Danville and Rantoul seek a new diversity of industries
By JODI HECKEL
News-Gazette Staff Writer

   DANVILLE – When General Motors left Tilton in 1995, much of the semitrailer truck traffic that made daily trips to and from GM's Powertrain foundry left as well.
   For Burke Spring & Alignment, which does suspension and alignment work and sells auto parts, that meant business driving away to another area.
   "The truck drivers had to leave and diversify and go elsewhere," said manager Larry Burke. "Several of them went out of business because of it."
   Burke adapted to the change by intensifying advertising to increase the family-car and pickup-truck business. Burke Spring has continued to grow and recently opened a new, 21,000-square-foot building on East Ross Lane.
   For more than 50 years, the GM foundry produced iron castings for automobile parts, paid good wages to thousands of union workers, and provided a market for dozens of suppliers of goods and services to the plant.
   Similarly in Rantoul, about 40 minutes away, the Chanute Air Force Base was the city's largest employer, providing about 1,100 jobs, before it closed in 1993.
   In the last two decades, both cities have learned to survive by diversifying their economic bases. Officials say they will continue to use their strengths in the new century to attract new businesses and help existing ones grow.
   Many companies in Vermilion County that counted GM as a direct, or indirect, source of business began diversifying after the recession in the 1970s, long before the car manufacturer announced it would close the foundry.
   "By the time we got to the (GM) closure, suppliers had learned a very serious lesson, so they diversified their customer base, and GM wasn't their sole customer," said Vicki Stewart, president of the Danville Area Economic Development Corp. "We were pleasantly surprised at the minimal impact (the closure had) on the suppliers."
   Rantoul residents also considered, several years before it actually occurred, what might happen to the city if their largest employer left.
   Ray Boudreaux, director of Rantoul aviation and economic development, said a threat to close Chanute Air Force Base in the 1970s spurred efforts to create an economic development organization. The Rantoul Industrial Development Corp. bought land just west of Interstate 57, created an industrial park and started seeking new businesses.
   "So when the shoe did drop, and they did decide to close the military base, we had several industries up and operating," Boudreaux said. "One of the reasons we did so well in economic redevelopment was because of industries that came to town in the '70s and '80s. They were still here. And because now we had space, and we could offer it to them very, very cheaply, they could expand and bring new jo
   "So when the shoe did drop, and they did decide to close the military base, we had several industries up and operating," Boudreaux said. "One of the reasons we did so well in economic redevelopment was because of industries that came to town in the '70s and '80s. They were still here. And because now we had space, and we could offer it to them very, very cheaply, they could expand and bring new jobs to us."
   Textron Automotive bought two DaimlerChrysler plants in Rantoul in 1993, and it was one of several companies that helped the town survive the closing of the base.
   Textron, which makes instrument panels and interior and exterior trim for DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi, opened a third plant in a hangar on the former Air Force base in 1995. The company is now expanding that operation, and its employment has grown from about 750 in 1993 to almost 1,200 now.
   The former base also houses a Caradco plant to make windows; an Ameritech cellular-call center; a retirement center; and an academy for young- sters released from the Illinois Department of Corrections. Now, about 84 percent of the buildings on the base are occupied.
   "Essentially, we didn't want one big company to locate here and then close and leave us high and dry," Boudreaux said. "When some of the early work was done to try and bring United Airlines here, most people are glad we didn't get them. We would have been another one-horse town."
   Stewart said Danville's mix of businesses – from Blue Cross/Blue Shield to McLane Midwest Co., a distribution firm, to CCL Custom Manufacturing, which packages aerosol products – is important not only to the area's economy, but also to companies looking at locating there.
   "Just like it's important for us to be diverse, it's important to outsiders to come into a community that's well-mixed in its economic structure," she said. "It's not
   just plastics firms or state government services firms. It has a broad base that supports the core economy.
   "And in smaller communities such as ourselves, it's important we don't have one key player that sets the tone for the wage and benefit structure, those types of things."
   Danville has about 337 acres in the city's Northgate, Eastgate and Southgate industrial parks. But Stewart said that land will likely be gone in about 512 years at the most, and the city must plan for continued growth.
   City officials are now studying a beltline route around Danville to open up land between the Eastgate area and the Vermilion County Airport for development. Engineers could recommend a route sometime in March.
   Stewart said companies are looking for sites that have ready access and utility service.
   "All a business has to do is cut the curb and go. They don't have to be worried about those things," she said. "Site-selection experts tell you they can find 'green fields' anywhere. Companies will put their capital into things that can return revenue back, but public roads, the things they consider public services, don't go in that equation."
   The Vermilion County Airport Authority has begun plans for an industrial park that would accommodate smaller, high-tech companies.
   An Effingham developer has been renovating and subdividing the old GM foundry, now called Vermilion Industrial Center. It has attracted three tenants: a recycling center for aggregate and concrete, a machine shop and an Illinois Power generating station.
   At the former base in Rantoul, city officials had 312 square miles of buildings, houses, streets, electric systems, and sewer and water lines already in place. But the infrastructure needed a lot of work.
   "We've done about $6 million in water, sewer and electric improvements," Boudreaux said. "We've done two major road projects, and we're getting ready for a third."
   Rantoul has done work elsewhere in the city as well, including upgrading its electric system with eight new generators and new substations; investing $1.5 million in upgrading its water plant; installing a fiber-optic network to provide Internet access; expanding its natural-gas system on the former Air Force base; and improving truck access to industrial sites.
   Boudreaux said the existing buildings on the base can be marketed to back-office operations, such as the Ameritech call center.
   Gary Adams, village administrator, said the city's fiber-optic system and its proximity to the University of Illinois make it attractive to high-tech companies. He also said the city has some of the lowest utility rates for water, sewer and electricity in the area.
   "To an industry that uses a lot of electricity, you could be talking about many thousands of dollars of savings," he said.
   Stewart said quality of life has become increasingly important to companies in deciding where to locate a new plant. She said new housing developments in Danville will help make company officials willing to move to the community.
   Besides land and infrastructure concerns, local leaders have been working together to develop a trained work force, something Stewart said companies are looking for.
   "Because of technology, it is virtually impossible for this community to stay competitive if education and training are not a top priority," she said.
   The economic development corporation has helped develop "clusters," partnerships between local businesses and educators to promote job opportunities and help train workers with the skills needed for various industries. They include metals manufacturers, distribution and warehouse firms, and information technology businesses that employ computer, customer service and accounting workers.
   Stewart said training new workers is essential to helping businesses grow, such as Automation International Inc., which designs and manufactures welding and automation equipment, and Danville Metal Stamping, which produces fabricated metal components for aircraft. Both companies have expanded in the last few years, but they have found it hard to hire qualified machinists or computer technologists.
   Training efforts, including fast-track apprenticeship programs and basic courses for entry-level employees, will not only help provide skilled workers for existing businesses, they can help attract new ones, Stewart said.
   "We can go to the niche companies and say, 'These things are in place in Vermilion County, Illinois, for your company.' So it's a target marketing tool as well as a retention tool," she said.
   With Rantoul's unemployment rate below 2 percent in January, companies there are facing a shortage of workers.
   Boudreaux said some local industries would like to increase their production, but they must hire more employees first. Other companies that have considered locating in Rantoul are worried about finding an available work force.
   "They are concerned about whether they should come to a place where the unemployment rate is 2 percent," he said. "They are afraid they can't find employees. Fortunately, we have employees that come from Danville, Decatur, all over central Illinois."
   Boudreaux said he is looking at ways to keep the town's young people in the area, such as providing job shadowing and a job fair for Rantoul's industries scheduled for this spring. The city is also trying to spur housing growth to bring in new residents.
   "The downside to having almost full employment is: You don't have an available work force," Adams said. "One thing we're working on is expanding residential development. We've got a good community, but we need to attract more residential growth and quality subdivisions. We'll bring more people to town; then you have more workers."

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