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Andersen Windows considers coming to NBBy Barbara Brown One big announcement was made at Monday nightís North Branch City Council meeting that could mean new jobs and increased tax value for North Branch. A representative from Corporate Real Estate told the council Andersen Windows is interested in building a 16-acre manufacturing plant in the industrial park. Bruce Maus said the company is working through him with the city to make a deal to sell the land to Andersen for $1 and create a tax-exempt JOBZ area for the plant. North Branchís economy has suffered in the past few years as job creation, business development and individual wealth have been less than national and state averages. JOBZ was made into law during the 2003 legislative session and was supported by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The bill was introduced May 21 to the Legislature and signed into law by Pawlenty nine days later. The taxes that Andersen or other companies that would be placed in a JOBZ project would be exempt from corporate franchise tax, income tax for operators or investors, sales tax on goods and services used in the zone, property tax on commercial and industrial improvements but not on the land and employment tax on high-paying jobs. Maus told meeting-goers at the Oct. 13 meeting that the company plans to build a multi-million dollar manufacturing plant in one of two towns: North Branch or an unnamed town out of state. The plant would be about 150,000 square feet and have about 135 employees. Maus said between 25 and 35 of those jobs would be transfers from other plants, leaving about 100 new jobs for the new plant. Maus said the pay and benefit packages ñ known across the country ñ will entice hard workers, much like at the companyís Bayport plant. The privately-owned business was founded in 1903 by Danish immigrant Hans Andersen and his family in Hudson, Wisc., where logs arrived on the St. Croix River. The corporation is international and has more than 8,000 people at 32 locations. The Bayport location is a 2.8 million-square-foot facility that covers 65 acres. Andersen annually manufactures more than 5 million wood windows. North Branch originally was not even on the radar screen for Andersen, Maus said. He said the company was looking at several out-of-state sites, but when the JOBZ plan was passed, the company quickly changed gears and spotted North Branch as a community where Andersen ìwould want to invest in, one that we would want to make our home.î Maus said the presentation to the council during Monday nightís meeting was not an announcement that the company was coming to North Branch. He said the announcement was meant as a show of good faith so the council could make decisions based on the chance that Andersen would locate here if the JOBZ sector was made. ìIt would not be fair of me to come before the council and ask them to make decisions without naming my client,î Maus said. ìIt wouldnít be fair to expect them to make decisions without hearing exactly who they are dealing with.î Construction would begin immediately, Maus said, because the products that would be made in the new plant have already been ordered and would have to be shipped to customers by May 1. ©ECM Post Review |