center in Roselle to accommodate the expansion and relocation of their operations from Hanover Park.

Ÿ Pisco USA Inc., a manufacturer of pneumatic components, is expanding and relocating operations from Bensenville to a building at 463 Wrighwood Ave., Elmhurst.

Talking to CEOs

Local author Nancy Shepherdson told us that the book she co-authored with a JetBlue Airways founding executive is almost ready for a second printing.

The Deer Park freelance journalist collaborated with Ann Rhoades to write the book, “Built on Values: Creating an Enviable Culture that Outperforms the Competition.”

Shepherdson said one of the most memorable CEOs and top executives that she interviewed was JetBlue CEO Dave Barger.

Shepherdson explained that the successful CEO spends 75 percent of his time listening. He focuses on what his employees have to say in an effort to make improvements. He also explains that the CEO must model the everyday behavior he wants to see in his employees.

As for Shepherdson, she is working on the possibility of another book about interesting techniques on fundraising for nonprofits and political candidates.

Ÿ Kim Mikus, editor of the Daily Herald Business Ledger, wants to know about local business. She welcomes comments at kmikus@dailyherald.com.