Life and Business Intersect in Greater Peoria
The things that make a city a great place to live and work often seem entirely separate. But in Greater Peoria, these aspects go hand in hand.
“Quality of living is quality of business,” says Christopher Setti, CEO of the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council. “A community where you know your neighbors is also a community where you know your colleagues, and the interconnectedness of our community is really valuable.”
Greater Peoria is a hub of connection for businesses, from large and small to global and hyperlocal. Plus, the region’s business ecosystem continues to grow, thanks to investments in longstanding core industries and emerging markets that provide new opportunities. Put another way, everything aligns in Greater Peoria to create bigger and better opportunities for businesses.
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Peoria is the Perfect Location
“We are proud to operate out of Peoria as our headquarters, as this location is strategically located in central Illinois, with easy access to our customers throughout the state,” says Darren Feder, CEO of telecommunication carrier Stratus Networks. “Add to that the great cost of living for our employees compared to other cities, and it’s no surprise we’re seeing an influx of people and businesses.”
With more than 1,000 miles of fiber-optic network, Stratus Networks supplies customers in all 50 states – from large enterprises to homes – with internet, voice, cloud and data services.
The company has grown consistently since opening in Peoria in 1999. “Stratus is proud to be an important physical link in Peoria that literally connects the businesses and people in our community and beyond,” Feder says.
Greater Peoria Hosts a Variety of Industries
In addition to Stratus, AutonomouStuff, which works to advance robotics and autonomy systems, is another technology leader in the area. Headquartered just minutes from Peoria in Morton, the company has grown to meet customers’ needs worldwide, with locations in Silicon Valley and Detroit as well as Perth, Australia, and Ottawa, Canada.
Technology is just one industry found in Greater Peoria’s collection of sectors. Other standard bearers with a major presence here include builder River City Construction, PNC and CEFCU of the banking/ financial services industry, and Vonachen Group. Vonachen Group began as a family-owned janitorial service company in Peoria in 1968 and has grown into a full-service facility maintenance leader that provides janitorial services, health care services, logistics and special services for clients throughout Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Nebraska and Tennessee.
Plus, the region boasts a strong manufacturing presence made up of companies like the sunglasses brand Maui Jim and industrial vehicle producers Komatsu, Kress Corp. and CNH Industrial, which are supported by original equipment manufacturer providers, like Morton Industries.
Industrial equipment titan Caterpillar was founded in Peoria, where many manufacturing facilities and employees still reside. And today, the Doug Oberhelman Caterpillar Visitors Center preserves the company’s rich history.
Impressive Talent Pool
A strong business climate is impossible to maintain without a robust talent pool. In addition to professionals moving to Greater Peoria to further their careers, many graduates choose to begin theirs here.
“With the base of talent from large companies in the Greater Peoria area, coupled with the educational institutions nearby turning out graduates, Peoria has a real advantage for both companies and employees,” Feder says.
Bradley University and Illinois Central College offer a range of degree programs, and Methodist College, Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing and University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria provide education for the health care field, which is critical since that’s a key industry for the area.
Peoria is also a health care hub for central Illinois. It’s home to both Carle Health and OSF HealthCare, the only Level 1 trauma center in the area and teaching hospital that covers multiple specialties.
For Setti, this is just another reason Greater Peoria is an excellent place for people to call home and for businesses to start and expand.
“Everything you’d want as a human being in the way of medical treatment is almost certainly to be found here,” Setti says. “This is another quality-of-life issue that becomes a quality-of-business issue.”
The Perks of Peoria International Airport
The General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA) benefits residents, visitors and area businesses. It accommodates three commercial airlines as well as corporate and general aviation planes, U.S. Customs and Border Protection international services, UPS cargo aircraft and military operations of the Illinois Air National Guard and Illinois Army National Guard, not to mention the many businesses operating on and around the airport grounds, equating to more than 2,000 jobs from airport-owned property.
Commercial airlines serving PIA are Allegiant Air, American Airlines and United, in addition to others providing charter services totaling 638,378 passengers in 2023.
“PIA’s economic impact to the Peoria community is near $580 million. Our airport is not just about passengers flying to Florida and Arizona or connecting through Dallas, Chicago or Charlotte for a business trip,” says Cheryl Bockhold-Sloan, PIA marketing and air service development manager. “It’s about the positive impact to our communities and the people who live and work here by connecting the community to the world and the tax dollars from the thousands of people traveling into our area to fly in and out of PIA. Visitor spending totaled more than $125.6 million in 2023. We are happy to serve as a key economic generator to the Peoria area and work every day to grow our piece of the puzzle.”
*2023 Illinois Public Use and Publicly Owned Airport Inventory Report, Illinois Department of Transportation
– Kevin Litwin contributed to this article.
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