Bartlett, Ill. — Rep Corp. is getting a new president, in addition to new headquarters.
The Bartlett-based firm will relocate its headquarters to Kodak, Tenn., employing about 20 people locally.
Rep said it had searched the country and many locations, but ultimately decided on Tennessee thanks to the strong support from local officials. Construction is set to start in the coming months, but no timetable was provided in the release.
"We are very excited to be coming to this area of Tennessee," Rep Corp. President Tim Graham said in a statement. "We have been welcomed with open arms, making us feel we have made the right decision to move here from the Chicago area. We look forward to being able to move as soon as the building is ready."
Graham will be stepping down as Rep Corp.'s president, but will remain with the company as director of projects taking the role on Jan. 1. He will retire later in 2019, capping a 40-year career with the company. He served as president of Rep International's North American subsidiary since 2005.
The firm has named Jim Wirtz his successor, only the fourth president since Rep Corp. was established in 1970.
"I've been at Rep through some great periods of growth and through some intense downtimes, but we've had a terrific team of sales and service people here at the company over the years," Graham said in a statement. "They're responsible for helping the company achieve the position we hold in the market today, in combination with what I believe to be the most advanced rubber molding technology in the world."
Rep Corp. is the North American subsidiary of Lyon, France-based Rep International, which is a world leading producer of rubber injection molding machines.