ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - ILF Technologies, a world-leading supplier of web finishing solutions for the printing and converting industries, is in a high-growth mode. The most recent evidence of this is the Romeoville, Ill.-based company's relocation to a larger corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility in the same community.

Frank Piper, president, believes the move three miles away from ILF's former plant in the southwest suburban area of Chicago will benefit the firm as a whole.

"The manufacturing and communication flow at the old site was not as efficient as it could be," Piper said. "We saw an opportunity to put new processes in place that would increase our efficiency and productivity."

The new site will permit ILF to make use of a 25,000-square-foot facility that provides excellent manufacturing space, layout and utilities for current and future production and expansion. It also will advance supply chain integration between ILF and its parent company, Milan's Machining & Manufacturing Co., Inc., a primary supplier of precision components used in the manufacture of ILF products.

"This site means we can immediately expand our manufacturing output," Piper said. "The facility triples our available space and gives us room to grow."

Among other functions, the ILF facility has been designed to house a state-of-the-art training center. The fully equipped training center will allow machine operators to become thoroughly familiar with ILF technology before it is installed.

As part of the factory layout process, ILF looked at the flow of materials and information from an initial customer inquiry to delivery. The workflow in the new location will be streamlined to accommodate the size and dimensions of equipment assembled and manufactured there.

"We examined the kind of tasks being performed in different work areas and the required material movements to and from those areas," Piper said. "One of the best practice outcomes of the layout process is maintaining demarcated spaces to support improved workflow."

ILF took into account the number of offices and interrelationships among key staff. The consolidation of offices in the new layout is intended to enhance internal communication.

A big consideration was the company's future growth. Floor space for the introduction of new product lines was factored into the layout design.

"This relocation will facilitate further investments in new product development, as well as continued growth in our sales and marketing activities, including the addition of personnel," Piper said.