Rexnord Industries to locate aerospace headquarters in Downers Grove

DOWNERS GROVE – Rexnord Industries plans to establish an aerospace division headquarters in the Ellsworth Business Park as part of the redevelopment of its existing Downers Grove manufacturing facility at 2400 Curtiss St.

The Milwaukee-based company chose the village over out-of-state locations that were competing for the aerospace operation, said Michael Cassa, president and CEO of the Downers Grove Economic Development Corp.

“They were looking both in Illinois and outside Illinois,” Cassa said. “Our competition was putting incentives on the table. The other locations were offering more.”

However, Rexnord received significant incentives to continue aerospace operations in Downers Grove.

The Community High School District 99 and Downers Grove Grade School District 58 boards of education approved real estate tax abatement agreements designed to entice the company to remain in the village.

The agreement calls for the school districts to abate for 10 years the property tax increases generated by Rexnord Industries’ improvements.

In exchange, Rexnord agreed to establish the aerospace headquarters in the village, build the new manufacturing facility and pay a specified number of employees more than $40,000 annually. The company also agreed to remain in the village throughout the abatement period.

The agreement will significantly benefit the school districts because the value of the Rexnord property is expected to increase over time, leading to increased tax dollars, Cassa said.

In the case of District 99, the current Rexnord property would generate $443,194 in property tax revenue over 10 years. But the district would garner $1.3 million over that period now that the agreement has been approved, district officials said.

“You have to believe that they have other options to locate a large facility,” District 99 controller Mark Staehlin said at a Board of Education meeting. “I think it’s a positive thing for us to do.”

Several factors played into Rexnord Industries’ decision to remain in Downers Grove, where it has maintained an aerospace manufacturing plant for several years, Cassa said.

“They have a very strong, skilled workforce,” Cassa said. “They didn’t want to lose that. They’re happy with the workforce they have. It’s a workforce that’s very stable. This is where they want to be, I believe.”

Additionally, deciding to remain in the village eliminates the need to sell the existing facility, he said.

Cassa was heavily involved in negotiations with the manufacturer, which involved discussions with Cushman & Wakefield, the real estate consulting firm that led the search for a location.

The company’s decision is a significant win for Downers Grove and the 351-acre Ellsworth Business Park, located on the west side of the community.

“It’s great news for Ellsworth,” said Cassa, adding the village will use it as a strong marketing tool to promote the business park.

The decision also benefits Downers Grove, Cassa said, because Rexnord clients and executives will patronize restaurants and hotels in the village.

“This is also a big win for the state,” Cassa said. “Illinois doesn’t win a lot of new industrial projects.”

Rexnord Industries is a manufacturer of power transmission, motion and process control products including bearings, couplings, gears, drives, industrial chains and conveying components. The company has 16 divisions, including aerospace, which is the largest.

Plans call for the construction of a new 248,000-square-foot facility that will include aerospace headquarters and research and development facilities, Cassa said.

“They made a decision that the [existing] facility had to be replaced,” he said.

Work on the fast-track construction project is expected to begin in the fall and be completed during the first half of 2019, Cassa said.

About 25 new employees will join the 310 workers already employed at the facility.

“They’re going to replace an old facility with a state-of-the art manufacturing facility,” Cassa said.

Rexnord's aerospace headquarters are currently based at the company's corporate headquarters in Milwaukee.