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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the
3 State of Illinois are pleased to recognize the 100th
4 anniversary of the founding of the Chicago-Wilcox Mfg. Co.; and
 
5     WHEREAS, The company opened in 1906 with the Wilcox
6 Patented Self-Sealing Gasket as its only product; it now
7 produces over 10,000 different parts, including gaskets,
8 seals, and similar products, in its 40,000-square-foot
9 manufacturing facility, located in South Holland; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Stephen C. Anthony, president and owner,
11 attributes the company's longevity to a conservative
12 management style that emphasizes adaptability and commitment
13 to customers and employees; from the first, the new company
14 guaranteed that their Wilcox Patented Self-Sealing Gaskets
15 "positively will not blow out" and said in addition,
16 "unfortunately for us Wilcox gaskets do not wear out";
17 customers wrote that their Wilcox gaskets, used for years, were
18 giving as fine service as when they were new; and
 
19     WHEREAS, The company is committed not only to customers,
20 but also to its employees; during the Great Depression,
21 Chicago-Wilcox went to a two-day/three-day work week, with
22 employees working two days one week and three days the next;
23 through this strategy, every employee retained his or her job,
24 and layoffs were entirely avoided; to this day, Chicago-Wilcox
25 has never resorted to employee layoffs to carry it through
26 difficult times; as a result, employee loyalty is high with
27 five employees retiring with 50 or more years of service; and
 
28     WHEREAS, The company outgrew its first facility and in 1967
29 moved to South Holland; new machines and manufacturing
30 processes were added to keep pace with customers' more complex
31 needs; the company also added redistribution of products

 

 

HR1392 - 2 - LRB094 21143 HSS 59473 r

1 complementary to its manufactured lines; and
 
2     WHEREAS, In the 1990s, Chicago-Wilcox computerized the
3 inventory and order-processing systems and installed a laser;
4 in 1999, Chicago-Wilcox and DH Die Cutting merged, further
5 broadening the products that could be made and the range of
6 customers that could be served; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Today, Chicago-Wilcox services over 1,000
8 customers and ships approximately 14 million parts annually;
9 therefore, be it
 
10     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
12 we recognize the 100th anniversary of the founding of the
13 Chicago-Wilcox Mfg. Co.; and be it further
 
14     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15 presented to Stephen C. Anthony as an expression of our esteem.