Heritage Festival features fun, food, fitness - Village of South Holland

SOUTH HOLLAND TODAY AUGUST 2006 5
By Marlene Cook
Chicago-Wilcox Manufacturing had its
beginning 100 years ago as E. A. Wilcox
Manufacturing Company, offering a single
product – a self-sealing gasket.
That one product, invented and patented by
E. A. Wilcox, kick-started the company’s
steady growth.
Steve Anthony, current president and
owner, said, “My grandfather became a
partner in 1908. They had only one salesman
and the three of them prospered.”
It was in 1925 that the company
consolidated with the Chicago Gasket
Company to form the present company. They
built a 20,000 square foot plant to
accommodate the power, petroleum and
industrial fields.
With continued growth, the company
purchased property in South Holland in 1967
and built the present 40,000 sq.ft. plant.
Anthony said, “In fact, my father and his
good friend, Mr. Inwood of Calumet Carton,
purchased the property together back then.”
Chicago-Wilcox is located behind Calumet
Carton, also run by the next generation.
“My father ran the business and spent
every day here until shortly before he died in
1992 at age 74. He had gone blind and didn’t
do much work anymore, but it was necessary
for him to be here just the same.”
Steve started working for the company
during the summers while in school. After he
graduated from college in 1969 he began
working full-time.
The business thrust continues to be gaskets
for the power industry. Two customers, G &
W Electronics in Blue Island and The Crane
Company, originally of Chicago, have been
with them for the entire 100 years.
“Some of our customers included the BP
Refinery and its predecessors in Whiting,
Clark in Blue Island, and Mobile in East
Chicago and then Joliet,” he said.
Chicago-Wilcox’s commitment has been
not only to customers, but to employees as
BUSINESS
VITALITY
The Chicago-Wilcox Mfg. Co. management team rejoices in a selection of the gaskets
that have helped the company achieve 100 years of business success. The team
includes (l to r) Ed Gardiner, Director of Administration and Information Systems;
Steve Anthony, President; and Mike Sullivan, Director of Manufacturing.
Chicago-Wilcox celebrates centennial
well. During the Great Depression, the plant
went on two-day/three-day work weeks.
Employees worked two days one week and
three the next, thus avoiding any layoffs.
Of its 43 current employees, five are
retiring after 50 years service and one at 60
years. They’ve employed three generations of
families.
“Our product will never be out sourced to
China,” Anthony said. “Our product is too
inexpensive to spend the money on shipping.
Companies that move to China do not take
our product with them for the same reason.
We do service some customers in Mexico,
but most of our business is within 150 miles
of South Holland.”
In 1999, Chicago-Wilcox merged with DH
Die Cutting in Chicago. The expanded
technology, knowledge and capabilities
enables the company to offer a broader range
of product, and die cutting has become 55
percent of the business.
The product line has grown to include soft
gaskets for the lighting industry using
materials such as cork, sponge, fiberglass and
rubber.
The president of the former DH Die
Cutting, Dave Hathaway, and most of his
employees, moved to the South Holland plant
with the merger.
“We enjoy being in South Holland,” he
said. “The Village administrators work very
hard to maintain stability. If I had one
suggestion, it would be that there be more
incentives for business retention, not only for
new businesses.
South Holland is a good location for
transportation. It keeps us close to our
customer base and it’s much easier to service
customers face to face.”
He added, “We are not looking at the end
of 100 years, but to the beginning of the next
100 years. I have loyal employees who will be
able to run the company when I retire. They
love this business as much as I do.” ■
WATCH WHAT YOU HEAT
Cooking for many is a daily chore,
one that is so integrated into the daily
routine that cooks can sometimes forget
that if something goes
wrong, serious injuries
could result.
“Cooking fires within
the home have become
one of the main causes of
fires,” said South Holland
Fire Inspector Randy
Stegenga. “We have seen
an increase in fires due to
non-attended cooking and dirty or
greasy stoves and ovens.”
The South Holland Fire Department
offers the following tips to help keep
your kitchen safe:
✔ Stay in the kitchen when you are
cooking food, especially frying, grilling,
broiling or boiling it.
Marlene Cook honored
✔ If you must leave the kitchen, turn
off the stove.
✔ If you are simmering, baking or
roasting food, check it
regularly and remain in
the home while food is
cooking.
✔ Keep kids away from
cooking areas.
✔ If you have young
children in the home, use
the stove’s back burners
as much as possible and
turn pot handles inward.
✔ Keep anything that can burn away
from the stove top.
✔ Clean up food and grease from
burners.
✔ Never use aluminum foil or metal
objects in a microwave oven – they can
cause a fire or burn hazard and damage
the oven. ■
Counseling Center opens
South Holland officials and business leaders welcomed another new business to the Village
with the grand opening and ribbon cutting at Chicago Christian Counseling Center, 16107
LaSalle St.
Longtime South Holland Today writer
Marlene Cook was honored by the Village
Board last month after announcing her
retirement as correspondent for the Village
newspaper. In a writing career that has
spanned four decades, Cook won numerous
awards. She will continue to write the
popular “Ask South Holland Today”column
in this publication.
Liberty Furniture groundbreaking
Mayor Don A. De Graff, members of the Village Board of Trustees and Administration along
with representatives of the South Holland Business Association joined with the executives of
Hamilton Partners and staff of Liberty Furniture in celebration of the groundbreaking of a new
200,000 square foot facility for Liberty Furniture.