Faber-Castell Cosmetics announced plans yesterday to open its first U.S. plant in Elgin this fall per the Chicago Tribune. The German manufacturer produces private label cosmetic pencils for the North American market. The plant will create 50 openings in the Chicago suburb of Elgin. The company decided on Elgin because it plans to entertain visiting cosmetics executives and wanted to be close to Chicago.
Faber-Castell will be building out a vacant Elgin warehouse and is investing $9 million. It will be leasing 45,000 square feet with plans to expand. Late October is the expected date for production to begin. These American made cosmetic pencils will be available in stores in early 2019.
Managing Director of Faber-Castell Cosmetics, Christina Zech, said, "The machines will be on a plane from Germany in less than two weeks."
Faber-Castell is a centuries old private German company that is best known for making pens, pencils and art supplies. They have two cosmetics plants in Germany and one in Brazil. The 40 year old cosmetics arm of the company produces private label products sold by many leading brands at major retailers.
Elgin beat out Wisconsin and New Jersey due to time zone, high-tech workforce and the close proximity to O'Hare International Airport among other factors.
The machines that will be used for manufacturing the cosmetic pencils are very sophisticated and extremely automated. Technical expertise will be required for the Elgin jobs. Within three years, Faber-Castell expects to have $50 million in revenue. It also has an option to expand into the entire 73,000 square foot warehouse as their production grows.
Governor Bruce Rauner got together with top Faber-Castell executives during a trade mission in Germany last April.
"Economic development is a collaborative effort - it takes time, effort and strong relationships to make projects like this a reality."
Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity | Sean McCarthy
Christina Zech stated that the U.S. cosmetics industry is mostly bicoastal, with old school manufacturers on the East Coast and Indie upstarts on the West Coast. Zech said, "we really were hesitant whether we could get the technical workforce we were looking for in Wisconsin." Wisconsin as a state is very nice and people were very nice, but it is a little bit more out in the fields and we needed to be more urban. We will have a lot of cosmetics industry visitors and we will need to entertain them."
According to the Daily Herald, the company plans to move in at the end of the year with 10 to 15 workers. They will not reveal the Elgin address until the opening in the first quarter of 2019.
The state is providing financial incentives. Under EDGE, companies can get a credit against income taxes equal to 50 percent of withholdings associated with each new job, up to the level of projected investment. The manufacturer produces products for other brands that are sold in drugstores and cosmetic departments as well as in Sephora and Ulta.
Per Business Facilities, Faber-Castell Cosmetics is currently celebrating its 40th year anniversary as a world recognized private label cosmetic manufacturer focusing on color cosmetics and nail care.
"The U.S. facility will become Faber-Castel Cosmetics' beta factory with exceptional industry-standard processes and systems, in addition to offering U.S. customers the same speed-to-market and conveniences now enjoyed by Europe and Brazil."
Faber-Castell Cosmetics President | Countes Mary von Faber-Castell
The company chose to announce its expansion at the MakeUp conference in New York, an industry wide event that has more than 110 formula, accessories and packaging industry exhibitors. The decision to bring the factory to Illinois was made possible through partnerships between Faber-Castell, former state Senator Karen MConnaughhay, the Illinois Manufacturers Associations, the city of Elgin and Harper College.
