Government & Private Sector Alignment brings mutual benefit

Working Together Towards a Common Goal

We, at HARTING, believe that aligning goals between government and the private sector is the key to expanding and bringing jobs to a region as important to HARTING as the Unites States.

This was the goal that former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and HARTING aimed for when they first started discussing HARTING’s expansion. HARTING customer demand had increased, and HARTING needed the ability to offer their customers in-region component manufacturing. This would make HARTING supply chains even more resilient and offer the agile service that customers demand.

Governor Rauner had a focus on bringing manufacturing jobs to Illinois. Rauner and HARTING were introduced at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago in 2016. Realizing they had mutual goals, they worked closely on how to make this a reality.

THE ROAD TO SUCCESS

HARTING and Governor Rauner’s administration, which included Intersect Illinois, held several meetings with HARTING where the company laid out their expectations to expand their footprint in the region. This included a face-to-face meeting at HARTING in Elgin, IL.

Governor Rauner traveled to Europe in 2018 with a delegation to visit the HARTING headquarters in Espelkamp, Germany. There he personally met with the Harting family and discussed why Illinois was the right region for the planned expansion.

“Meeting the Harting family was an important step in this process,” Governor Rauner said. “I went there to get their commitment to expand in Illinois. They told me there was competition from other states, but in the end, Illinois proved to be the best choice.”

In 2018, HARTING Americas and Governor Rauner announced a multi-year facility expansion at the German company’s worldclass North American Headquarters in Elgin. The new investment focused on increasing capabilities for injection molding and die-casting processes.

There, Governor Rauner highlighted the importance of building relationships with businesses by saying, “It is essential that Illinois continues to foster a competitive business environment that not only keeps great companies like HARTING here but attracts new ones from across the globe.”

LOCALIZATION REDUCES RISK, ENABLES CUSTOMIZATION, AND CREATES JOBS

HARTING’s expansion in 2018 was part of HARTING’s long-established strategy of in-region manufacturing. Manufacturing products in multiple regions makes a company’s supply chain much more resilient and supports agility in changing customer needs.

Over the past three years, HARTING Americas has seen the payoff of in-region manufacturing through double digit growth and deeper co-development with leading US companies. As a result, the company has brought more jobs to Illinois.

“I am glad what we started in 2016 is paying off,” Governor Rauner said. “Illinois has always been a great place for manufacturing and for business. I am proud to see our work in action and providing to our local Illinois economy.”

EFFORTS PAY OFF: STABILITY IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

The work that HARTING and the state of Illinois did together in 2018 was critical to the company’s ability to support North American customer needs during the pandemic. By 2020, the company was already producing locally, which ensured product was available.

Having this strategy in place allowed the company to continue providing reliable connectivity technologies to their customers at the most critical moments. When unprecedented times created unprecedented needs HARTING was able to rise to the occasion. HARTING products were used to power mission critical, life-saving applications, including ventilators and other medical devices.

Jon DeSouza, President & CEO of HARTING Americas highlighted the importance of being able to support these applications, “A key part of our vision statement is ‘We want to shape the future with technologies for people.’ For us that means that whatever we do as a business, we always keep an eye on what really matters­– the people the technology serves.