For a summary of this cluster in our region, click here.

Transportation Industry Heavily Represented in Rockford Area

6 Major Plants in 120-Mile Radius; Cluster Also Attractive to Other Industries

The automotive and on & off road vehicle industry is the most important industry in the United States. Illinois is one of the nation's largest auto producers, employing more than 35,000 people at 320-plus firms and supporting more than 1,000,000 jobs in related industries. 

Central Location
Northern Illinois has an ideal business climate for auto and on & off road vehicle plants and suppliers. The large and small corporations that call it home take advantage of its central location. And, it boasts an excellent rail, air and road transportation system that makes it easy to reach Midwestern, North American and worldwide markets.

Supportive Business Environment
The U.S. Customs Port of Entry in Rockford and foreign-trade zone benefits help reduce costs for automotive and on & off road vehicle companies that do business globally. Local governments understand and support these industries. Utilities systems are robust and reliable, and available in conjunction with improved sites.

6 Major Players
Fiat, Ford and Mitsubishi all have major manufacturing plants in northern Illinois, and GM just idled a plant in southern Wisconsin. Ford set up its first-ever Supplier Park in North America in northern Illinois in 2004.  Chrysler (now Fiat) invested more than $450 million into its Belvidere plant and relocated seven suppliers to support this plant. Northern Illinois also boasts the corporate headquarters and manufacturing plants of Caterpillar, the largest manufacturer of construction equipment in the world, and John Deere & Co., the largest manufacturer of tractors and agricultural equipment in the world.

Consider Rockford Area
Rockford, a world leader in the production of machine tools, auto parts and primary and fabricated metals has a well-developed local infrastructure that supports the growing international trade of auto and on & off road vehicle parts.

This rich cluster of transportation manufacturers makes the Rockford area highly attractive to other transportation, manufacturing and R&D-related employers. Jacob’s Engineering (formerly Carter Burgess), a major national site selection and architectural/engineering firm, determined that the Rockford area’s infrastructure and business climate is well suited for transportation equipment manufacturing companies (aerospace, “on and off” road vehicle manufacturer, R&D engineering).

Strengths in Local Cluster

• Highly skilled workforce
• Access to R&D, engineering, and technical talent
• Access to air, land, sea transportation
• Short distance to auto plants
• Good regional suppliers
• Large, critical mass of companies
• Access to supply chain and component manufacturers Good job and wage impact
• Training and higher education access
• High quality of life and culture
• Available air service - Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD)

Concentrated Manufacturing Talent Above National Average

• 7.2 times, Machinery Manufacturing employment and R&D
• 4.2 times, Metals Manufacturing and R&D
• 3.4 times, Transportation Equipment Manufacturing and R&D
• 1.5 times above the Illinois average in engineer employment

Leading Manufacturing Community

• 1st in aerospace manufacturing in Illinois
  
• 2nd in manufacturing employment in Illinois
  
• 2nd in “on & off” road vehicle manufacturing in Illinois
  
• 2nd in industrial machine manufacturing in Illinois

Incentives

• Good regional suppliers
  
• Good labor/management relations
  
• Large regional location activity
  
• Good job and wage impact

Some transportation equipment manufacturing companies currently located in the Rockford area include:

• Chrysler LLC
• Woodward Governor Co
• Bergstrom Inc
• Gunite Corp
• Warner Electric LLC
• Austin-Westran LLC
• Rockford GKN Inc
• GE Aviation Systems LLC
• E & T Controls Inc
• Mag Aerospace Industries Inc
• Lamb Assembly & Test LLC
• Aircraft Gear Corp
• Driveline Systems LLC
• British Autoguard Limited
• Precision Governors LLC
• Midwest Converters Inc
• Rock Valley Antique Auto Parts
• Park License Service Inc
• Wells Engberg Co Inc
• Clutch Systems Inc
• Folk Race Cars
• Tony Nardi
• Triangle Assembly Inc
• Tan-Rat Motor Cycle Access
• Truck Components Inc
• Swath International Limited
• Hopperstad Customs
• Specialty Welding
• Wiese's Engine Rebuild & Mch