By Hillary Gavan
For StatelineBusiness

ROCKTON -- Chemtool Inc. will be moving to the site of the former Beloit Corporation facility at 1165 Prairie Road and bringing jobs to the Stateline Area.

Chemtool will relocate from its 58-acre headquarters in Crystal Lake, Ill. and merge its facilities in Elkhorn and Harvard, Ill. to fill the 178 acres on the former Beloit Corporation site.

"In two to three years it will be up to the same level of employment as the Beloit Corporation was in its heyday," said Rockton Village President Dale Adams. "This should be a boost to the economy of our region and will put us on the map."

Chemtool President Jim Athans said the company plans to begin cleaning up the premises as soon as the current tenant can relocate.

"There is a lot of work to be done," he said. "We will probably start as soon as the weather improves."

Athans said many of the current employees of the three merging facilities live in the Stateline Area and will be happy to have a smaller commute to work. With those workers moving with the company, Chemtool plans on hiring around 150 brand new workers for the new facility for a total of approximately 500 employees. Current employees of the company are expected to work in Rockton.

Chemtool, a privately held corporation founded in 1963, is one of the largest manufacturers and custom formulators of lubricants and specialty products for industry worldwide. It enjoys close business relationships with some of the largest corporations in the automotive, steel, aircraft and lubrication industries.

Chemtool products are also used in aerospace, agriculture, food and beverage, heavy equipment, marine, mining, paper and pulp, specialty manufacturers and transportation/rail industries. Some of Chemtool's customers include Boeing, John Deere and Caterpillar.

Chemtool is supported by a large on-site research and development team with highly qualified chemists, biologists and technical specialists. Adams said that the company decided to move because of its growth. Chemtool will start moving into the former Beloit Corporation site this spring.

Chemtool will move into Beloit Corp.'s former 330,000-square-foot Blackhawk facility which is currently being used as a warehouse by Reload. Chemtool will renovate the building and add loading docks to it.

Chemtool will also build a three-floor, 330,000-square-foot corporate headquarters next to the former Blackhawk facility.

Adams noted that Paperchine purchased the building north of the former Blackhawk Facility several years ago. Beloit Corp. closed the facility shortly after parent company, Harnischfeger, declared bankruptcy in 1999.

The former Beloit Corporation site in Rockton is 200 acres. Paperchine purchased 22 acres and Chemtool closed on the remaining 178 acres on Thursday.

Chemtool was considering a site in Boone County, but Athans finally decided to choose Rockton.

"The owner said he never got the site out of his mind," said Winnebago County Economic Development Director Sue Mroz.

Mroz said she, Christiansen and Village President Dale Adams had been working with Athans for more than two-and-a-half years.

She said Athans was pleased that the site had railroad tracks.

Although the former Beloit Corporation is listed as a superfund site, Adams said that Chemtool will continue to work with the EPA to clean-up the area.

"It's great for Rockton. We really suffered in the 1990s when Beloit Corporation went bankrupt and the Wagon Wheel closed. We lost a lot of jobs in our community. It will bring a lot of jobs back to the Stateline Area," Adams said.

Chemtool also has facilities in Milan, Mich.; Tehachapi, Calif. and Belgium.