News & Events

Cybersecurity defense is now a concentration in the computer science major offered by the Department of Computer Science in the Martin D. Walker School of Engineering at Bourbonnais’ Olivet Nazarene University. Reed Hall of Science is the home for the university’s new cybersecurity lab. Enrollment is now open for fall 2018 to students who want to enter this demand discipline.

The Economic Alliance tracks industrial growth in the Greater Chicago community of Kankakee County, Illinois, releasing the numbers annually to partners, investment prospects, the media and other community stakeholders. From 2014-2017, the community saw $1.5 billion in major capital investment.

Silva International has announced a new expansion that will nearly double its 190,000-square-foot footprint in Momence. It recently started an $8 million, 180,000-square-foot expansion — the bulk of which will be used as a zero-oxygen warehouse.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) announced today that it will build a full-range merchant bar quality (MBQ) mill at its existing bar steel mill located in Bourbonnais, Illinois. The MBQ mill will have an annual capacity of 500,000 tons and is expected to cost $180 million. The project will take approximately two years to complete.

Restoration Works Inc. of Bradley, Illinois, a leading company in the field of restoring and remanufacturing windows and other wooden components of historic buildings, has been named winner of a 2017 Illinois Sustainability Award.

The Economic Alliance, in partnership with the Village of Bourbonnais and Kankakee County Convention & Visitors Bureau, kicked off the 2017 7UP Chicago Bears Summer Training Camp at Olivet Nazarene University with DIG BOURBONNAIS on August 2. Attendees included Greater Chicago industrial real estate brokers, site selectors, utility reps and other development partners along with local business leadership. Special thanks to celebrity guest, 1985 Chicago Bears Super Bowl champ and WBBM Newsradio play-by-play analyst for Chicago Bears Radio Tom Thayer!

This summer Brickstone Brewery is installing two new 300-barrel stainless steel fermentation tanks and a 150-barrel stainless steel bright tank into their production facility. To put that in perspective, a half-barrel of beer is 15.5 gallons, 124 pints or 165 12-ounce cans. These things hold a lot.

Hoekstra Transportation is growing. After 25 years at its current location in St. Anne, Illinois, the company is moving to Kankakee’s Eastgate Industrial Park. “We’re going from 15,000 square feet to about 32,000 square feet,” said company President Steve Hoekstra. The move will allow the company to better serve its employees and customer and position for future expansion.

CSL Behring has purchased the neighboring 74-acre shuttered Bunge Edible Oil property along Illinois Route 50 in Bourbonnais Township. The acquisition, a move made to build capacity for future expansion of the global bioscience firm in Illinois, means the company will own 138 prime acres at the southwest section of Armour Road and Illinois Route 50. Bunge ceased edible oil production at the end of 2016.

Established in 2013, Manteno-based gluten-free, non-GMO and organic pizza maker Urban Farmer has 50 employees and has expanded to two shifts, five days a week. It also plans another expansion at the 10-acre site within the next year. And, in December, the company purchased the Peotone-based Teresa’s Pizza, a low-cost frozen pizza found in many Midwest grocery store.