Des Plaines-based Feldco saw the changes in the crumbling housing market early and began to plan, said Michael Cox, Feldco director of corporate development.
While other home-improvement companies were laying off workers, Feldco kept its 170-strong staff busy with two major expansions into Indianapolis and Madison, Wis. It allowed the company to move ahead.
"If people weren't buying or selling their homes, they still needed windows or they still needed to upgrade to take advantage of energy savings," Cox said.
Cox said Feldco needed to find a way to meet the needs of customers and still balance economic conditions, just like many other companies around Cook and Lake Counties.
Another company, Schaumburg-based Links Technology Solutions, has weathered the dot-com bust and now the current recession. But as technology evolves and expands for businesses, Links has continued to evolve as well, said founder and Chairman Brian Burke. "People know they have to do stuff online and have to make it better and better," said Burke. "It's a business that just doesn't go away." Links also is starting a new business line with new software called Tariff Shark that targets gas and oil pipeline companies, including utilities that need to report tariffs to the government. "I'm an optimist and I don't think things are nearly as bad as they've been portrayed," Burke said. "Technology, overall, has been good."
Around the region, many companies are managing to survive - and even thrive - in a tough economy. In Lake County, the Holiday Inn Express opened in March in Lake Zurich, and has been booked ever since. "We're getting into the busy season now with weddings and family reunions," said general manager Jessica Neville. While leisure travel has taken a back seat during the recession, many in the hospitality industry suffered. Still the Holiday Inn group saw a need in the Lake County area, filled it and offered promotions and quality as well, she said. "We've already exceeded our expectations and are doing even better," Neville said.
Also, Hawkeye Automotive in Lake Zurich has seen a boost, most likely because people are keeping their cars longer. "Because people have been in unfortunate situations, they aren't buying new cars. And they choose to repair what they have," said owner Vic Pfammatter. Since most people depend on their cars as their main source of transportation, it's vital for job interviews and family needs, he said. "I feel good knowing that friends and family trust me enough to keep their old cars running until things do turn around," Pfammatter said.
These and other businesses that continue to thrive make Frank Brisbois an eternal optimist. "I can feel the end of the recession coming, but it's just not gone entirely yet," said the interim president of Lake County Partners, Lake County's economic developer with offices in Libertyville. Several major corporations have been scouting sites for new headquarters around the area, he said. He's also worked with several smaller businesses, including laundromats, hotels and manufacturers, interested in opening. Brisbois declined to name those companies due to confidentiality issues. Current projects include Trifinity Partners, a maker of air fresheners that is leasing a site in Waukegan and ZF Industries, breaking ground to make auto transmissions and car parts in Vernon Hills. "There's no question, and I don't want to overstate this, but I can feel things are turning around in Lake County," Brisbois said.
A gradual economic recovery is expected and could lead to a so-called jobless recovery, when work-force levels are among the last to return, said Rick Mattoon, economic researcher for the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago. "There's not much pressure to bring back people to work," Mattoon said. He also said people are conserving their savings more aggressively now. Some could go back to their old ways of buying, or they may change their behavior in order to make up for what they lost in their investments.
But the Chicago and suburban region has a diversified economy, which can show strength and some sectors will perform better, he said. A mix of industries also helps, so the area isn't reliant on just one type of business. Area housing could start to return more quickly, unlike more harder hit areas in Florida or Arizona, where they need to burn off more inventory of homes sitting on the market. Education levels here are also high and that makes our work force more attractive in the long term, Mattoon said. Health-care services will increase, especially as the population ages, and business and professional services offer a wealth of knowledge and experience. Professions such as bookkeeping, accounting, consulting and others could help boost the ranks. And while Chicago tends to be the economic leader, the suburbs often follow that lead.
