Teaching practical skills: Wheeling robotics company to open manufacturing incubator in Mundelein
A Wheeling robotics company plans to expand by opening a facility in Mundelein.
ICR247 intends to take over more than 10,200 square feet of space in the village-owned Archer Business Center, 165 N. Archer Ave. The current ICR247 operation at 311 Egidi Drive in Wheeling will remain open.
The space to be leased in Mundelein last was used for the Lure of the Local community art show in fall 2024.
ICR247 manufactures and integrates automated equipment and systems for other companies. It also offers training programs in industrial automation and robotics.
The Mundelein facility will be a manufacturing incubator at which professional apprentices and interns can learn skills using modern equipment, CEO Anton Koretskov said.
“We teach practical skills that are not available (at colleges),” Koretskov said. “We are teaching what they cannot teach.”
Village officials are excited about ICR247’s plan.
“Should this gain traction, it will present a great deal of opportunities to anyone interested in this type of profession,” Village Administrator Eric Guenther said. “Potentially … to all of Lake County and beyond.”
During its meeting Monday night, the Mundelein village board approved a three-year lease agreement with ICR247 without any discussion.
Under the deal, the company will pay $4,696 per month in rent for the first year, starting June 1. Rent will increase to $4,884 per month starting June 1, 2026. It will increase again to $5,080 per month starting June 1, 2027.
Once occupied by a business called Anatol Automation, the 164,000-square-foot building was purchased by the village in 2005. Officials initially intended to convert it into a new village hall but instead built a new one nearby at what is now 300 Plaza Circle.
Current tenants in the Archer Avenue building include the Tighthead Brewing Co., Crownhill Packaging, the nonprofit Mundelein Community Connection group and the North Central O Gaugers Model Railroad Club.
Additional ICR247 expansion within the Archer Business Center is anticipated, Guenther said. Such expansion wouldn’t affect Tighthead’s operation, he added.