"You can't go a week these days without seeing some kind of article or news report on the health benefits of soy," observes Jim Skiff, President of U.S. Soy, LLC, which recently opened a soybean processing facility on a 28-acre site in Mattoon.

A key player in the U.S. Soy deal was Mattoon-based Coles Together Economic Development Council. Executive Director Jeanne Gustafson is excited about U.S. Soy, given the international ties it will develop in the soy market and soy research.

The company will initially employ 20 and plans to expand.

U.S. Soy's reasons for moving to Mattoon: facility availability and a prime location.

"We were shown a vacant, state-of-the-art facility that was in excellent condition," Skiff says. "It was not only designed for food-grade operations, but had equipment that was virtually identical to what we needed."

A third factor was the proximity to the University of Illinois' International Soybean Program. "We have already had a tour group from Albania here through the program," he adds.

While tours are nice, customers are even better, and Skiff is highly optimistic. "We receive requests for information on a daily basis from customers around the world, and we're not even up and running yet," he says.

The Quincy area is experiencing growth, including a new bottling facility, said Jim Mentesti, president of the Great River Economic Development Foundation.

Wis-Pak, Inc., a Wisconsin-based Pepsi-Cola bottler, opened a new 168,000 square foot facility that employs about 55 people, according to Vice President of Operations John Uttech.

"We opened our facility here because we saw the Quincy area as a growing market in central and western Illinois," he says. "We also received a great deal of assistance from the Great River Economic Development Foundation."

Manufacturing growth

One such firm is Flex-N-Gate Corp., of Urbana, which manufactures pickup truck bumpers.

"Due to our expanding business, we needed to add a new production facility," explains William Goldstein, corporate secretary/general counsel.

A favorable rate from Illinois Power helped facilitate the expansion.

"We are experiencing very strong development in certain areas of our territory," says T.J. Holt, market development manager for Illinois Power. "While the overall strength of the economy deserves most of the credit, we also offer a lot of services that can attract and retain businesses."

Distribution central
In DeKalb, a major distribution center is taking advantage of north-central Illinois' excellent transportation access. Prime Group Realty Trust has reached an agreement to develop 50 acres for Goodyear Tire & Rubber at its new 1 million square foot logistics center.

The $25 million center will be located in DeKalb South Industrial Park, which is near Interstate 88 and Northern Illinois University and has quick access to airports in Chicago and Rockford.

The facility will initially employ more than 120.

In Southern Illinois, the United States' newest airport, MidAmerica Airport, is helping to relieve congestion at Lambert-St. Louis International.

The facility is built on 4,400 acres adjacent to Scott Air Force Base at the intersection of Interstates 64 and Illinois Route 4 in St. Clair County.

Also in Southern Illinois, the 812,000 square foot Dial Distribution Center opened this year in the Gateway Commerce Center in Madison County. The new warehouse is Dial's largest U.S. distribution site. It handles 40 percent of the company's total volume of consumer products. It is strategically located near interstates I-270, I-255 and I-55.