Press Conference & Tour Celebrating Manufacturing and MakerFest

Great River Economic Development Foundation (GREDF) and its partners are celebrating Manufacturing Day and kicking off the 2018 Tri-State MakerFest. All were invited to a press conference and manufacturing facility tour on Friday, October 5 at 9:00 AMin the new Knapheide Manufacturing Facility – 1848 Westphalia Strasse, Quincy, IL.

This past year brought the addition of aluminum to Knapheide’s product line-up, as well as growth in their workforce with the addition of 140 new employees. Latest developments include an expansion to their engineering lab, which features new testing capabilities, a maintenance expansion, a finish and trim addition and new roads to help with receiving supplies and staging loads.

“Our region has always had a strong nationwide manufacturing history that’s thrived thanks to a hardworking community,” said President & CEO, Bo Knapheide. “Our company been fortunate to grow over our 170 years and we are excited about the future. It’s extremely important that our region continues to work to be competitive in order to attract new businesses and the needed employees to fill those jobs.”

Marcel Wagner, GREDF president began the press conference followed by, Workforce Innovation Board (WIB) director Blanche Shoup. HOMEBANK president, Mark Hayes spoke on the upcoming MakerFest, with Mayor Kyle Moore presenting the Governor’s Manufacturing Day Proclamation. The press conference concluded with words from Knapheide Present & CEO, Bo Knapheide, and tours of the facility were offered immediately following the press conference.

“We look forward to hosting this years Tri-State MakerFest, as we open the event up to all employment industries,” states Angela Caldwell, director of workforce development at GREDF. “It is important for our students, job seekers and the public to see all the regional opportunities available to grow our workforce.”

Participating businesses and organizations include:

Archer Daniels Midland

Blessing Health System

Craig Industries

Dot Foods, Inc.

First Bankers Trust

First Mid-Illinois Bank & Trust

H & B Tooling/Sparks Maintenance

Herald-Whig

Hollister-Whitney Elevator

HomeBank

John Wood Community College

Knapheide Manufacturing

Lakeside Casting Solutions

Manchester Tank

Quincy Area Vocational & Technical Center

Quincy University

Sisbro, Inc.

Titan International, Inc.

Workforce Innovation Board

MakerFest is sponsored by HOMEBANK and in partnership with John Wood Community College, Workforce Innovation Board of Western IL, West Central Region Education for Employment System #240 / Quincy Area Vocational & Technical Center.

For more information, contact Joi Cuartero Austin at GREDF (217) 223-4313.

Great River Economic Development Foundation is a 501(c)6 not-for-profit organization with a mission to maintain and GROW the economic vitality of the Quincy and Adams County, IL region through the retention and expansion of existing businesses and the attraction of new businesses to our entire region.

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