Recycling machinery manufacturer moves to West Chicago

A worldwide manufacturer of machinery for the plastic, rubber and recycling industries has opened a new facility in West Chicago.

Avian USA Machinery, LLC, opened its 35,000-square-foot North American headquarters at 1901 Powis Court this spring. A grand opening celebration with guests from China, Japan, Mexico and local companies was held last week.

"I think it's just representative of the business growth that is taking place in our community," John Said, the city's director of community development, said of Avian's decision to move to West Chicago. "I believe it's a wonderful adaptive reuse of this facility."

City officials said the space was previously occupied by Stericycle, which collects and disposes medical and hazardous waste.

Avian USA's office administrator, Leticia Guzman, said the company opened its first North American location two years ago, in a small office in Naperville. She said the new location is much larger, which gives the company an opportunity to not only handle sales and service, but also start assembling and manufacturing its shredders and granulators on site. The machines break down large pieces of plastic, wood, paper, rubber and other nonmetal materials.

"The setup is very nice, the location is wonderful," Guzman said. "We're just busier and busier as the days go by. The word is getting out, which is great."

Currently, only five employees work at the West Chicago location, but that number is expected to grow in the near future, Guzman said.

Avian Granulator Group is headquartered in Australia. Its other manufacturing, service and distribution centers are in Germany, Croatia, India, Russia, the Middle East, Australia and China.