Cluster Conversations
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Strength in Numbers

COMPANY FINDS FREIGHT AND MANUFACTURING CLUSTERS ADD UP TO A GOOD MOVE
Dexter Magnetic Technologies previously had as many as eight different facilities across the U.S. before consolidating all its operations within one community: Elk Grove Village.

For Dexter, tapping into EGV's established freight and manufacturing network has paid off quickly. Access to a pool of skilled workers, many modes of transportation, plus an array of manufacturing service companies are just some of the benefits the company has enjoyed since early 2013, when it relocated one of its manufacturing and distribution centers from New York.

The manufacturer and distributor of magnetic solutions has long had a 45,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility at 1050 Morse Avenue; its new 10,000-square-foot distribution center is at 2165 Estes Ave.

Harley Kaplan, Chairman and CEO of Dexter, says the decision to establish a second facility in EGV was clear.

Data shows EGV has a high concentration of interrelated businesses in the freight and manufacturing industries. Those two "clusters" give EGV a unique "dual specialization" that fosters a strong workforce, resources, and opportunities for innovation and growth — all advantages Dexter recognized.

"One of our main drivers was the ability to find good people in the Elk Grove market," Kaplan says. "We need people with a high degree of technical capabilities, and we simply weren't getting that in New York.

Access to transportation also was key. Being adjacent to O'Hare International Airport and at the epicenter of major trucking and rail routes is a significant advantage both for importing and exporting.

"We have many raw materials coming from China, and domestic products coming from domestic suppliers, and then we distribute the world over," Kaplan says. "Basically anything we need, we can get in and out of Elk Grove."

Finally, being located within the largest consolidated business park in the U.S. makes collaboration efficient.

"We absolutely benefit from the local manufacturing base," Kaplan says. "We have relationships with machine shops, heat-treating facilities, plating, and electrical suppliers, and our human resources team collaborates with other manufacturers on workforce development initiatives to ensure we can always find the people we need."

In the end, he adds, "It's gone extremely well. It's been a real home run for us."