Uponor gets $3.2 million incentives to expand in Apple Valley

Uponor is poised to get more than $3 million from Apple Valley and the state of Minnesota to help with the $18 million cost of the company's south metro expansion.

The recently approved incentives — up to $1.9 million from the state and $1.3 million from the city — depend on Uponor meeting benchmarks that include creating at least 80 jobs with a minimum wage of $15 an hour plus benefits. The expansion, to be completed by Dec. 1, likely will lead to the addition of 100 or more jobs over time, company and city officials have said.

Uponor, which has expanded several times since it located its North American headquarters in Apple Valley 25 years ago, announced its latest plans in March after lengthy negotiations with city officials and evaluation of sites in other states and outside the country.

The international company, which makes plumbing and indoor climate systems, is the city's largest private employer. City officials said the incentives were a way to both persuade Uponor to expand locally and to add jobs in a city where half of the workforce is employed elsewhere.

The City Council unanimously approved the incentive package, along with a site plan and building permit, at a meeting April 9.

"This is a historic moment in the city of Apple Valley," Mayor Mary Hamann-Roland said.

The financial assistance the company will receive includes up to $1 million from the state's Job Creation Fund, $500,000 from the Minnesota Investment Fund and $400,000 in employee training services from the state. The incentives from Apple Valley consist of $500,000 in tax increment financing and $800,000 in a deferred forgivable loan from the city's Economic Development Authority.

"Because of the significant investment, it requires some significant financial assistance," Apple Valley planner Margaret Dykes told council members. "But for the city and the state, this project would not be happening, these improvements would not be occurring and these jobs wouldn't be added."

According to city documents, Uponor also received an incentive proposal from Denton, Texas.

Uponor North America president Bill Gray said told council members that the company's decision "was a question of where are we going to locate and a question of [return on investment]. It's the nature of the world and the nature of competition today. Jurisdictions have to compete with each other."

He said the company took an "all-in" approach, weighing the incentives and factors including the proximity of its headquarters, customers, suppliers and employees and its long-term relationship with Apple Valley.

"There are jurisdictions that are more competitive," Gray said. "When you locate in Minnesota you know things are going to be more expensive. The city over the long term has really proven that this is a city that's open for business … but not compromising on those core values."

In documents supporting Uponor's application for state incentives, city officials wrote that the expansion would help address a "job deficit" in Apple Valley, especially in manufacturing jobs. The city has 14,400 jobs, primarily in retail, government and public schools, so more than half its labor force of 29,000 has to commute to jobs in other cities.

"The addition of more positions at Uponor, especially skilled labor, to the Apple Valley job base will provide new economic opportunities to residents that might otherwise be unable to find employment in the city," the document said.