Littelfuse to open center in Mount Prospect
Instead of Chicago taking suburban jobs, Mount Prospect on Tuesday will welcome about 40 engineers from Chicago-based Littelfuse Inc. who will create innovative products for inside vehicles as well as smartphones and other mobile devices.
Littelfuse, formerly headquartered in Des Plaines, returns in part to the suburbs as it cuts the ribbon starting at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at its new Technology Center, 1400 E. Business Center Drive.
Littelfuse CEO Gordon Hunter, Littelfuse Research and Development Director Dong Yu, Mount Prospect Mayor Arlene Juracek and others are expected at the event. The company signed a long-term lease for the facility, which is about 23,500 square feet, said Littelfuse spokesman Robert Rejmer.
“Mount Prospect was a perfect fit for our criteria. It's close to our employee base, our corporate headquarters on West Higgins Road and O'Hare International Airport. The Kensington Business Center offers the professional environment and amenities we were seeking for this new location,” Rejmer said.
Littelfuse is moving its research-and-development teams from three different locations in Chicago and will reunite them in Mount Prospect. Littelfuse's acquisitions of Accel AB in 2012 and Hamlin Inc. in 2013 will help to provide some new platforms that will be used in Mount Prospect, Rejmer said.
Products that could emerge from the new center include fuses and sensors for automobiles, commercial and electric vehicles, and circuit protection devices for smartphones, tablets, laptops, LED lighting and telecommunication equipment.
In smartphones, tablets and laptops, Littelfuse products protect sensitive circuits and battery chargers from things such as electrostatic discharge. The automotive sensing products include seat-belt and air-bag sensors that help to protect the vehicle's passengers, and solar sensors that help to maintain the vehicle's inside temperature.
“The new center supports the complete innovation life cycle, from new ideas and concepts to product design, prototyping, testing and validation,” Rejmer said.