Advance McHenry County

"*" indicates required fields

Insights You'll Gain

With this resource you will learn to:

  • The challenges facing McHenry County manufacturers and how workforce shortages, leadership capacity, digital visibility, and pandemic-related disruptions shaped their needs.

  • Where manufacturers invested for growth, including leadership development, strategic planning, marketing, Lean and Kaizen, automation, cybersecurity, and KPI management.

  • Why sales and marketing became a major priority, with 53% of applications requesting Growth-related assistance such as website development, SEO, lead generation, and digital marketing.

  • How manufacturers improved operational performance through Lean training, Kaizen, automation assessments, maintenance excellence, quality systems, and safety initiatives.

  • The measurable economic impact of the program, including 97 new jobs, 406 retained jobs, $25.7 million in new sales, $101.5 million in retained sales, $7.4 million in cost savings, and $1.6 million in new investment.
  • Real-world examples of transformation, showing how manufacturers used targeted assistance to improve daily management, strengthen leadership, increase sales, and build more resilient operations.

Advance McHenry County (AMC) ARPA Manufacturing Grant Program highlights the impact of a targeted investment designed to help small and mid-sized manufacturers stabilize, recover, and build long-term competitiveness. Through 116 funded projects supporting 74 manufacturers, the program addressed critical needs across leadership, strategic planning, business growth, operational improvement, and data-driven decision-making, generating an estimated $50.6 million in aggregate economic impact.

Related Resources

IMEC Whitepaper: A practical guide to Power BI dashboards for manufacturers
Whitepapers, Reports & Executive Briefs

From Spreadsheets to Smart Decisions

A practical guide to Power BI dashboards for manufacturers ready to connect data, improve visibility, and make faster decisions.

Advanced Manufacturing TechnologyAIAutomationERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)Strategic Planning OperationsStrategyTechnology
Whitepapers, Reports & Executive Briefs

NAVIGATING DISRUPTION

Learn how small and mid-sized manufacturers can use data, technology and strategic partnerships to improve supply chain visibility, strengthen resilience and better prepare for disruption.

Advanced Manufacturing TechnologyAIAutomationERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)Strategic PlanningSupply Chain OperationsStrategyTechnology
Whitepapers, Reports & Executive Briefs

HARD TECHNOLOGIES FOR HARD ROI

Discover how small and mid-sized manufacturers can strategically deploy robotics and advanced process controls to stabilize production, address workforce challenges, and achieve measurable returns.

Advanced Manufacturing TechnologyAIAutomationQuality Management Technology
Whitepapers, Reports & Executive Briefs

Advance McHenry County

See how targeted investments helped 74 McHenry County manufacturers strengthen their businesses and generate an estimated $50.6 million in economic impact.

Grants and Initiatives
Whitepapers, Reports & Executive Briefs

Cook County Manufacturing Reinvented

See how strategic investment helped Cook County manufacturers strengthen their operations, workforce, and growth strategies, generating $737.8 million in aggregate economic impact.

Grants and Initiatives
Whitepapers, Reports & Executive Briefs

STRATEGIC AUTOMATION INVESTMENT

Discover how strategic, targeted automation investments can help manufacturers address workforce challenges, improve productivity, support reshoring, and strengthen long-term competitiveness.

Advanced Manufacturing TechnologyAIAutomationStrategic Planning Technology
View All Whitepapers, Reports & Executive Briefs