Springboard Manufacturing to take over Cardinal Health plant in Crystal Lake

The company taking over Cardinal Health’s facility in Crystal Lake, a health care equipment manufacturer based out of Indiana, has plans to retain all the plant’s workers, company officials confirmed.

Springboard Manufacturing, based in South Bend, Indiana, is set to take over the Cardinal Health facility off Tek Drive in Crystal Lake starting in January, Springboard Chairman and CEO Douglas Constable said.

Springboard will lease the building from Cardinal for 10 years to start, Constable said. The goal eventually will be to expand how much of the facility is being used, as it’s only about half right now.

“We are excited to establish our presence in Illinois, and particularly in Crystal Lake,” he said.

Constable’s confirmation comes a couple of weeks after the Northwest Herald reported that Cardinal Health was planning to lease out the building to another company, which resulted in the state posting a layoff notice for more than 200 employees.

The company announced in April plans to close the plant by mid-2023.

In early November, city officials involved with the agreement confirmed a new company was coming in, but declined to specify which one. They added that the plan was for all the plant’s workers to keep their job.

Constable said on Monday “our intent is to keep [every worker] on,” which is around 275 total workers when factoring in both full-time and temporary jobs. That total could be doubled in the coming years as Springboard expands into the entire space.

Cardinal Health spokesperson Erich Timmerman also confirmed in an email that Springboard was planning to lease the building out.

The layoff notice from Cardinal was a precautionary measure, Constable said, but will not result in anyone losing their job. On the contrary, Springboard plans to acknowledge benefits tied to longevity at Cardinal, he said.

“We’re making sure any employee here gets credit for the time they’ve worked in this plant with Cardinal,” he said. “If they’re a 20-year employee, we’re making sure they’re coming to us as a 20-year employee.”

The plant will also continue to manufacture the same products, Constable said. The only new training that will be required is on some of the internal processes for how Springboard operates, which is already being started.

“Come January when we take over, everything will operate under our computer systems, so we’re getting them up to speed,” he said.

Crystal Lake Mayor Haig Haleblian said in early November the change was “just great news.”

“It was really distressing that [Cardinal Health] was going to pull out,” he said. “It’s nice to know that someone has decided that the facility is one that certainly can add to their portfolio and add to their business.”

Cardinal Health manufactures health care products, including pharmaceuticals and medical and laboratory products, according to its website. It also offers various health care services to hospitals and clinics. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, the company operates in more than 30 countries with about 44,000 employees worldwide, according to its website.

Springboard is a contract manufacturer that specializes in injection molding and other related processes, Constable said. They produce products for many medical devices and support other industries. They have locations in Indiana, California and Nebraska.