The Chocolate Factory was established in 1977 as a family run business in Southern Illinois. They started by making gourmet chocolates and later added items like fudge and ice cream. The Chocolate Factory prides itself in their handmade novelty and gourmet chocolates.

Some of their top products include: boxed & assorted chocolate, chocolate novelties, sugar-free chocolates, custom chocolates, and fudge.

J-tec Industries, based in East Peoria, Illinois, is custom designer, fabricator and manufacturer of material handling equipment such as industrial carts, warehouse equipment, shipping racks and more. Their very own CarryMore system helps to eliminate or reduce fork trucks from being used as delivery vehicles in heavy traffic locations in these facilities.

J-tec takes pride in their expert design and engineering teams. They work closely with customers to understand their unique needs and provide innovative solutions.  By striving to exceed customer expectations, they provide the best customized solutions to support any production needs. J-tec currently serves a variety of international markets including Mexico, North America, Canada, Europe, U.A.E and more.

Bramic Industries is a full service machine shop located in the suburbs of Chicago. After specializing in industrial cams for more than 30 years, they have proven that they possess the equipment and knowledge to produce complex components to exact specifications. Bramic Industries prides themselves on providing high quality products that meet specifications, on time, every time. 

Some of their top products include: Industrial Cams, Precision Complex Machined Components, Light Assembly, Engineering Services.
Special capabilities include: Multi-axis CNC Machining, and Multi-axis Grinding.

US Weight was founded in 1996 by Larry Mitchell and Matt Buchannan who were both entrepreneurs working in Olney, Illinois. The two partners purchased some of the fitness related assets from RoadMaster Corporation which was one of the largest sporting goods companies at the time. US Weight focused initially on the fitness market since it acquired the fitness weight manufacturing technology from RoadMaster originally developed by Diversified Products (DP) in the 1960s.

DP pioneered the concept of nonferrous weight sets encased in blow-molded polyethylene which significantly broadened the reach and appeal of fitness equipment and usage in the USA. These newly designed weights did not rust, did not scuff floors, were easy to handle, and were much lower cost than traditional cast iron fitness weights.

Escalade, Inc. purchased US Weight in 2001 from Larry and Matt to further expand its sporting goods business. Escalade, founded in 1927, is publicly -traded company on the Nasdaq (ESCA) and has been a leading manufacturer of sporting goods and outdoor recreation equipment for nearly 90 years. Escalade is headquartered in Evansville, Indiana and has operations throughout North America.

US Weight has called Olney, Illinois its home since the company started in 1998. The management team and manufacturing facility are both located in Olney. With an entrepreneurial team and unique manufacturing capabilities, US Weight has grown and expanded its product range over the years. Today, the US Weights product range includes tractor wheel weights, suitcase weights, tiller weights, and canopy weights. 

Laystrom is a full-service provider of precision sheet metal fabrications and component parts, value added assemblies, and low and high volume metal stampings. Their specialties include prototype production in as little as 2-3 days, and rapid development of cost effective and consistently manufactured sheet metal parts, stampings and assemblies.

They also provide cost effective support for on-going production requirements that supports your JIT needs.  As prototype development ramps up to production builds, Laystrom has the ability to scale up to stamping production methods to facilitate productivity improvements when appropriate.

Oval Brand Fire Products is innovating the fire protection industry to increase safety and improve design. Oval Brand offers the world’s slimmest fire extinguishers in an efficient, aesthetically pleasing form that is as much as 40 percent slimmer than standard 5-pound and 10-pound portable fire extinguishers.

Oval Brand’s fire products are made in the United States from more than 85 percent domestic materials. Their innovative designs make working with fire safety easier for architects, installers, fire marshals and fire extinguisher service technicians because they are more convenient, the most ADA compliant, and the safest comparable fire safety equipment on the market today.

JDS Labs brings you headphone amplification true to sound, all made in the USA. JDS labs strives to present music in the crystal clear quality that it was recorded in. They utilize high quality audio analyzers to provide quality sound, and focus on clarifying the overall sound quality to provide the most natural sound possible. They do this by limiting noise and distortion to deliver objectively transparent audio.

Established in 1973, J. H. Botts, LLC. is a valuable source to many industries. Their manufacturing facility in Joliet, Illinois was built in 1995 and houses a variety of threading and manufacturing equipment. J.H. Botts remains to be a substantial source for Melted and Manufactured Anchoring Systems. They also wrote the ASTM specification for the Anchor Bolt Standard.

J.H. Botts, LLC is a specialist in manufacturing. They stock many 1/2″ to 3 1/2″ diameter round bars in 20′-0 to 40′-0 lengths. Additionally, they can manufacture parts using many different grades of material including ASTM A615 rebar, stainless steel rods, and other assorted carbon steel grades. They produce within the tolerances prescribed by the American National Standards Institute (A.N.S.I.) to provide high quality materials.

Filter Services, Inc. offers commercial and industrial filtration products for air, liquid, paint booth, compressor and dust collection systems. Their service team strives to offer a variety of maintenance schedules to meet any need. The boundaries of their service area extend from Chicago: North to Milwaukee/Madison, South to Champaign/Decatur, West to the Quad Cities, and East to South Bend.

FSI’s filter service on a regular cycle is an extension of the normal HVAC preventative maintenance program. During their filter change-out service, their service technicians perform a visual inspection of the HVAC system and report any problems or recommendations to ensure proper operations. Filter Service’s utilizes state-of-the-art filtration components and materials from manufacturers that are recognized for quality, innovation and technological advancement.

Ace Machine & Tool, Inc. delivers products throughout North America. They do what it takes to deliver accurately machined products with reliable service and innovative designs that solve problems. They provide affordable engineering and collaboration services for close tolerance, low volume prototypes and production of 1-10,000 parts.

Ace Machine & Tool prides themselves on valuing quality over quantity, and getting every order right the first time around. They focus on being approachable and friendly to make customers feel at home in their shop. The Ace Team takes a different view of every project so that they can take the time to ensure that all their customer’s needs are met. They strive to put their customers first, no matter what.