Smart Motion Robotics held the groundbreaking for its new headquarters and manufacturing facility in the Sycamore Prairie Business Park on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010.
Smart Motion President Scott Gilmore and Director of Administration Vicki Gilmore were on hand with Sycamore City Manager Bill Nicklas to celebrate construction at the 2 acre site located at 805 Thornwood.
“We welcome Smart Motion to Sycamore and are pleased that they selected our community to produce cutting-edge robotics systems,” said Mayor Ken Mundy. “We are strong advocates of business and strive to maintain a competitive and friendly environment for production operations.”
“We look forward to a long and productive relationship with Sycamore and DeKalb County,” noted Gilmore. “We found the community to be extremely helpful and accommodating in the planning process.” he added. “Several of our employees are residents and they were strong advocates for a Sycamore location.”
The 32,000 square foot facility will house 18 full-time workers engaged in the design, assembly, programming and testing of robotic solutions for domestic and international manufacturing and packaging clients.
The building was designed by Kashekash Associates, Ltd. of Medina, IL. It will be constructed of energy efficient precast concrete and will include 5,400 square feet of office space.
General Contractor Jim Lackowski is serving as Project Manager for the construction. Lackowski has 40 years of experience in construction including 20 years in development and general contracting.
When complete, Smart Motion will relocate existing operations in Gilberts and Sycamore to the new building. Smart Motion has already leased two spec buildings in the Sycamore Prairie Business Park. This has allowed the firm to expand operations while their new building is being constructed. Completion and occupancy are scheduled for January 15, 2011.
The building is designed to accommodate the company’s projected growth with employment increasing to 30 workers in the near future. The company employs skilled technicians and engineers with salaries ranging from $45,000 to $75,000 per year.
“We appreciate the support of our community partners in putting together an incentive package that was instrumental in the selection of Sycamore,” noted Nicklas. The project was supported by tax abatement agreements with the City of Sycamore, Sycamore School District, DeKalb County Board, Sycamore Park District, Sycamore Public Library, Kishwaukee College and Cortland Township.
“Sycamore and DeKalb County have had an outstanding history of innovation in agriculture, manufacturing and technology,” said Paul Borek, Executive Director of the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation. “We offer the resources of Northern Illinois University, Kishwaukee College and fiber optic telecommunications to contribute to the success of businesses like Smart Motion.”
Robotic automation is intended to help businesses reduce costs, create efficiencies and improve product quality. One of Smart Motion’s most notable systems is SmartPacker, the egg industry’s leading robotic egg packing solution. The SmartPacker was the first automation system to succeed in transforming the egg industry packing process.