Lake Forest's Colbert Packaging to move 100 jobs to Kenosha
Colbert Packaging Corp., a Lake Forest-based manufacturer of folding cartons and boxes, is expanding and moving part of its operation and about 100 jobs to Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Colbert plans to move its flexographic packaging operations from Lake Forest to Kenosha and close a warehouse in Libertyville. Colbert is acquiring a new 173,000-square-foot building on 16 acres in the Business Park of Kenosha, which is located less than one mile from I-94. Colbert currently operates its flexographic division and warehouse from facilities in Illinois less than half that size.
The company headquarters will remain in Lake Forest, according to a Colbert spokeswoman.
"We started the flexo division in 1998 and have since been through two expansions, and we're excited about making this significant investment for expansion that will be the footprint for our projected growth into 2020 and beyond," said Jim Hamilton, president of Colbert Packaging.
The announcement was made at the new Wisconsin location during a Tuesday event with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and several elected officials.
State, city and county officials offered more than $1 million in incentives to help attract the company, according to Walker.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. authorized the company to receive up to $850,000 in state tax credits over the next three years. The actual amount of tax credits received will be contingent upon the number of jobs created and the amount of capital investment the company makes during that time, according to a statement issued by Walker.
Kenosha County provided $250,000 from its High Impact Fund to support the project.
Colbert Packaging is the latest company to establish operations in Kenosha County. Since the beginning of 2013, economic development projects accounting for more than 6,000 new jobs and about $1 billion of capital investments have been announced, completed, or are underway in Kenosha County. Companies that have new facilities just over the Illinois border include Amazon, ULINE, InSinkErator, Meijer, Niagara Bottling, and Gourmet Foods International, according to the governor's release.