Area Development
Custom manufacturer Protolabs Inc. will invest $29.9 million to expand to a new site in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

The Maple Plain-based company has purchased a 152,000-square-foot building in Brooklyn Park and plans to add another 50,000 square feet to the structure. The investment also includes additional manufacturing equipment to support anticipated future growth.

Company officials said they will move their CNC machining operations from Plymouth to the new site, while retaining the Plymouth facility for their injection molding operations. The expansion will allow Protolabs to create 139 new jobs, with the new location ultimately housing more than 350 employees.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is supporting the project with an $850,000 grant from the Job Creation Fund. The company will receive the funding once it has met investment and hiring goals.

“I thank Protolabs for expanding its operations here in Minnesota and creating nearly 140 new jobs for Minnesotans,” said Governor Mark Dayton. “This is exactly the kind of business success the Minnesota Job Creation Fund is designed to support, and yet another testament to the strength of our state’s hard-working, highly-skilled workforce.”

“Protolabs’ expansion will enable the company to respond to increasing customer demand worldwide for custom-machined products,” said DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy. “The company is growing rapidly thanks to a successful business model that emphasizes quality and speed.”

Protolabs, founded in 1999 by Larry Lukis, manufactures custom prototypes and on-demand parts for customers in 160 countries and on six continents. Customers include medical device, electronics, appliance, automotive and consumer products firms.