2014-10-01 E-BizOctober -November 2014
EBiz
THE ONLINE JOURNAL OF EAGAN BUSINESS NEWS
Manufacturing: A force
in Minnesota and Eagan
October was again observed as Minnesota Manufacturing
Month. Governor Mark Dayton proclaimed Minnesota
Manufacturing Week (Oct. 19-25) as part of the event,
saying, "Last year, manufacturing contributed over $43
billion to our state's economy and employed over 300,000
workers. This week we celebrate the hard work and many
accomplishments of Minnesota's manufacturers, and reaffirm
our commitment to their continuing success."
Impressively, manufacturing is the third-largest industry
in the state. Eagan is certainly a player as it is home to
many manufacturers, including Aerospace Manufacturing,
Catallia Mexican Foods, DG Welding & Manufacturing,
Ecolab, Gopher Resource, Master Coating Technol-
ogies, Midwest Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Miller
Manufacturing, Mouli Engineering, Skyline Exhibits and
Villaume Industries. Those companies are a big reason
Eagan continues to enjoy such a low unemployment rate —
just 3.4 percent in September. Here are a few other
impressive statistics: *
• 1 manufacturing job creates 1.9 jobs in supporting
industries
• 13 percent of all Minnesota jobs are in manufacturing
• 16 percent of Minnesota's gross domestic product is
due to manufacturing
• 19.3 percent of state exports in 2013 were due
to manufacturing
• 3,300 job openings every year in Minnesota are
in manufacturing
• $59,565 is the average salary for a Minnesota
manufacturing job
Perhaps next year, the state should instead observe
Minnesota Manufacturing Season.
*According to Dream It, Do It, a manufacturing industry collaborative,
and DEED.
Editor's note:
Welcome to E -Biz, The Online Journal of Eagan Business
News. Eight times a year, Eagan Business News and E -Biz
(four issues each) publish timely business features, news
and information relevant to local businesses and business
leaders. Have a great business
story to tell? Send it to
EBN@Cityofeagan.com.
FINAL VERSION 2014
City of Epp
Tm Plug N Play Sola
SolarPod
Iarpod.com
lar was
so simple.
Q&A: How does your manufacturing
location in Eagan serve your
business goals?
"Eagan offers a very family friendly and affordable living
community. Its schools, parks, and environmentally
conscious city administration is one of the reasons we have
chosen to live in Eagan. We have manufacturing in Eagan
and Plymouth at the present time and have people from
several parts of the metro Twin Cities who make our business
successful. We believe in a clean environment and wish to
support causes that promote them."
—Mouli Vaidyanathan, Mouli Engineering
www.mysolarpod.com
Briefly
PEOPLE: E. Bruce Johnson
has been named vice president
of managed services business
development for NACR, a
communications -technology and
systems -integration company
based in Eagan.... Liwanag
Ojala, former vice president of
e-commerce for Meijer.com, has
been named chief operating offi-
cer of Eagan -based CaringBridge, Liwanag Ojala
a nationally known nonprofit.
BUSINESS: Avionte, a staffing software provider, was
named a finalist for the annual Tekne Award, presented
by the Minnesota High Tech Association.... Blue Cross
and Blue Shield of Minnesota, headquartered in
Eagan, plans to open its first retail store in November.
The store will offer individualized help, including claims
support for health plans and free wellness seminars....
ConvergeOne, a communications -technology provider
and integrator, operates primarily from Eagan.
It has purchased Golden Valley -based Spanlink
Communications, which develops and manages call
centers.... Construction is continuing on The Flats —
a high-end, 192 -apartment complex with 11,000 square
feet of retail in Cedar Grove. While Stonebridge
Communities plans to open the first phase of the
complex in early spring 2015, it plans to begin leasing
in December.... For the fifth consecutive time, Money
Magazine named Eagan one of the top 20 best cities
to live in the United States; it ranked 11 on a list of the
50 best small cities with populations between 50,000
and 300,000. Factors included jobs, economy, housing
market, schools and health care.... Ryland Homes
plans to build 50 townhomes/row homes on two
parcels of property, totaling 5.24 acres, in Cedar
Grove. While the Economic Development Authority has
approved the $900,000 purchase agreement of the
City -owned land, the Planning Commission and City
Council will need to approve the company's plan
applications, to be submitted in November, prior
to construction.
GOVERNMENT: AccessEagan, a 17 -mile wholesale
fiber-optic network completed by the City of Eagan in
2012, is helping a growing number of local businesses
get access to high-speed broadband services.
Businesses interested in faster connection speeds
might benefit from the AccessEagan fiber network.
Also, for a limited time, the City of Eagan may pay your
connection costs to the network. To discuss
your network needs and to see if you are eligible for
this offer, call 651-675-5150 or send an email to
info@accesseagan.com. Current AccessEagan tier -one
providers include Arvig, Frontier Communications,
Granite Telecommunications and Velocity.... Eagan
entrepreneurs are invited to contact Open to Business
for services and loan packages. Interested? Meet with
Laurie Crow, the program's business advisor, at City
Hall the third Tuesday of any month, 1 to 3 p.m.; visit
www.cityofeagan.com/OTB; or contact Crow directly at
crow@mccdmn.org or 952-484-3107.