WAUKEGAN, IL – More than a dozen local dignitaries attended the grand opening ceremony of cutting tool manufacturer LMT Onsrud's new facility.

The event, held Sept. 8, included a tour of the 64,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. The facility also houses the offices of LMT USA, a sales company representing all LMT production companies in the metalworking market in the United States. LMT Onsrud manufactures high-speed steel, carbide tipped, solid carbide and diamond bits for the woodworking, aerospace, energy, automotive and plastics industries. The renovated manufacturing facility is set on nine acres of land, which allows room for expansion, the company says.

As well as representatives from LMT Onsrud and its parent company, those in attendance at the grand opening included: Robert Sabonjian, mayor of Waukegan; Daniel Young, Waukegan Fire Chief; Arthur Gass Sr. and Lydia Lewis from the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, Patricia Gayes, economic development manager of Lake County Partners; Lake County Treasurer Robert Skidmore; Waukegan aldermen Larry TenPas, Lisa May, Rafael Rivera and Sam Cunningham; David Motley, Waukegan director of public relations; and Noelle Kischer Lepper, Waukegan Renaissance Commission; and R. Michael Rodriquez, Waukegan school board president.

As part of LMT Onsrud and LMT USA's grand opening ceremony, guests were invited to the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan for the photographic exhibition “125 Auto Motive,” celebrating the 125th anniversary of the invention of the automobile.