McHenry ARPA Strategy Projects Position Manufacturers for Growth
IMEC and Apex US Financial helped three McHenry County manufacturers align leadership, define goals, and build actionable roadmaps through the Advance McHenry grant program.
Manufacturers rarely suffer from a shortage of ideas. The harder problem is deciding which ideas matter most, getting leadership aligned around them, and turning them into a plan people can actually execute. That was the purpose of the Advance McHenry strategic growth projects supported by IMEC and delivered by Apex US Financial.
Apex worked with ownership and leadership teams at EDG Patio and Shade, Maass Midwest, and RPFab through a structured assessment and planning process. The work began with each company’s priorities, opportunities, constraints, and long-term vision. Starting there kept the conversation grounded in their businesses rather than placing each manufacturer into a generic planning template.
The assessment was used to build leadership consensus on company priorities and vision. From that shared direction, Apex helped each team define clear goals and strategies for communication and team alignment, then translated those decisions into a tactical plan with practical actions and ownership.
Program Impact at a Glance
| $5.107M total expected sales impact | 57 jobs created or retained |
| $45K expected operating cost savings | $375K planned investments |
Across the three projects, the manufacturers identified $1,802,000 in expected new sales and $3,305,000 in retained sales. They also identified 13 expected new jobs and 44 retained jobs. The projects further identified $45,000 in other operating cost savings and $375,000 in planned investments.
The client leadership teams met one to two hours per week, with Apex providing facilitation and consulting based on each company’s needs. Each manufacturer developed a plan based on its priorities and identified follow-up projects that were prioritized by opportunity value.
The strategic planning process identified what the companies could achieve by executing the priorities and follow-up projects identified through the strategy process.
The broader impact of the Advance McHenry program is the discipline created around decision-making. The companies finished with clearer priorities, stronger leadership alignment, defined goals, practical next steps, and a longer-term project roadmap. That foundation helps leaders decide where to invest time and capital after the funded engagement ends.
Through the partnership among IMEC, the McHenry ARPA funders, participating manufacturers, and Apex US Financial, the program gave three manufacturers structured time to step back, make decisions, and move forward with greater clarity. The completed plans were the deliverable. The ability to keep using those plans to guide growth is the lasting value.
| Strategy work that continues after close-out The lasting value is a shared direction, a tactical plan, and a prioritized roadmap leadership can keep using. |
