Orion’s Uniflyte to make augers for next-generation CNH combines

ORION, Illinois — Local manufacturer Uniflyte, Inc. has inked a $10 million-plus contract and is launching the $1.6 million expansion here it needs to produce augers for Case New Holland’s entire series of next-generation combines.  The deal will bring 13 new full-time jobs to the Henry County community and back to the U.S. from Europe, […]

ORION, Illinois — Local manufacturer Uniflyte, Inc. has inked a $10 million-plus contract and is launching the $1.6 million expansion here it needs to produce augers for Case New Holland’s entire series of next-generation combines.  The deal will bring 13 new full-time jobs to the Henry County community and back to the U.S. from Europe, Henry County Economic Development Director Jim Kelly told the QCBJ. It will generate between $10 million and $12 million in revenue and require that $1.6 million investment in the Cadorath Uniflyte manufacturing facility at 1603 12th Ave. to make it happen. That investment was made possible via a $100,000 loan approved by the Henry County Board through a partnership between BankORION and Henry County’s Rural Revolving Loan Fund (RRLF). Uniflyte also will receive a low-interest $730,000 loan from Advantage Illinois, a State Small Business Credit Initiative of the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO). BankORION also is financing a substantial sum, said Mr. Kelly, a DCEO navigator and the RRLF loan administrator. The financing deal came together through Henry County’s partnership with the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce. The chamber and local economic development and manufacturing extension partners routinely conduct regular business connection visits with companies that represent its targeted industries of manufacturing, defense, ag innovation, logistics, and corporate office, Chris Caves, the chamber’s vice president, business & economic growth, told the QCBJ. “During these visits we ask questions about manufacturing processes, innovative technologies, supply chain, markets, workforce and community services,” she said. “The goal of our visits is to provide wrap-around support to existing companies in order to stay abreast of company news, possible expansions, challenges, and opportunities.”  During a recent connection at Cadorath’s location in Bettendorf,  “the chamber learned of a business expansion project at their location in Henry County,” she added.  The chamber’s Business and Economic Growth team immediately reached out to Mr. Kelly, she said, “to join the conversation and bring local economic development tools and incentives to this proposed expansion … It takes a network of skilled practitioners to support regional economic development in the Quad Cities region.”   Often, as in this case, the payoff is substantial. “This is not only a huge win by taking back jobs from Europe and placing them in Illinois, but for Henry County and Orion,” Mr. Kelly said of the Uniflyte contract. “The expectation of 13 new high-quality jobs will result in approximately $10 million to $12 million in revenue for the company which will increase our local economic spending in all areas within the county and Orion.” With the expansion funding in hand, Uniflyte will add a new flight manufacturing machine to the Orion facility’s existing five flight machines to handle production for the new contract. New hires will include a general manager, a controller, and additional welders and other employees. Mr. Kelly is especially pleased about those new jobs. “When more people are working they have the power to spend and vote with their dollars, which leads to an increase in demand locally,” the economic development leader said. “By creating these employment opportunities, Uniflyte will help contribute to reducing unemployment and foster economic growth in the area.” Expansion is nothing new for Uniflyte Inc. which was incorporated in Illinois on Sept. 17, 1990. In 2019, Uniflyte hosted a 30th anniversary community-wide party that also included a celebration of parent company Cadorath’s 65th year in business. The Cadorath Group services the aviation, aerospace, mining and agricultural industries providing services from maintenance, repair and overhaul of engines for the aerospace and helicopter industry to manufacturing of flighting and augers for large OEMs in the agricultural sector.

According to the Sept. 1, 2019, issue of the Orion village newsletter, “The Nosy Neighbor,” Cadorath, which originated in Winnipeg, Canada, found the Orion location when it went looking for an available building in the agricultural-heavy Midwest “and lasered in on communities around Moline, the home of Deere & Co.” Orion had an empty building in its industrial park “and the rest is history,” the newsletter said. Uniflyte first launched with six employees and quickly expanded. Growth over the past two years has been especially rapid, Mr. Kelly said, with Uniflyte growing from 30 employees to 70. That growth was fueled in part by a steady growth in sales over the past 10 years from $8 million annually in 2012 to a projected $13 million in 2023, he added. The flight machine the Orion manufacturer will use to make augers for CNH’s new combines are a proprietary design held by Cadorath and require large billets of specific types of steel to be ordered from the steel mills. Augers are used to move the harvested grain from the header or cutting platform to the threshing and separating mechanisms, according to industry websites. As the old generation CNH combine model is phased out, it will be replaced by next-generation combines with the new Cadorath Uniflyte-made products, Mr. Kelly said. He added the new jobs being created at Uniflyte will “not only improve individuals’ livelihoods but also enhance the overall economic well being of our county and surrounding areas.”   He added, “I am looking forward to even more wins here in Henry County.” In all, the Henry County RRLF operates two separate funds and has made 95 loans totaling $6.1 million from its legacy fund, and 34 loans totaling $1.2 million from its economic development fund, Mr. Kelly said. In return, he said, those loans created and retained a combined 1,484 jobs in the Henry County workforce. The RRLF money is available to any new or existing business within the county. For more information on the RRLF, contact Mr. Kelly at the Henry County Courthouse, (309) 937-3410.