Waukegan company moving to Wisconsin

A Waukegan-based company that has been in Illinois for 90 years is moving its operations to Kenosha, Wisconsin, company officials announced.

Trifinity Specialized Distribution, a privately owned distribution and secondary display manufacturer, signed a long-term lease with Zilber Property Group to occupy 250,000 square feet at Zilber Industrial III at 5312 104th Ave. in Kenosha, according to commercial real estate firm Lee & Associates of Illinois, which represented Trifinity in the lease transaction.

Trifinity's Founder and Chief Executive Officer James V. Merlo said in a statement the company had contracted with Lee & Associates in early 2019 to examine several sites for a new facility, but a meeting with Kenosha's mayor led them to the decision to move out of state.

"Leaving Illinois was not an easy decision for us. The Merlo family, starting with my grandfather, who immigrated to the U.S. from Sicily, has been in business in Illinois for over 90 years," Merlo said. "However, after an extensive search, it was a meeting with Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian that sealed the Wisconsin relocation."

Trifinity's 50 employees will all relocate to the new facility, which is expected to be opened in mid-January.

The recently built industrial facility has on-site car and trailer parking, 24 dock doors and 3 drive-in doors with access to Interstate 94.

Trifinity was represented by Thomas M. Boyle, SIOR, senior vice president for Lee & Associates of Illinois. Michael Kleber, director of industrial leasing for ZPG, and Sergio Chapa, SIOR and Michael Prost, both senior managing directors for Newmark Knight Frank, represented ZPG.