Secret trip, subsidy bring Winnipeg company’s expansion to Minnesota
DFL Gov. Mark Dayton announced today that a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based manufacturer is opening a new research and development facility in Maple Grove next year.
Price Industries is a maker of heating, ventilation and air conditioning products. It plans to create 40, higher-wage engineering jobs in Minnesota. Dayton took a mystery trip to Winnipeg last summer to help lure the company. Price will receive a $700,000 grant from the Minnesota Investment Fund.
During a news conference, Dayton said he thinks 40 jobs is just a first step.
“If this project goes as they hope and we believe it will, that number will be, I would think, could well be doubled in a couple of years,” Dayton said. “They’ve talked about other R&D facilities elsewhere. We’ll do our best to convince them it's best to house them all in one location here in Minnesota.”
The Maple Grove facility will operate under the corporate name Price Mechanical. Operations are expected to begin in April.
Bruce Dorey, senior vice president for Price Mechanical, said the decision to locate in Minnesota was largely due to the “availability and quality of great engineers.” He also credited Dayton’s role in the process.
Dayton’s other mystery trip last summer helped to convince California-based Shutterfly to build a new facility in Shakopee.
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