Why should I join the VIA? Companies join us for various reasons. We are the local resource to help our members connect, leverage, and grow. What we call the VIA Advantageinvolves the THREE PILLARS. Read More Here.
What are the THREE PILLARS? They are Tools for Best Practices, Member-Focused Education, and Connections for Growth.
What Tools do you offer for Best Practices? We offer our members a Benchmarking Program, Survey Data, Hotline Support, Partnership Discounts, and more!
What types of Member-Focused Education & Training programs do you offer your membership? Some of the programs we offer are Leadership & Supervisor Development Training and Peer groups, like Human Resources, Safety, Industrial Executive, Quality, Financial Leaders, Women in Manufacturing, and Sales & Marketing. We have recorded Excellence Forums on Safety, Workforce Development, Social Responsibility, Innovation, and Culture that support our Benchmarking for Excellence Survey Tool. Check out our Calendar for upcoming seminars and events. What would you consider "Connections for Growth"? We would call that any time that we can help you connect to someone that helps you with your goals. For example, maybe your goal is attracting new employees to your business? If so, we work with local schools to help companies show off their business with MFG DAY tours. Check out GCAMP for more ways to connect there! We also build networking to almost everything we do. Executive Forums are for our Industrial Executives and Industrial Financial Leaders, where these member leaders can get together for specific programming tailored to their needs. Our large annual Signature events (Spark Awards, Annual Golf Outing, Economic Forecast, and Annual Meeting) are always well attended and offer networking opportunities. We also have a Manufacturing Tour or Member Breakfast every other month. These are just some ways our group gets together to connect and grow. Do you have opportunities to market my business to your members? Yes, we do! Every year, we come out with a list of Annual Sponsorship opportunities, along with single session sponsorships. For more information, contact Laura Swarts. How long has the VIA been in existence? The Valley Industrial Association was established in 1902 to give area manufacturers and the businesses that serve them a place to connect for professional growth, shared information, and common resources that can help operations and support causes important to their industry.
How many members are in the VIA? The VIA serves more than 200 member companies in the Chicago-land area. The VIA was founded by 16 companies, 4 of which are current members today. Where is the VIA's service area? The VIA traditionally served the Fox Valley region (Kane, Kendall, DuPage, Will, and McHenry counties). But we have members throughout the greater Chicago area. Our guide is: If we can bring value to your company, then you are within our service area, and we are happy to have you!
How do I join the VIA? Complete our easy online application and then receive approval by our Board of Directors.
