WEST CHICAGO, IL – Norix Group, Inc., a leading manufacturer of contract furniture specifically engineered and designed for continuous-use environments, will build a new headquarters in the 640-acre DuPage Business Center, a West Chicago park developed by the DuPage Airport Authority.
The company – which produces furniture for healthcare, education, shelters, corrections, government and commercial facilities – recently purchased 22 acres of land in the park. Its present plans include the construction of a 200,000-square-foot building that will house office, manufacturing and distribution spaces.
Chicago-based Heitman Architects is designing the new building, which is expected to achieve LEED Certification. The firm is no stranger to LEED Certification and sustainability, having designed over eight million square feet of industrial buildings including the first LEED Certified industrial building in Illinois. Heitman Architects received the prestigious “CoreNet Global Sustainable Leadership Award” for 2016, for their design of the first LEED Platinum Manufacturing Facility, among many other nationally recognized awards and achievements.
The new facility will help Norix Group, Inc. keep in step with its swift expansion over the past several years, including the 2017 launch of TONIK, a high-end, hospitality and commercial furniture brand. TONIK’s inaugural collection was designed by world-renowned, award-winning designer Karim Rashid, who has worked in more than 40 countries on over 3,000 designs. He also has been awarded more than 300 times for his innovative and prolific work internationally.
“As the company grows, so does the need for a space that can facilitate that growth,” Scott Karl, Norix President and son of the company’s founders, said. “We also need a home that reflects the products we produce and markets we serve. That means we intend to build a LEED Certified structure that is sustainable and design forward. We believe there will be no other building in the area quite like this one.”
Norix Group, Inc. is an internationally recognized company known for its furniture advances in humanizing stark, institutional environments. Its furniture offerings include molded seating, beds, mattresses and other products that are engineered for long lifecycles and to withstand rigorous and continuous use.
The company was most recently awarded the “Most Innovative Award” and “Architect’s Choice Product Award” from the Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo, along with a “Gold Medal” from the Healthcare Design Magazine Product Innovation Awards, plus numerous patents.
Norix was founded 35 years ago by Rick and Heather Karl, 1965 Batavia (IL) High School graduates. The husband and wife started the company in the basement of their Batavia home. This house is where they raised their three children. Two of their children work for Norix today.
Their first employee – who still works for Norix after 35 years – was the couple’s neighbor and only had to walk across her back yard to arrive at work at the Karl home. Today the company has 84 employees. Sales consultants throughout the United States and the world represent the company’s products.
“It just made sense to move to the new location. Norix was born nearby in Batavia, IL. Our people live nearby. This area is part of the heart and soul of the company,” Karl said. “Plus, it’s a spacious site with room to expand. It also feels like a campus setting and sits adjacent to a 15-acre nature area. Our employees are really looking forward to the first day of work in the new facility.”
According to its website, the DuPage Business Center offers sites of five to 60 acres. The park is zoned for manufacturing, distribution, light industrial, office, research/development, data centers, medical facilities, retail and commercial uses.
