The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) provided final approval of funding for five businesses through the Minnesota Job Creation Fund and the Minnesota Investment Fund this week. These projects are expected to leverage more than $30 million and create 321 jobs over the next three years.
“In this tight labor market, employers are still hiring and looking to expand their businesses,” said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove. “The funding announced today will support expansion that helps grow the Minnesota economy for years to come and paves the way for future economic growth.”
The Job Creation Fund provides financial incentives to new and expanding businesses that meet certain job creation and capital investment targets. Eligible companies may receive up to $1 million for creating or retaining high-paying jobs and for constructing or renovating facilities or making other property improvements.
All projects also received an award from the Minnesota Investment Fund. The Minnesota Investment Fund provides loans to companies that create and retain high-quality jobs with a focus on industrial, manufacturing and technology-related industries to increase the local and state tax base and improve economic vitality for all Minnesotans.
ASV Holdings Inc, of Grand Rapids was awarded $850,000 from the Job Creation Fund and $450,000 from the Minnesota Investment Fund.
Founded in a small garage in Marcell by Edgar Hetteen and Gary Lemke in 1983, ASV is known as the company that invented North America’s first Compact Track Loader. Today, ASV is owned by Yanmar America and is an industry leader in the design, production and support of compact construction equipment. This project involves expanding the Grand Rapids production facility by adding a roughly 60,000-square-foot high-bay warehouse along with new production equipment. The total projected expense is just over $9 million. This project is expected to create hundreds of jobs at all levels over the next few years, with the positions providing an average wage of $21.51 per hour.
“The proposed addition enables consolidation of warehouse space and permits optimization of resources within the Grand Rapids facility that will lead to a significant increase in capacity. This growth will lead to job opportunities from individual contributor positions to senior leadership roles over the next several years,” explained Tate Johnson, president of ASV Holdings, Inc. “It allows us to ramp up production of compact equipment, such as compact track loaders, and gives us the capacity to accommodate new product launches in the future. We are excited to grow in Grand Rapids and we are grateful for strong partnerships and support of our efforts.”
The $450,000 MIF award was to GREDA, which will provide a loan of that amount to ASV for equipment, explained Grand Rapids Community Development Director Rob Mattei. The entire amount of the loan will be forgivable if job creation goals for the next two years are met. GREDA approved the loan agreement with ASV at their last meeting.
In addition to DEED funding, this project will be awarded $1.35 million from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRR).
Other projects to receive funding include Dee Manufacturing in Crookston, KAMP Automation LLC in Owatonna, Lakeshirts LLC in Little Falls and Myplas Recycling in Rogers.
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