Companies that make tractors, excavators and bulldozers need electronics to make them work – ideally durable electronics that can take a beating without breaking down.
That’s where ACC Electronix comes in. The electronics manufacturer based in west Normal has carved out its own niche in a globally competitive space by focusing on ruggedization – making circuit boards and related components that are sturdy enough to be used in agricultural, construction, and other off-road heavy equipment.
“The environments that these products are going into are out in the field, they’re going to be exposed to the outside environment in some cases, so they need some layers of protection,” said Matthew Simeroth, technical services manager at ACC.
ACC operates from a nondescript former outlet mall off Wylie Drive, though its size and ambitions are more than meet the eye. ACC has expanded to over 50,000 square feet of space with over 100 employees, with plans (and room) to double in size – or even bigger.
Big white-collar employers like State Farm and Illinois State University are the foundation of the McLean County economy. But it’s the manufacturing sector that’s really been growing in recent years – companies like Rivian, Brandt and Ferrero. And while sexy electric pickup trucks may get all the headlines, companies like ACC Electronix are making products that are in high demand.
Manufacturing can be volatile, subject to the whims of the economy. The pandemic, tariffs and related supply chain problems have all created challenges at ACC, which is a contract manufacturer hired by companies to make electronics to put into their own products.
“We’ve got a plan. We’ve got a structure in place to continue to grow and expand the business,” said Curt Williams, president at ACC Electronix.
On the assembly line
ACC isn’t quite big enough to require a golf cart or roller skates to travel end to end, but it’s close. They’ve taken over much of the south side of the former Crossroads Center in Normal.
A mix of humans and robots keep things moving in the big circuit board assembly area near the entrance. They use hundreds of different stencils to make sure the right components are put in the right spot on each circuit board. They use a high-tech oven to fasten, or solder, the components in place, then use a 3-D scan for a quality control check. The precision needed is too complex for the human eye; there can be thousands of components on a single board, some smaller than a grain of rice.
From there, the circuit boards are built into sub-assemblies, which are stocked in a “supermarket” on site where other ACC staffers can grab what they need for whatever they’re making. They use lean manufacturing principals to keep product flowing – typically one and a half or two days from start to finish.
ACC uses several methods to deliver on its ruggedized promise – including special packaging, coatings and epoxies that can protect the electronics from hazards like moisture. Williams said ACC prides itself on customer service that’s highly customized to what’s needed, helping clients control costs as they try and figure out the best way to test, validate and make a product. They also do repair work for products under warranty, which helps identify problems they can address back into the manufacturing process.
“So at the end of the day they’ve got the lowest-cost product going out the door,” Williams said.
Macroeconomic forces have made it challenging – including on-again, off-again tariffs that require constant monitoring to make sure ACC is covering its own costs, Williams said.
“It’s anything from overseas, especially China,” he said. “Even if you look at semiconductors, they're made in different areas of the world. Some may be China, some may be Taiwan, some may be Malaysia, and they all have a different tariff. You got the same part, and you’ve got three different tariffs on it, and you got to figure out how to manage that.”
Before tariffs, there was COVID, which distorted the usual supply-and-demand dynamics as ACC’s clients tried to nail down how much product they needed. Supply chains are still unsettled.
“It's been a lot. It's been a challenge,” said Joni Oneal of Bloomington, a program manager on the front lines of customer service. “I think it's a challenge that we all face together, and then it's strange how COVID was its own animal, and then post-COVID was another thing. And so now I think we’re moving into a whole new area of what it looks like after everything's kind of leveled back off.”
The people business
Another big challenge is homegrown: finding workers in a community with the lowest unemployment rate (4.1% as of July) in the state. Rivian poached some of ACC’s employees early on, Williams said, although that’s subsided. ACC’s more flexible work environment is a draw for some, he said.
“The thing we find most challenging is some of the younger folks coming in just don’t really understand manufacturing,” Williams said.
ACC has had some preliminary conversations with Heartland Community College about workforce training. They’ve worked with high schools. They have relationships with temp agencies. But some people still have an outdated view of manufacturing as a dirty or dangerous profession. In reality, ACC looks more like a brightly lit medical lab, not a steel mill.
“If they came in and saw what we’re doing, and the diversity of what we’re doing, it would probably open some eyes and pique some interest,” Williams said.
It’s a problem that ACC will have to solve if it wants to grow again – even beyond the 150 or 160 workers they had during the pandemic. They’re gaining some traction in emerging industries too, like energy, where they’re making circuit boards that go into battery management systems. It’s a far cry from ACC’s first line of business a half-century ago: tape-cartridge machines for radio stations. Computers, of course, made that obsolete.
For some at ACC, the evolving nature of the work is part of the attraction.
This is the third career for ACC production supervisor Corey Christianson of Lexington, after stints as a high school teacher and an accountant.
“Going from the classroom to a desk – that was not a good fit for me,” he said. “So just being active, moving around, different products. The hands-on thing – you’re making something! It’s nice to make something that you know is going to be a finished good somewhere that’s going to be used. I’m on my feet, I’m moving forward, things are constantly changing. I really do appreciate that.”
