We spent more than 25 years helping grow a single Illinois plastics manufacturer roughly ten-fold. Now we bring that experience to other manufacturers who are scaling, restructuring, or building the function they never had time to build.
Mantis Business Solutions is a small consultancy based in South Elgin, Illinois. We are Scott and Renee Carter — married, and professional partners for more than 25 years.
From the late 1990s through the end of 2025 we both served in leadership at a global thermoforming solutions provider. Scott built the R&D and engineering functions, eventually serving as Vice President of Research and Development, a board member, and a company officer. Renee built the HR function from scratch as HR Manager, reporting into the same leadership team. Together, we were part of the group that helped grow the company roughly ten-fold in revenue and more than four-fold in headcount — through new product development on the technical side, and through benefits, safety, and workforce development on the people side.
Renee founded Mantis Business Solutions, LLC in 2023, initially as an HR consulting practice serving small and mid-size manufacturers. Scott joined as partner in 2025, adding the R&D and engineering practice.
We started it because we kept hearing the same two things from smaller manufacturers we talked to:
“We have the technical problem, but no time to solve it.”
“Our HR is held together with spreadsheets and goodwill.”
These are the same two problems we spent most of our careers solving together — not in parallel, but as a leadership team. A safety program only works if the process it protects is stable. A new thermoformer doesn't pay for itself without the operators, the training, and the compensation structure to run it. A well-designed benefits plan is wasted if your onboarding leaks your best new hires. We know where these things connect because we were the people making them connect.
We're a two-person firm. That's the point. You'll always be talking to one of us — never an account manager or a handoff. If the work requires a deeper bench, we'll tell you directly and bring in trusted specialists from our network. We don't staff junior associates onto client projects.
Most engagements are fractional or project-based. A typical starting engagement is two to six months, with a clear scope and deliverable. We're comfortable working remotely, and we travel to client sites throughout the Midwest and nationally when the work calls for it.
Our honest bias: we want to be the right fit, not the biggest fit. If we're not, we'll say so and, where we can, point you somewhere better.
South Elgin, Illinois. Registered Illinois LLC. We work with clients throughout the United States.
Typically 25–250 employees. Plastics, medical devices, electronics, food packaging. If you're scaling a real thing you make, we probably know the shape of the problem.
Tell us what you're working on. No pitch, no pressure — just a real conversation.
hello@mantisbusiness.com 630-715-4596