SALEM LAKES — Vonco Products, a manufacturer of medical fluid devices and pouches, held a ceremonial ground-breaking for a 36,516-square-foot expansion to their western Kenosha County facility Friday, citing a growing need for space due to rising demand and supply chain issues.
Vonco’s facility, located in the Salem Business Park at 10826 250th Ave. in the Trevor neighborhood, was constructed in 2016. The company had previously ben located in Lake Villa in Lake County, Ill. The Trevor facility also has space for an additional 60,000-square-foot expansion in the future.
Keith Smith, Vonco’s president, said that the company has needed the space to expand for some time, recollecting a tour he was given of Vonco facilities before becoming president.
Smith
“My immediate impression was, ‘they’re out of space,’ ” Smith said.
According to the company, Vonco’s need for more space is the result of two intersecting events that have led to significant growth for the company: rising healthcare and medical device demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and a supply chain on the verge of collapse as medical device parts and packaging sits idle on cargo ships.
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The Kenosha Area Business Alliance, Inc. is providing the financing for the expansion. Vonco will continue to rent the building with an option to purchase. KABA will also provide an $800,000 low-interest loan for equipment as part of Vonco’s expansion efforts. The loan will be funded out of the new U.S. Economic Development Administration’s EDA CARES revolving loan fund, designed to assist with the pandemic response.
Growing workforce
According to Smith, Vonco has added more than 60 employees to the Salem facility since coming to Wisconsin.
“We came to Wisconsin with 86 employees, now we have 150,” he said.
That number is expected to grow, with Vonco looking to hire 10 new employees immediately and another 20 before the new expansion construction is completed.
“We don’t see this as an ending chapter,” Smith said, “This is a ‘to be continued.’”
Attendees at Friday’s groundbreaking included: state Rep. Samantha Kerkman, R-Salem Lakes; Salem Lakes Village President Diann Tesar; and Becky Noble, Kenosha Area Business Alliance’s director of marketing .
Tesar said they were grateful to Vonco for initially choosing Salem Lakes for its facility.
“We are very excited for the new opportunities this facility will bring to the village,” Tesar said.
In a statement, Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser congratulated Vonco on the expansion.
“Vonco has an incredible team that are running a great business and because of that are growing to meet their customers’ needs,” Kreuser said, “We are happy to have Vonco here in Kenosha County and excited to see them grow here.”
More information on Vonco is available online at www.vonco.com.
Today in history: Oct. 29
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1929: "Black Tuesday"
In 1929, “Black Tuesday” descended upon the New York Stock Exchange. Prices collapsed amid panic selling and thousands of investors were wiped out as America’s “Great Depression” began.
1956: The Suez Canal
In 1956, during the Suez Canal crisis, Israel invaded Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
1960: California Polytechnic State University Football
In 1960, a chartered plane carrying the California Polytechnic State University football team crashed on takeoff from Toledo, Ohio, killing 22 of the 48 people on board.
1987: Douglas Ginsburg
In 1987, following the confirmation defeat of Robert H. Bork to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, President Ronald Reagan announced his choice of Douglas H. Ginsburg, a nomination that fell apart over revelations of Ginsburg’s previous marijuana use.
1987: Woody Herman
In 1987, Jazz great Woody Herman died in Los Angeles at age 74.
1994: Francisco Martin Duran
In 1994, gunman Francisco Martin Duran fired more than two dozen shots from a semiautomatic rifle at the White House. (Duran was later convicted of trying to assassinate President Bill Clinton and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.)
1998: John Glenn
In 1998, Sen. John Glenn, at age 77, roared back into space aboard the shuttle Discovery, retracing the trail he’d blazed for America’s astronauts 36 years earlier.
2004: Osama Bin Laden
In 2004, four days before Election Day in the U.S., Osama bin Laden, in a videotaped statement, directly admitted for the first time that he’d ordered the September 11 attacks and told Americans “the best way to avoid another Manhattan” was to stop threatening Muslims’ security.
2011: Afghanistan
Ten years ago: A Taliban suicide bomber rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into an armored NATO bus on a busy thoroughfare in Kabul, killing 17 people, including 12 Americans.
2011: Joe Paterno
Ten years ago: Joe Paterno broke Eddie Robinson’s record for victories by a Division I coach with No. 409 in Penn State’s sloppy 10-7 win over Illinois.
2011: Snow Storm
Ten years ago: A “white Halloween” storm with record-setting snowfalls brought down trees across the northeastern U.S., knocking out power to millions; 39 deaths were blamed on the weather.
2012: Superstorm Sandy
In 2012, Superstorm Sandy slammed ashore in New Jersey and slowly marched inland, devastating coastal communities and causing widespread power outages; the storm and its aftermath were blamed for at least 182 deaths in the U.S.
2015: Paul Ryan
In 2015, Paul Ryan, who represented Kenosha County in Congress, was elected the 54th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
2016: Hillary Clinton
Five years ago: Hillary Clinton lashed out at the FBI’s handling of a new email review, leading a chorus of Democratic leaders who declared the bureau’s actions just days before the election were “unprecedented” and “deeply troubling.”
2017: Houston Texans
In 2017, all but 10 members of the Houston Texans took a knee during the national anthem, reacting to a remark from team owner Bob McNair to other NFL owners that “we can’t have the inmates running the prison.”
2020: Hurricane Zeta
One year ago: Six people were dead and millions were without power after Hurricane Zeta tore across the South, leaving shattered buildings and thousands of downed trees as it weakened to a tropical storm.
