Vonco Products plans to add 25 jobs with a 36,000-square-foot expansion of its facility in the Salem Business Park in Kenosha County.
The need for the expansion is being driven by increased demand for health care and medical device products from the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain issues that have left medical device parts and packaging on idling cargo ships.
Vonco, which
moved from Illinois to its 80,000-square-foot building in western Kenosha County in 2016, reengaged in
making personal protective equipment following the onset of the pandemic, making pouches for hand sanitizer, isolation gowns, gloves and show covers. It also makes infection prevention products like form-fitting medical device covers, specimen collection bags and biohazard transport bags.
“Our customers rely on us, more so now than ever, to help them both meet increased consumer demand and shift their supply chain strategy back to the United States," said Keith Smith, chief executive officer of Vonco. "This expansion enables us to deliver on both by investing in new capital equipment and creating high-quality jobs for skilled workers. I’m excited to see where the future leads.”
The Kenosha Area Business Alliance and Kenosha County partnered to develop the Salem Business Park. KAMA will provide financing for the expansion of Vonco’s building while the company will continue to rent the building with an option to purchase it.
KABA is also providing an $800,000 low-interest loan for equipment as part of the expansion project.
“Vonco is a success story and the kind of company we are glad we can support,” said Brock Portilia, director of finance and administration at KABA. “Since coming to Kenosha County, and through the pandemic, they have continued to grow and expand their product offerings, workforce, equipment, customers, and now their physical space.”
BizTimes
reported on the company's expansion plans in September based on documents submitted to the Department of Natural Resources. Those documents, dated April 30, called for a 79,000-square-foot expansion.
Smith said in an email the company initially sought approvals for the larger area to make sure it would be able to continue to expand in the future.
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