Smalley Steel's expansion plan may be largest in Lake Zurich history
Smalley Steel Ring Company, one of the top employers in Lake Zurich, is planning an expansion project which if completed would be the largest in the town's history, according to village officials.
The plan calls for the manufacturer's 300,000-square-foot facility on Oakwood Road in the village's industrial park to be expanded over the course of 10 years and could cost more than $50 million, according to Kyle Kordell, the village's management services director.
Kordell said the project would pass the $30 million Life Time center which opened last month as the biggest project in the village at the time.
The Smalley Steel project will include 200,000 square feet of new building including 86,000 square feet for office space, 100,000 square feet for warehousing. The company has around 600 full-time employees and expects to add 30 to 40 new employees each year the project progresses.
Kordell said a detailed presentation about the project, including a more precise cost estimate, likely will be presented to the village board by year end.
Mayor Tom Poynton expressed enthusiasm for the project.
"Lake Zurich is where Smalley Steel Ring belongs," Poynton said. "We know Lake Zurich is a great place for business and we are vested in the success of our manufacturing sector here in our community."
Smalley Steel's Lake Zurich facility produces parts and materials for the automotive, medical, aerospace and other industries. The company was founded in 1918 and moved to Lake Zurich in 2002, according to their website. In 2012 the company expanded their then-200,000-square-foot facility to the current 300,000 square feet.
Kordell said the project might not be happening without the tax increment financing district village leaders approved in January to spur investment in the town's 409-acre industrial park, officials said.
Kordell said Smalley Steel began planning an expansion in the late 2010s and were receiving overtures from Wisconsin officials hoping to recruit the company across state lines.
"Wisconsin was pulling them pretty hard," Kordell said. "But when we created the TIF in January it changed the whole game."
On Monday, the village board approved a development inducement resolution to allow the project to be eligible for future TIF reimbursements.
Village leaders approved the first project within the TIF district in April which granted a $626,000 incentive to Geremarie toward their $8.5 million expansion project in the industrial park.
In July, leaders approved an incentive of up to $1.4 million toward NorthStar Pickle Company's $15.2 million expansion project, also in the industrial park.