A new move by Navistar could create thousands of manufacturing jobs in Illinois, but the company is hesitant to set up shop.
Navistar International Corp. has decided to scrap plans for a new corporate headquarters in west suburban Lisle, saying local opposition to the project is “jeopardizing our image.”

According to the Chicago Tribune, the truck and engine manufacturer’s decision prompted Gov. Pat Quinn to speak with Navistar CEO Daniel Ustian on Wednesday in an effort to save thousands of potential jobs from leaving Illinois.

Navistar officials, who planned to invest $100 million in the new campus, had said the move would have generated and preserved more than 7,000 direct and indirect jobs for Lisle and pumped $4.5 million annually into the local economy. The company had hoped to consolidate several of its outlying offices at the Lisle site. Navistar officials say they now will look at establishing its headquarters at previously explored locations in Alabama, Texas and South Carolina.

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Peerless Industries, Inc., one of the largest U.S.-based manufacturers of audio/visual mounting solutions, announced today that it will move operations from two campuses in Melrose Park to a single large facility in Aurora beginning in May, a move that will create many new Illinois jobs.

According to PRNewswire.com, the relocation follows a 2009 decision by Peerless management to return all manufacturing jobs to the U.S. after four years during which 30% of the company’s products were produced in China through an exclusive strategic partnership with a local factory.

Peerless Industries is a 68-year old designer, manufacturer and distributor of A/V solutions including flat panel mounts, projector mounts, carts/stands, furniture, cables, screen cleaners and a full assortment of accessories. Peerless manufactures over 3,600 products that serve original equipment manufacturers, retailers and commercial installers in 25 vertical markets through direct salespeople and authorized distribution.

Those jobs started moving back to the U.S. late last year after Peerless finalized plans to relocate to Aurora in order to consolidate operations under one roof, upgrade to a more modern and energy-efficient facility, and provide room for physical expansion.

“We need more space, we want to merge all operations to reduce operating expenses, and we are committed to being environmentally responsible as well as returning all manufacturing to the U.S. to shorten lead times and regain complete control,” said Michael A. Campagna, President/COO of Peerless Industries. “Our new headquarters will allow us to achieve all of those objectives, keep costs low, and ensure that we continue to provide the best and most reliable mounting solutions available.”

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Bunge, a soybrean processing plant, has announced it plans to stop processing soybeans and shut the plant down, resulting in the loss of Illinois manufacturing jobs.

The shutdown is permanent.

Bunge has been an employer in the Danville, Illinois area for decades. They have almost 300 employees, and although 100 jobs are cut now, outlook on the rest of the employees’ statuses has yet to be decided.

“We have to work with the union on (identifying) the hourly employees,” said Deb Sidell, spokeswoman for St. Louis-based Bunge North America, told Commercial-News.com.

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Ford Motor Co. said it will add 1,200 jobs in Illinois at its Chicago assembly plant later this year to build the new Explorer sport utility vehicle, a person briefed on the matter said (click here).

The company and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn were scheduled to make the announcement on Tuesday at the factory, but Quinn told reporters in Chicago on Monday that 1,200 new jobs were coming to Illinois.

“Tomorrow, in one day, we’re going to get 1,200 new jobs for Illinois,” Quinn said at a breakfast event.

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One company is planning to cut more than 100 Illinois manufacturing jobs.

Clarcor, based in Franklin, recently announced its plan to cut more than 150 positions at its Rockford, Ill., plant during the next several months. The company said it does not plan to change anything at its Tennessee plant, but there will be a few layoffs at its Campbellsvile, Ky., location.

The company, which works in air filtration, said it needs to layoff some workers because it lost one customer who decided to do its own manufacturing. According to an article by the Nashville Business Journal, the company began a restructuring initiative in 2006, which led to the closing of two plants in North Carolina and Iowa, and the shifting of two plants, a warehouse and an office in Kentucky and southern Indiana.

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One company is planning to cut more than 200 Illinois manufacturing jobs.

Baltimore Aircoil has announced its plan to close a plant in Paxton and eliminate 220 Illinois jobs by June. The company makes cooling equipment for commercial buildings. According to an article by the Chicago Tribune, the company is eliminating positions because of the economic recession and slowdown in commercial construction.

The company, which is based in Baltimore, Md., also plans to consolidate its manufacturing operations in Madera, Calif., and Milford, Del.

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In part because of the slumping economy, Illinois manufacturing jobs have seen a decrease during the past year.

According to the 2009 Illinois Manufacturers Directory, Illinois’ manufacturing decreased by 2.1 percent during the past 12 months. From November 2007 to November 2008 the state lost 19,924 industrial jobs. The Directory is a compilation of state industry published each year by Manufacturers’ News Inc., an Evanston, Ill.-based company that has been surveying industry since 1912.

The State of Illinois is home to 20,788 manufacturers that employ 906,006 workers, according to an article by Reliable Plant, making the state fourth in the nation for number of manufacturing jobs.

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One of the world’s largest makers of automobile exhaust systems is cutting Illinois manufacturing jobs.

Tenneco Inc. has announced its plans to cut 1,100 jobs and close four North American plants and an engineering center in Australia to reduce costs. The moves are expected to save about $64 million annually per year, according to an article by Bloomberg. This announcement comes despite a state plan to increase manufacturing jobs.

The company plans to have charges of as much as $60 million, $25 million of which will be posted this quarter. Tenneco said it eliminated 760 jobs in North America and 365 in Europe earlier this year, as jobs in the state as a whole have been declining.

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A new plan could help create Illinois manufacturing jobs.

Illinois House Republicans recently met with the owners of Dial Machine, a manufacturing company based in Rochford, Ill., to discuss a state capital plan. As manufacturing jobs in the state have been decreasing, the plan would support small businesses and create high-paying jobs to help revitalize the area, according to an article by WREX.

“We would create between 500 and 700 thousand new jobs and these would be high paying jobs because we need to repair our bridges our roads, our schools,” Ron Wait, (R) District 69 State Rep. Incumbent, said in the article.

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Illinois manufacturing jobs are on a downward spiral, and the industry is expected to continue to decrease.

Illinois‘ manufacturing industry employed 669,400 people in July 2008, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, a decrease of .8 percent from last year.

Employment in Illinois’ manufacturing industry is expected to decline through 2014, according to an article by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Manufacturing layoffs in aging industries are expected to be partially offset by job gains in those industries in which Illinois has a competitive advantage.

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