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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Tower considers growth in light manufacturing

At least four businesses interested in proposal

Posted

TOWER—A proposal to build light manufacturing space in Tower’s industrial park is beginning to take shape after a week of discussions with prospective businesses.

At least four businesses, three of which are already operational, have expressed interest in either moving to Tower or expanding their operations in town.

One of them, a Norwegian company named GlamiTEC, is interested in entering the U.S. market. The company, which manufactures stunning glass panels for commercial and residential applications, has already expanded successfully into a number of European countries. Company president Lars Hanstad was in Tower this week for a series of meetings on the possible expansion of the company into the U.S. Hanstad is a business partner of Orlyn Kringstad, who is leading the town home development at Tower’s harbor.

A longstanding small manufacturer in Tower, and a husband and wife team from Ely are also exploring leasing space in the facility, while the principle of a fourth company, currently in the start-up phase, has also expressed strong interest in opening her operation in the facility.

Representatives of the Department of Employment and Economic Development, APEX (a regional developer), Minnesota Power and the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund were all in Tower on Monday to meet with the interested business owners.

The Tower-Soudan Community Development Corporation first proposed building a light manufacturing facility, but the project would likely be a partnership between the city of Tower and the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board. The city and CDC officials have already discussed the proposal with IRRRB economic development director Steve Peterson. If built, the facility would offer space for participating manufacturers as well as some additional space for expansion or to house additional manufacturers.

While the proposal is still preliminary, the project, if it moves forward, could be funded with a non-recourse loan from the IRRRB, similar to the financial arrangement in place when the city built a facility for the former Powerain car wash operation. That building has since been renovated for the Vermilion Country Charter School. Under a non-recourse loan, the city would make loan payments based on the income generated from leases to the participating manufacturers. It would not require loan payment during periods when the facility was not generating revenue.

The city has yet to make any decisions regarding the construction of a new facility, but the need for manufacturing space is critical. The city currently has no viable space to house a potential manufacturer.