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CHAMPAIGN — A local manufacturing plant that has provided students with graduation attire for nearly 100 years is set to close in nine months.
Herff Jones announced Monday morning that its Champaign plant is projected to be fully closed by March 2026, while operations in Arcola will expand.
CEO Ron Stoupa said that closing the Champaign site, which employs 173 people, will be a phased process. Most employees on the production side will be moving to Arcola, and “some of that starts immediately,” he said.
On the other hand, some of the plant’s distribution employees will move to Indianapolis, and the company hopes to relocate as many employees to both sites as they can.
“Right now, a majority are going to Arcola,” Stoupa said. “We’ll continue delivering our caps and gowns from that location — and the Arcola location — but from the Champaign location all the way through what we call our winter graduations or the December graduations and return the gowns there in March. And by March ’26, we’ll be shutting down operations. So production moves out now, and then distribution will move out later.”
The Arcola site will support “the full scope of production,” while distribution services will move to Indianapolis, company officials said, adding that these two plants offer “more modern infrastructure” and capacity to meet clients’ needs.
“It’s not about the great people of Champaign,” Stoupa said. “They’ve been a part of building the fabric, the brand of Herff Jones. The reason we came to this decision is the facility. The plant facility is really past its useful life.”
Part of the plant at 1000 N. Market St. was once home to the National Self-Winding Clock Co., which opened its factory in 1905.
According to a previous report by city staff, the cap and gown manufacturing plant has been in operation since 1926 and was known as Collegiate Cap and Gown prior to being acquired by Herff Jones in 1979.
Stoupa said the company’s Champaign location is made up of several interconnected buildings that were built over multiple decades by both Herff Jones and previous owners.
“In Arcola, we have more room to grow, as well as a more sound, to be honest, structure,” Stoupa said. “… But we have extremely skilled people in Champaign, so if folks can’t find a way to commute the 30 miles, we’re actually providing busing service.”
He noted that the Arcola site already has room available for expansion, which the company will use to add more sewing and production lines. Some of this work has already begun, and the company hopes to complete the project by August.
“We haven’t found jobs in the (Arcola and Indianapolis) locations for everyone,” Stoupa said. “So the team is working on career services, benefits for the folks who won’t have a go-forward job.”
He added that this includes working to connect these individuals with employers who are hiring in the Champaign area. The company is also offering financial assistance.
At present, the Arcola facility produces and distributes “keeper” caps and gowns, Stoupa said. Champaign, on the other hand, handles rentals.
“Herff Jones has about 2.5 million graduates a year that we serve, and that would be out of Arcola and Champaign, so out of the state of Illinois,” he said.
Following the consolidation, Arcola will produce both keeper and rental cap and gowns and continue to distribute the former; it will not lose any employees. Indianapolis will handle the distribution of rentals.
Indianapolis is currently home to the company’s headquarters and its “fine paper plant,” which makes and distributes items such as diplomas and covers, Stoupa said.
Herff Jones also has a Virginia Beach, Va., plant for making “premium” diploma frames and a Warwick, R.I., facility for jewelry, such as class rings.
Stoupa said the local consolidation is “one of the harder decisions” he’s had to make during his career, especially given the dedication and craftsmanship of Champaign employees.
“It’s an emotional time,” he said. “And again, many of them will still be with us, but again, it’s been their home for 45 years, so it’s always tough.”
