Flex, a Singapore-based supply chain solution company, opened its first Lake County operation with fewer than 100 employees in 2017. Now it has approximately 1,000 people working in its Buffalo Grove and Libertyville facilities.
Sid Schroff, a vice president of global manufacturing for the company, said within the next few years, the number of workers will climb to approximately 1,700 as more expansion is planned in the county.
“We’re going to continue to use our technology and people to be competitive in the current landscape,” Schroff said.
Flex’s growth and community involvement led Lake County Partners to give the company its Community Investment Award at the organization’s annual Big Event on Friday in Lincolnshire before a sold-out crowd of more than 500.
Dan Joyce, the chief operating officer of Bath Concepts and chair of the Lake County Partners’ Board of Governors, said Flex recently expanded its footprint in Lake County with a new facility dealing with drug delivery devices.
“This expansion is a vote of confidence in Lake County’s talent, infrastructure and strong leadership,” Joyce said. “Flex’s continued growth here reinforces what we know to be true. When global companies have a choice, they choose communities that collaborate, innovate, and deliver.”
Along with the award to Flex, the College of Lake County was honored with Lake County Partners’ Talent Advancement Award for what Joyce called its role in helping to produce a “skilled, prepared and continually evolving workforce.”
Networking at the event were leaders from a variety of businesses, elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart and other county officials, mayors, educators, organizations that help shape workers and philanthropic entities.
Kevin Considine, Lake County Partners’ president and CEO, said the leaders in the room play a role in shaping local business growth. Together, they create the momentum that has led to the creation of new jobs, retention of existing positions and more than $2 billion in capital investment in the past five years.
“You are the business owners creating jobs,” Considine said. “The civic leaders driving our systems. The investors fueling growth. The educators and innovators preparing the next generation. And together, you form something powerful: a network committed not just to progress, but to possibility.”
Schroff said before the event, Flex is making efforts to help with artificial intelligence and data centers with a focus on health solutions, consumer goods, automation and the power industry.
Melinda Chong, Flex’s vice president of global account management, said Lake County and the surrounding area are well-suited for business growth. She anticipates the company will play a strong role.
“We are in a good position to expand in this vibrant ecosystem,” Chong said. “There are so many universities as well as pharmaceutical and medical companies.”
CLC President Lori Suddick said as the school strives to help students achieve success, it puts them in a position to drive the workforce at a variety of levels. The education the students receive creates opportunities for them to contribute to the business community.
“This award is a recognition of our effort to build student success,” Suddick said before the event began. “Their continued success helps build partnerships, which is why the award means a lot to us.”
Talking about more than academics, Joyce said CLC’s project to build the Advanced Technology Center in Gurnee, teaching skills for well-paying jobs and a major expansion to the Waukegan campus have made a difference in helping to build the workforce.
“What truly sets (CLC) apart is their commitment to collaboration,” Joyce said. “They listen. They adapt. And they lead with a clear focus on outcomes — making them an indispensable partner in our shared work to grow and sustain a competitive regional economy.”
As Joyce touted the economic successes of the past year, like being named one of the top 10 counties in the U.S. for business development, AbbVie’s expansion of its facilities in North Chicago and Fortune Brands bringing its entire corporate headquarters from around the country to Deerfield, he credited other resources as well.
“We’ve made meaningful progress in tackling housing challenges, expanding early childhood education and building a cradle-to-career talent pipeline,” Joyce said. “From programs that connect thousands of students with career pathways to partnerships that align educators and employers, this is what long-term, sustainable growth looks like.”
Hart also said workforce development is one of the keys to drawing employers to both come into Lake County and existing companies to expand. It is also critical to make sure there is affordable housing for the workers.
“Our highly educated workforce is second to none, helping to make Lake County the number one life sciences hub in the Midwest,” Hart said. “We know that when our workforce succeeds, our businesses succeed and we all benefit.”
Keynote speaker Jon Roberts wrote “The Cost of Cool,” detailing how Austin, Texas, became an international business hub. He said when he was asked to project Texas’s economic growth 50 years into the future, he first looked at what was happening 50 years ago.
“All the seeds for the growth of today were already planted 50 years ago,” Roberts said. “The first Apple computer was invented. We are the drivers of the economy, not the technology. We need to have the workforce necessary to meet demand.”
