The Jel Sert Co., the largest producer of powdered drink sticks in the U.S., has completed a $10 million expansion of its West Chicago operations that brings 100 new jobs to the suburb.
The company held a ribbon cutting with state and local officials Thursday to celebrate the milestone in its 99-year history. Through the expansion, Jel Sert said it will be able to better keep up with outpacing demand and produce more than three billion powdered drink sticks a year.
“I am proud to say that Jel Sert has called Illinois home since its beginning nearly 100 years ago,” Jel Sert President Ken Wegner said. “The state has been the best place in the nation for us to do business, including a tremendous workforce, great infrastructure, a great central location and … the support of governor and government.”
Jel Sert’s name comes from its roots in dessert mixes. After working for Cracker Jack, company founder Charles Wegner set off to make his own line of products. His first product was a powder for jelly desserts. The company’s name is a combination of the two words.
Nearly 100 years later, Jel Sert produces an array of drink and dessert mixes, plus freezer pops and other frozen treats. The company is a fully integrated manufacturer and does its own formulation, sourcing and material blending, Wegner said.
Jel Sert has a total of more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing and distribution space. All of its operations are in Greater Chicago.
The manufacturer has been in West Chicago for more than 55 years.
The expansion includes a new manufacturing operation at 444 Charles Court, along with three new state-of-the-art manufacturing lines for powdered drink sticks. The three lines take up 50,000 square feet at the 300,000-square-foot facility.
The Charles Court facility was previously only used as a distribution center, Wegner said. Now, a quarter of its operations there is for manufacturing, with that number projected to grow.
Within the next eight months, Jel Sert will add three additional manufacturing lines to the facility. It will also increase its manufacturing footprint at Charles Court from 50,000 square feet to 75,000 over the next six to eight months.
Wegner said it’s a good sign the company was previously struggling to keep up with demand because it meant the appetite for its products were growing.
“We’re doubling the capacity here,” Wegner said. “I don’t know how long that’s going to last. If I had to guess, it’ll probably take us into early next year before we need to expand further. Our goal, eventually, is to take this entire facility of 300,000 square feet and make it all manufacturing. That’s our goal within the next five years.”
Jel Sert’s expansion was announced in April 2024 by the manufacturer, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Gov. JB Pritzker. At the time, Jel Sert expected to add 50 jobs but was able to create 100 roles, bringing its total headcount to more than 1,400.
The company received an Economic Development for a Growing Economy, or EDGE, tax credit from the state as part of its investment. A company needs a minimum investment of $5.5 million to be eligible for EDGE funds, according to the governor’s office.
Jel Sert’s EDGE credit has an estimated value of $5,506,875, according to the governor’s office.
“It’s important for the future of the state of Illinois that we have people who are investing for the long term — that have the best interests of the people that they live with and work with in mind at all times,” Pritzker said during the event. “And this company, with almost 100 years under its belt, is a real pride for our entire state.”
