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Proto Labs lands state aid for Brooklyn Park expansion

William Morris//April 16, 2018//

Proto Labs, a custom manufacturer headquartered in Maple Plain, has purchased this 152,000-square-foot production building at 8500 N. Wyoming Ave. in Brooklyn Park. It plans to relocate its CNC machining operations from its Plymouth facility and refocus the Plymouth factory on injection molding. (Submitted photo: Costar)

Proto Labs, a custom manufacturer headquartered in Maple Plain, has purchased this 152,000-square-foot production building at 8500 N. Wyoming Ave. in Brooklyn Park. It plans to relocate its CNC machining operations from its Plymouth facility and refocus the Plymouth factory on injection molding. (Submitted photo: Costar)

Proto Labs lands state aid for Brooklyn Park expansion

William Morris//April 16, 2018//

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Maple Plain-based custom manufacturer Proto Labs Inc. will receive $850,000 in state aid for its 202,000-square-foot expansion in Brooklyn Park, a project that is expected to create nearly 140 jobs on top of the 225 jobs it is moving from Plymouth.

The Job Creation Fund grant, announced Friday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, is on top of the $29.9 million Proto Labs says it will invest in the project.

In a press release, the company said it purchased the 152,000-square-foot facility at 8500 N. Wyoming Ave. in March and planned to add 50,000 square feet of space.

Proto Labs paid $7 million in cash for the property, according to a certificate of real estate value released in late March. The purchase price works out to $46 per square foot.

Proto Labs intends to relocate its computer numerical control machining, or CNC, operations from its Plymouth plant, which will involve moving 225 jobs to Brooklyn Park. The plant in Plymouth will concentrate on injection molding. The terms of the state grant call for the company to create at least 139 jobs paying an average cash wage of $16.68 per hour on top of the positions being moved.

Rob Bodor, Proto Labs vice president and general manager for the Americas region, said in an interview the move will allow further growth in both the CNC and injection molding markets.

The Plymouth plant, which opened in 2014, currently employs a little more than 400 workers, and Bodor anticipates more hiring there once the Brooklyn Park plant is up and running by the end of 2018.

“That’ll allow us to continue to grow there for several more years before we need to look for additional space for our injection molding as well,” Bodor said Monday.

Bodor said Proto Labs liked the Brooklyn Park building as well as its location. The new building offers employees convenient access to transportation and the nearby North Hennepin Community College. The site is east of Highway 169 and north of 85th Avenue North.

Erik Hansen, Brooklyn Park’s economic development and housing director, said Proto Labs’ new building has been vacant for some time. Taylor Corp. was the previous owner.

“It’s good to see some more manufacturing activity in the city,” Hansen said.

The Job Creation Fund was established in 2014 as a pay-per-performance incentive program requiring companies to hit prearranged investment and employment thresholds to receive state funding. Grants range from less than $100,000 to nearly $1.5 million.

DEED has awarded grants to 21 companies in the first seven months of fiscal year 2018, the same number of grants approved in all of fiscal year 2017.

DEED spokesperson Shane Delaney said the state is seeing a particular increase in Greater Minnesota projects seeking Job Creation Fund grants. The program receives an $8.5 million appropriation each year of the 2018-2019 state budget.

Delaney said $5.6 million is still available in the fiscal 2018 appropriation.

“This amount continually ebbs and flows based on the status of current projects,” he wrote in an email. “We have a strong pipeline of applications and we expect to use most of these funds.”

Bodor said the company appreciates the Job Creation Fund money and the public effort to retain and grow local employers.

“It was a nice indication of the state and city’s interest in supporting manufacturing,” he said.

Related:

Proto Labs opens doors to new plant

Certificate of real estate value

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