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The pandemic, lockdowns, and rapid re-opening have impacted nearly all aspects of life since March of 2020, and the ripple effect now has advanced manufacturers grappling with an increase in demand for talent, logistics, space and technology. In Lake County, businesses benefit from a built-in network of support that has enabled them to capitalize on renewed needs for packaging, PPE, testing and healthcare supplies.

Existing companies are expanding, new businesses are flocking in, and there is increased optimism for revenue and hiring growth. Over the last two years alone, manufacturers in Lake County have added 520 new factory jobs and invested approximately $180 million in land, buildings, equipment and more. As a result, it has been a banner year for local manufacturing.

Lake County’s flurry of business activity in general, and in advanced manufacturing in particular, bodes well for the back half of the year. Because of Lake County’s unique position at the crossroads of life science and manufacturing, local businesses such as Abbott, AbbVie, Walgreens, Pfizer and so many others find themselves literally leading the fight against the ever-changing conditions of the pandemic.

Lake County’s strong workforce will continue to set it apart when it comes to business leaders’ decision-making and ability to respond to changing consumer preferences. So too will its built-in network of support. Lake County’s public and private leaders alike understand that the continued prosperity and future success of businesses is directly linked to people and skills. They also know that businesses benefit from the size and diversity of the local labor pool, which boasts of a wide range of races, ethnicities and languages.

This is why Lake County Partners works closely with the College of Lake County, Workforce Development, Lake County Tech Campus, IMEC and others to develop and nurture talent and promote a safe, fair and inclusive home in which people of all backgrounds can comfortably work. As a result, majors offered at local educational institutions align with Lake County’s most in-demand jobs. Students complete affordable, award-winning career programs and graduate with in-demand skills that they can hone through countless training and certification options. Most importantly, talent is made the top priority, ensuring a huge competitive advantage for existing and new businesses looking to grow. If your company is considering future growth opportunities in Lake County, look no further than Lake County Partners to quickly assemble the resources that you need to meet pent-up demand.

2021 kicked off with a bang, and it’s been going strong ever since. As we approach the midway point of the year, we are reflecting on the top successful projects of the first six months. Though the COVID-19 epidemic lingers, the outlook is extremely positive. Illinois has transitioned into Phase 5, marking a return to business as usual. Though there are still challenges ahead for some of our smaller businesses as they adapt to changing consumer preferences, we forecast that government relief will continue to expedite the recovery.

The most recent unemployment rate for the county tracks at 5.7%, signifying huge progress and indicating that there are more than 42,000 people working the county than at this time last year. Though the labor force is still down from our pre-pandemic peak, we expect it to continue to rebound in the fall as school and childcare operations normalize.

Along with our partners, we remain laser-focused on ensuring that companies have what they need to safely resume operations. We have spent the first half of the year building on the tremendous progress that we are seeing in Lake County’s key industries; in particular, there has been a boom in manufacturing and life sciences in response to the pandemic. Many prominent corporate leaders have stepped up to meet local needs, and they are also behind the very technologies that are now benefitting the global community. It is with great pride that we survey the top accomplishments of the first six months of 2021:

HORIZON THERAPEUTICS’ HEADQUARTERS MAKEOVER

After finalizing a deal to buy the 70-acre former Takeda property in Deerfield, the company unveiled its exciting plans for the space and began welcoming employees back to a cutting-edge office.

FISCHER PAPER PRODUCTS’ GRAND OPENING

This exciting project came to fruition thanks to collaboration among the Village of Gurnee, Illinois DCEO and Lake County Partners, setting the stage for a new manufacturing facility and creating 25 new jobs.

ROSALIND FRANKLIN’S INNOVATION & RESEARCH PARK FIRST ANNIVERSARY

Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science celebrated this exciting milestone for its $50 million, 100,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art facility that has cemented Lake County’s position as a leader in life sciences. The park will accelerate Rosalind Franklin’s nationally-recognized research and support collaboration among academics, scientists, innovators and entrepreneurs. The first commercial tenant, Inspirotec, was founded by a former scientist from Abbott. Several new biomedical companies, including Covira Surgical, Voyant Diagnostics and Quantitative Neural Analysis, have also signed on to the facility’s Helix 51 incubator—a space that provides state-of-the-art laboratories for faculty and commercial startups, as well as small to mid-sized national and international biotech firms.

AZ POLYMERS’ GROUNDBREAKING

This long-standing Lake County manufacturer celebrated the completion of its new headquarters in Antioch, paving the way for new jobs and anticipated growth that will increase its workforce 10% each year for the next 5 – 10 years.

LIFE SCIENCE PARTNERSHIPS

In an inspiring partnership between Horizon Therapeutics, Lundbeck, Takeda, iBIO, the Health Department and Lake County Partners, two new community vaccine clinics were established to meet community needs and ensure vaccine equity. Baxter International also partnered with the Health Department to meet vaccine needs in Round Lake Beach. Baxter has also partnered with MedTech to support a new innovation hub that will accelerate medical device startups.

HAWTHORN MALL RENOVATION

A $250 million dollar renovation on this property to transform it into a regional lifestyle center has made the project one of the biggest and most anticipated projects in Vernon Hills history.

NEW COLLEGE PROGRAMS

The College of Lake County (CLC) announced the launch of its new world-class Advanced Technology Center in Gurnee that will further serve the manufacturing community by providing career pathways. CLC also announced its partnership with MxD to expand its apprenticeship program and create a manufacturing talent pipeline suited to future business needs.

WAUKEGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT CUSTOMS BUILDING RIBBON CUTTING

A $2 million investment made this new facility possible, ensuring that the airport complies with strict Department of Homeland Security requirements and will be able to receive international flights for the next 20 years.

SOLSMART DESIGNATION

Lake County earned the highly-coveted Gold designation from the national SolSmart program, making it faster and easier for businesses and homes in unincorporated areas to transition to solar energy.

TOP RANKINGS

Lake County companies continued to rake in the praise in national rankings. Mesirow Financial, Horizon Therapeutics, First Bank of Highland Park and RevenueWell were recognized on the Crain’s Chicago Business Best Places to Work List. Great Place to Work also congratulated AbbVie, Lundbeck and Horizon Therapeutics for being at the top of the healthcare and biopharma industries and singled out Abbott, Alight, Lundbeck, Takeda, Zoro, Synergy Flavors and Horizon Therapeutics as being among the best workplaces in the region.

COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY LAUNCH

The final accomplishment that we’d like to draw your attention to is one that we are particularly excited about, as it is certain to pave the way for a very busy back-half of the year. We received a $110,000 federal grant to lead the development of a new Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) that will create jobs, fuel collaboration and strengthen Lake County’s economy. Work is already underway to move the initiative forward, and we expect that it will conclude in early 2022 with strategic recommendations that we will move quickly to implement.

NEW JOBS & INVESTMENT

Over the past two years, Lake County Partners has been directly involved in creating 2,770 new jobs, retaining 1,478 new jobs and fueling more than $290 million in direct capital investments. We look forward to building on our momentum, and sharing our continued success with the local community.

There is no question that the past 14 months have been among the most challenging that many of us have ever faced – yet, it has also been a defining period of collaboration and growth in Lake County. Over the last year, society reconfigured the way that it works. As a result, we’re now well-versed in an entirely new vocabulary of words like Zoom, PPE and mRNA.

Along the way, Lake County Partners has had the opportunity to work at the front lines with business and community leaders who are playing a large role in getting us back to “normal.” To assist the small businesses that have shouldered the brunt of the pandemic, we led the Lake County government’s rollout of $16.5 million in recovery grants that helped 1,200 companies remain open. We also worked with our partners at Lake County Workforce Development to spearhead a response to help Abbott fill over 2,200 critical COVID-19 test kit assembly jobs in Gurnee.

As we’ve grappled with the ongoing challenges brought about by the current situation, we’ve also celebrated the promise of a widespread vaccine rollout and a return to the world we once knew. Most recently, in a groundbreaking partnership with Horizon Therapeutics, Lundbeck, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, iBIO and the Lake County Health Department, we opened two in-demand, privately funded COVID-19 vaccination sites in Zion that will go a long way toward ensuring vaccine equity over the next 10 weeks.

As we begin to emerge, there is plenty of cause for optimism. Our manufacturing sector continued to hum along through the pandemic and has broad plans for continued growth. Lake County’s key industries — life sciences, advanced manufacturing and distribution — have seen a surge in activity as they literally lead the country through this difficulty. Life science pioneers like Abbott, AbbVie, Baxter, Fresenius Kabi, Jaguar Gene Therapy and Novartis are advancing technology that saves and improves lives. Medical device manufacturers like Flexan, Jabil Healthcare, Flex, Sysmex, and Vyaire have been crucial in the production of lifesaving products. Distribution hubs, like the new 1.4 million sq. ft. Medline facility in the Alter Group’s Grayslake Cornerstone development, ensure that in-demand products are safely delivered to those in need across the world.

As future needs arise, Lake County will be ready as never before. In addition to Cornerstone, investments in speculative developments — like Bridge Point North, South Lake Industrial Center, Route 60 Logistics Center, Libertyville Corporate Center, and Hawthorn Mall — are at a high point, confirming confidence in the local market and setting the stage for a vibrant future. It’s no exaggeration to say that Lake County companies are shepherding important technologies, goods and services through their life cycles from beginning to end — a process made possible by Lake County’s robust talent pipeline and superb connectivity.

Though the labor market is tight, strategic collaboration among Lake County Partners, the Workforce Development Department, the College of Lake County, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Lake Forest College and the Lake County Tech Campus is ensuring that our people have the skills that businesses need. Cutting-edge facilities, like the Advanced Technical Center just announced by the College of Lake County, will foster growth and innovation for decades to come.

Lake County continues to benefit from its central location between Chicago and Milwaukee on the I-94 corridor, four nearby airports, port and rail access and a tight-knit system of commuter options. To make sure that our employers can continue to recruit talent from across the region, we are driving conversations between Metra, Pace, the TMA of Lake Cook and the Lake County Division of Transportation and working together to reaffirm the safety of public transportation.

We believe strongly that riders will come back to public transit. Though we have weathered the brunt of the storm, there is still much to be done. Lake County Partners recently received a $110,000 federal grant to lead the creation of a new Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for Lake County. The initiative comes at an ideal time, because it will provide a mechanism to engage the community and establish a vision that will guide our recovery from the pandemic. As a result, Lake County will benefit from new jobs, more private investment and enhanced economic growth.