Hoist Liftruck, a manufacturer of heavy-duty forklifts, plans to move around 300 jobs from southwest suburban Bedford Park to East Chicago, Ind., and says it will create hundreds more positions in the Hoosier State over the next few years.
The growing company needed more space for its manufacturing operations, and when it found a suitable building in East Chicago, it decided to make the leap. It was an easy decision, because Indiana offers a better business climate than Illinois and Hoist will save “many millions of dollars a year” by moving, said Marty Flaska, president and CEO of the company.
“The environment isn't friendly for what I do” in Illinois, Flaska said.
In East Chicago, he said, Hoist will save $1 million annually on workers' compensation-related costs, a significant sum for the firm. Workers' compensation lawyers in Cook County right now are bringing three to four illegitimate claims against the firm a month, costing it money, according to Flaska.
Indiana also offers lower taxes for the company and less-expensive housing for his employees, he said. Hoist employs welders, assemblers, material handlers and other production workers. Hoist's lifts are used by big manufacturers, like automakers.
Incentives played a critical role in the company's decision to leave Illinois. Hoist will be able to lay claim on a big package of tax credits as it ramps up operations in East Chicago. By 2022, the company plans to employ around 500 people there.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered the company close to $8.3 million in tax credits, according to a statement. The city of East Chicago and economic development agencies in Lake County, Ind., are also chipping in subsidies.
By contrast, Illinois couldn't compete, Flaska said. “I gave them every opportunity—they couldn't offer anything even close to ease the pain of keeping my business in the state of Illinois,” Flaska said of state economic development officials.
A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity did not respond to a request for comment.
Hoist's decision to move its manufacturing operations out of Illinois is but the latest example of a manufacturer seeking greener pastures in Indiana or Wisconsin, both of which have forcefully recruited Chicago-area companies.
Firms that have left the region for Indiana or Wisconsin include commercial-lighting makerKenall Manufacturing; AM Manufacturing, a dough-processing machines maker; and steel firm T&B Tube.
Chicago-based Edsal Manufacturing, meanwhile, recently chose to create a 300-person operation in Gary.
Flaska said he expects the East Chicago factory to be fully operational by next year. The company, which doesn't disclose revenue, will move its headquarters to Indiana as well as the production plant. Hoist may keep some distribution-related jobs in Illinois, however.
Hoist has been in Bedford Park since 1998, according to its website. The company grew out of a forklift firm that Flaska started in 1980 focused on buying, selling and renting the equipment, according to the site.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150812/NEWS05/150819918/manufacturer-moving-to-indiana-environment-isnt-friendly-in-illinois
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