ThyssenKrupp Picks Chicago for North American HQ

CHICAGO-Essen, Germany-based ThyssenKrupp, a steel equipment manufacturer, plans to locate a North American headquarters office in Chicago, according to an announcement by Mayor Rahm Emanuel this morning. The company, which operates manufacturing facilities throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, will open the office in the downtown by this summer, the mayor said.

In the statement, ThyssenKrupp North America chairman and CEO Torsten Gessner said the continent is the company’s most foreign market. “The close proximity to key customers, including heavy equipment manufacturers in Illinois and major auto companies in Michigan, the world-class business schools and talented workforce – all these factors make Chicago the ideal home base for our continued strategic growth in the region,” Gessner said.

Gessner said that in closed negotiations with Emanuel’s staff, the mayor made a very compelling case to locate in the city. The company, which had annual sales of nearly $68 billion last year, is not receiving any incentives for the office opening, the mayor said.

According to the statement, the company is currently looking to find office space. It’s reported that the firm will at first bring about 100 jobs to the city, with more to follow.

It’s not clear how much space the company will fill downtown. A company spokesman did not return a request for comment, likely due to the time zone difference. A city spokesman also did not comment.

Richard Schuham, EVP and director at the local Studley office, tells GlobeSt.com that it’s likely the company has been looking for space under a “private” label. An office for 100 employees wouldn’t be much, and the company would have a lot of options available in the CBD, Schuham says. “It’s when you’re looking at north of 50,000 square feet that the story changes a bit,” he says. “If you want high-rise space with a view, or bulk space, especially more than 100,000 square feet, there’s not many choices out there.”

Though transfers in of out-of-state headquarters are rare, the city has had a few suburban Chicago firms announce plans to move headquarters offices into the city. Downers Grove, IL-based food giant Sara Lee, which is splitting into two firms, is working to move one of the companies into Chicago. Insurance giant Aon, however, is switching its headquarters to London, though it claims jobs in Chicago will remain.