Polaris Industries to expand in Plymouth

Polaris Industries Inc. will spend $20 million to buy and renovate a building in Plymouth to house the sales functions for its military and commercial all-terrain vehicles.

Polaris, which employs about 5,400 people globally, plans to hire 100 workers for the new project, the company said Friday.

The news comes days after Polaris introduced a flurry of new motorcycles and announced a new "Global Adjacent Markets" division that will oversee small and electric vehicles, government, military and commercial ATVs, and other products that are sold through nontraditional dealer channels.

The expansion to Plymouth is part of that overall vision, which officials described as a smart way to structure and grow several of its "emerging" businesses.

The state provided $800,000 in job creation funds for the new Plymouth project.

Gov. Mark Dayton and other state officials cheered the expansion as it adds 100 corporate jobs to the state. The new jobs will be in sales, operations, dealer development, marketing, finance and IT, company officials said.

Katie Clark Sieben, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, said in a statement, "Polaris is a homegrown Minnesota business that was an early pioneer in designing and manufacturing snowmobiles. We are proud of what Polaris has accomplished over the past 60 years and congratulate the company on its expansion."

The newly purchased building will be called Polaris Bass Creek. It features 120,000 square feet, three stories and will eventually be home to the 100 new workers plus another 300 workers who will be relocated from other Polaris sites.

Polaris, which reported $3.8 billion in 2013 revenue, is based in Medina. But it also has recently expanded its research and development center in Wyoming, Minn., and factories in Roseau, Minn., Spirit Lake, Iowa, Osceola, Wis., and Monterrey, Mexico. It is building new factories in Poland and India.