Intellihot headquarters shifting to Chicago, however says Galesburg will see enlargement, too
GALESBURG – A $ 50 million expansion project by Intellihot, the commercial water heater manufacturer, currently headquartered on West Main Street, is expected to result in a net increase in the number of jobs in Galesburg.
Intellihot’s marketing spokeswoman Amy Turner said the company’s manufacturing facility will remain in Galesburg and the company will continue to create jobs there as it plans to make large production increases as it grows.
Intellihot employs approximately 85 people in Galesburg, ranging from positions in accounting, marketing, operations, production, quality, procurement, engineering and technical support. Intellihot said “it remains to be seen” how many jobs will be created in Galesburg.
However, the corporate headquarters will be relocated from Galesburg to the Chicagoland area.
“That includes marketing, sales, engineering, and a few others, and we have a state-of-the-art training center for our agents and dealers that is easy to get to from nearby airports,” said Turner.
The majority of the employees who will be working in Chicago were remote and not working from the Galesburg office.
“In anticipation of this growth, we have already started our expansion in Galesburg to ensure that the learning curve is mastered before production requirements are met,” said Turner. “In 2021 alone we have recorded 70% growth to date and currently only have a handful of vacancies, (mainly) quality, procurement and manufacturing technology.”
Intellihot was founded in 2009 in Galesburg by Sridhar Deivasigamani and developed more efficient instantaneous water heaters. In 2010, the company moved into the 12,000 square meter incubator in the former Carhartt building at 2900 W. Main St.
According to PRNewswire, the company announced this week that it has raised $ 50 million in growth funding led by investors Aegon Asset Management and the Avenue Sustainable Solutions Fund.
Intellihot will increase the number of employees from 100 to 150
The growth funding will be used to expand Intellihot’s sales, marketing and operations capabilities, advance the company’s research and development into advanced sustainable technologies, and increase the production and scale of existing products. As part of its planned expansion, Intellihot will create 50 new jobs over the next two years, representing a 50% increase in the number of employees. A significant portion of the expanded team will work at Intellihot’s new Chicago headquarters, due to open in 2022.
Focused on developing breakthrough technologies to revolutionize the $ 81 billion global HVAC market, Intellihot plans to expand internationally. Intellihot’s technologies are used across the country by large establishments such as hotels, restaurants, stadiums, hospitals, and more.
Current Intellihot customers include Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Benihana, the New York City Housing Authority and Levi’s Stadium, home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.
“If we as a society have learned anything from COP26, it is that we can hardly wait to implement climate solutions and reduce emissions,” said Sridhar Deivasigamani, founder and CEO of Intellihot. “The next few years will be meaningful to the Intellihot team as we continue to expand into housing, apartment buildings, senior living facilities, schools, universities, restaurants and more.”
