Area Development
Stern Rubber Co., a custom rubber molder and extruder, specializing in bonding rubber to metal and other materials, plans to double the size of a manufacturing facility in Aitkin, Minnesota. The company will invest $1.26 million to expand its plant from 10,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet.

According to the Minnesota Employment and Economic Development, Stern will use the extra space to create additional sizes of gate valves for municipal water systems.

As an incentive, Minnesota Department of Employment of Economic Development is supporting the project with $79,875 from the Job Creation Fund. The company will receive the support once it has met its job and investment commitments. “The Job Creation Fund is helping companies to grow their operations throughout Minnesota,” said DEED Commissioner Shawntera Hardy. “We’re pleased to help Stern Rubber expand its footprint in Aitkin while bringing new job opportunities to the community.”

Stern Rubber Co. was started in Savage, Minnesota, in 1969 by Donovan and Terrel Stern. The company moved to Staples in 1973 when it ran out of space in Savage. Stern later added an operation in Aitkin, opening a small manufacturing facility in a downtown incubator building in 1997 and moving to a 10,000-square-foot facility in the Aitkin Airport Industrial Park in 2002.