The Mill Patrick Kennedy

Dunwoody gets help from Stratasys

As 3-D printing and production become more mainstream in manufacturing and other industries, there is a growing need for technology students to learn these new techniques.

Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis, which has been teaching and training manufacturing students for more than 100 years, is teaming with a local pioneer to place greater emphasis on the new technology.

Dunwoody is partnering with Stratasys Ltd., a provider of 3-D printing and additive manufacturing solutions based in Eden Prairie and Rehovot, Israel, to add to Dunwoody's curriculum.

"I see additive manufacturing as an essential partner to the traditional manufacturing process," E.J. Daigle, dean of Dunwoody's robotics and manufacturing department, said in a statement. "Not only do we want to give our students the tools to intertwine both, but we saw a need for businesses in the industry to further their education."

The technology is being adopted by everybody from automobile to medical device manufacturers. Firms use the machines to quickly build and test prototypes or for custom manufacturing.

Dunwoody will use a Fortus 400mc and two Fortus 250mc machines, both models made by Stratasys. The Fortus 400mc can use up to 11 thermoplastics to build layer-by-layer designs in a 16‑by-14-by-16-inch build space. The smaller Fortus 250mc machines can build designs in multiple colors in a 10-by-10-by-12-inch build space.

Just Listed Kristen Leigh Painter

Xcel taps Opus for another office tower

The Opus Group is building another corporate office for Xcel Energy, this time in Amarillo, Texas.

The Minnetonka-based developer began construction last week on the $42 million building, less than a month after topping off Xcel's nine-story corporate headquarters in downtown Minneapolis.

Phil Cattanach, director of real estate development for Opus Development Co., said the firm was thrilled to do more business with Xcel.

"Our early commitment to price and certainty of outcome provided Xcel Energy the confidence to select Opus for their new office headquarters in Amarillo," he said. "This project is a testament to how Opus' unique design-build platform provides excellent turnkey service for clients."

The seven-story building will house 525 employees and a small number of retailers on the ground level.

"Xcel Energy is in a period of historic growth across its Texas-New Mexico service area, and most of the work is being directed from our downtown Amarillo offices," said David Hudson, president of Southwestern Public Service Company, an Xcel Energy company.