A cloud will soon be forming over the Grayslake area, but it will be bringing good-paying, skilled jobs to Lake County rather than rain or snow as T5 Data Centers moves forward with a $2.25 billion investment in the company.
Frank Lyles, the executive vice president of site selection and development for T5, said data centers are the “cloud” that stores everything from personal pictures on a cell phone to bank account information on a computer.
“All that information isn’t in a cloud somewhere,” Lyles said. “It’s in a data center. A data center stores the information you use on your phone or computer. If you enjoy the use of those tools, it’s because of data centers.”
T5’s move to establish a data center over the next few years in Grayslake is one of several investments contributing to a successful 2024 for business in Lake County based on Lake County Partners’ annual report showing growth of investment, jobs and more.
Kevin Considine, the president and CEO of Lake County Partners, said that between new ventures like T5 and existing businesses that are both expanding their facilities and adding jobs, Lake County continues to show business growth.
Over the past five years, Considine said companies in the county made $1.33 billion in capital investments, which were responsible for the creation of more than 4,600 new jobs and keeping more than 4,900 positions local rather than moving across the state line into Wisconsin.
“That’s investment in land, buildings and equipment,” Considine said, referring to the $1.33 billion. “We added new manufacturing, which we do every year. Data centers made a difference. With the advent of artificial intelligence, the need for data centers has really expanded.”
In 2024, businesses invested $251 in capital growth in the county. Considine said until T5 starts construction, its actual capital improvements are not included, only land. Companies created 541 new jobs and kept another 667 in the area, according to the report. Gross Domestic Product grew 5.2% locally.
While Lyles said data centers typically do not employ as many people as warehouses, the workers must be highly skilled technologically making the pay higher. There is also a career path for advancement.
Scheduled to be built on a 160-acre site in Grayslake, T5 will place multiple structures on the land, according to a company release. It will offer customized buildings meeting the needs of individual customers. Completion is scheduled for late 2027.
Growth is also coming from local companies who are looking for more manufacturing capacity like RealWheels. The business moved into a new 60,000-square-foot factory in Zion less than two years ago. Jan Polka, the founder and president, said more space will soon be needed.
Starting by making customized wheel covers and other accessories primarily for commercial vehicles, Polka said RealWheels needs more space to meet the increasing demands for electric vehicles. Built differently than vehicles with an internal combustion engine, he needs room to accommodate both.
Whether RealWheels looks for a second factory or expands the one it has, Polka said the company is moving items around to accommodate the increasing demand for its products. A decision is coming soon.
“It’s unknown until we see how this year goes,” he said. “We know more space will be required. We keep moving things around as we decide how we’re going to expand.”
Along with Real Wheels, Considine said companies like AZ Polymers are also getting bigger. AZ is a plastics manufacturer which opened a second site in Gurnee. At the same time, firms like Sysmex America are adding both facilities and jobs.
Putting more than $20 million into its Lincolnshire and Buffalo Grove facilities, Sysmex, a medical diagnostic equipment manufacturer, is adding 100 new workers and keeping an additional 550 employees working in the county, according to the report.
“A real cool trend is companies we recently helped are expanding again,” Considine said.
