Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty says the industrial park was "the perfect place for these two companies to consolidate and expand solid businesses that expand the abundance of wind energy and build on the area's deep agricultural roots."
Midwest Construction Services, Inc., a holding company that encompasses seven distinct companies related to wind energy manufacturing and technology, intends to build four new buildings in Moorhead. The move will bring together seven disparate and far-flung companies, all but one of which currently operate in North and South Dakota.
With 55 locations around the country, RDO/PROffutt Limited Partnership is the nation's largest dealer of John Deere agricultural and industrial equipment. The company plans to close its Fargo, ND operations and open a John Deere service, parts and sales facility or industrial, agricultural, and consumer product equipment. There may also be a refurbishment and remanufacturing unit within the premises.
The two JOBZ projects combined represents at least 150 new jobs over the next two years, as well as retention of another 169 existing local jobs in Moorhead. The JOBZ initiative offers a variety of local and state tax incentives to companies that start up, expand or relocate in one of ten designated regions of Minnesota.
Since the program's inception in January 13 companies have executed agreements to invest more than $29 million in the state and will create at least 230 new jobs, averaging about $12.50 an hour, plus benefits.
Scott Neal, the real estate division manager for RDO/PROffutt, confirms his company considered expansions at other North Dakota and Minnesota locations, but were persuaded that the JOBZ benefits made Moorhead a logical choice for the move. "We were courted heavily by city officials and I think it's fair to say that the JOBZ program was the major deciding factor for us," he says.
Paul Bruhn, president and chief executive officer of Midwest Construction Services, agreed the JOBZ program "was a very positive influence for us in deciding to expand in Moorhead, and it's a very positive thing both locally here in Moorhead and for the state."
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
