Local manufacturer interested in Haeger Potteries facility
Just a few months after Haeger Potteries ceased operations, a local manufacturer is interested in purchasing and refurbishing the pottery company's East Dundee facility.
Golden Plastics USA, which acquired Golden Bag Company in Carpentersville, wants to relocate its film and plastic bag manufacturing business to the recently vacant factory at 7 Maiden Lane, said representative Gene Staples. The company is in the middle of sales negotiations with Haeger Potteries, which was in business for 145 years before shutting down this past summer.
Having outgrown its current 35,000-square-foot building, Golden Plastics is seeking a larger space to accommodate its projected growth, Staples told East Dundee trustees Monday. In addition to the Haeger plant, which has about 145,000 square feet of usable space, the company has also been considering a site in Chicago.
Relocating to East Dundee allows Golden Plastics to keep its workforce local, Staples said. The company employs 22 people - a number that is expected to grow to 50 after the move.
"We think it would be an excellent fit for our group," he said.
If the sale with Haeger goes through, Staples said, Golden Plastics would plan to make roughly $1.2 million worth of improvements to the property while maintaining its character and historical significance.
"We're excited to go into a vintage facility and repurpose it for our use," Staples said. "We're going to come in and try to beautify this fixture of East Dundee."
The village may also consider contributing pay-as-you-go financial incentives to Golden Plastics based on the property's incremental value.
Trustee Jeff Lynam said East Dundee has a unique opportunity to redevelop the Haeger property, and he'd prefer to see it used as commercial or residential space. Other village officials argued the cost of doing so would be too high.
"I think the bigger benefit to the village is that the lights stay on at Haeger," Village President Lael Miller said.
Staples said he hopes to close on the sale within the next several weeks, begin renovations and move in by the end of the year.
Lexy Haeger Estes, president and fourth-generation owner of Haeger Potteries, declined to comment on the potential sale but noted Haeger is working quickly to move out of the building. Though most of the company's supplies and equipment have been removed, she said, she is now going through more than a century's worth of documents and personal materials that have gathered in the offices.
"The most emotional part of this whole ordeal was saying goodbye to the people. We're past that now, so the emotional roller coaster has calmed down a little bit," Haeger Estes said. "It's still hard to come here and see everything quiet - no people, no pottery being made."