The COLD Facts
One of American Igloo Builders' current projects in the news:
as published 10/10/11 in the Daily Herald:
Schaumburg Gonnella plant kneads to expand
Construction is rolling out at a multimillion dollar plant expansion at Gonnella Frozen Products in Schaumburg.
"Work is well under way. We hope to finish in mid-February," said Tom Marcucci, Gonnella's vice president of sales.
The bread company is building a 30,000 sq ft addition on the west side of its existing 66,000 sq ft facility at 1117 E. Wiley Rd. The new space will consist mainly of freezer and dry storage space, which will cut down on the costs of leasing freezer space elsewhere, company officials say.
"We can now merge our product line at the Schaumburg facility. It's a very competitive market out there," Marcucci said.
"As in any construction project, unexpected issues always seem to surface. Marcucci said it was determined that a sewer pipe was not in the best condition and had to be repaired. He added that they have moved the main driveway and built new docks. "We will be going from about 50,000 sq ft of holding freezer space to about 75,000 sq ft," he said.
Though Gonnella's corporate headquarters are in Chicago, its Frozen Products Division is based in Schaumburg. The company has other operations in Aurora and Pennsylvania.
The lure of a Cook County property tax incentive assisted in the decision to expand the Schaumburg facility.
The Class 6B incentive that Gonnella obtained for industrial uses reduces the level of assessment on the property from 25% to 10% for 10 years, resulting in a reduction of property taxes by about half during that period.
In Gonnella's case, the incentive affects the addition, not the original building.
About 168 people work in the Schaumburg plant that opened in 1980. They produce about 2.5 million pounds of frozen dough that gets shipped coast-to-coast per week.
The expansion will increase the company's overall freezer capacity from 3 million to 4.5 million pounds. The expansion will also house ingredients in a dry storage facility, employee services, and additional office space.