Andersen Corp. says its $40 million expansion in Bayport is needed because of ongoing demand for the company’s “100 Series” windows, a residential product gaining traction in the Midwest.
It’s a familiar story line for the Bayport-based window and door manufacturer, which broke ground on the expansion Thursday. The project includes 50,000 square feet of new space and renovation of 110,000 square feet of existing space on the campus at 100 Fourth Ave. N.
Finance & Commerce reported in 2015 that a separate $18 million expansion repurposed 100,000 square feet at Andersen’s 3 million-square-foot Bayport facility to ramp up production of the 100 Series line, which was launched in 2009.
Sales have continued to grow so “we are expanding it again,” Aliki Vrohidis, a spokeswoman for Andersen Corp., said Thursday.
At the heart of the 100 Series product is Andersen’s “Fibrex” material. The material is a blend of wood fiber and thermoplastic polymer, according to Andersen. Most of the wood fiber is reclaimed from Andersen manufacturing processes, and some of the polymer is reclaimed, the company said.
Vrohidis said the 100 Series product has been a hit because of its durability and sustainability.
“It won’t rot, blister or peel, and you don’t have to paint it,” she said.
The 100 Series product, initially manufactured in Garland, Texas, is intended for both single-family and multifamily structures. As Finance & Commerce reported in 2015, many of the new dormitories at the University of Minnesota used the 100 Series windows.
The latest project comes on the heels of other recent expansions. Besides the Bayport project, Andersen invested $45 million in facilities and equipment in an expansion of its Cottage Grove and North Branch operations in 2015.
Roseville-based McGough Construction is overseeing construction. The project team began to mobilize last week and hopes to get some shovels in the ground next Tuesday, said Joe Hassenfritz, a senior project manager for McGough.
Hassenfritz said the project presents both logistical and environmental challenges.
Crews will work on a constrained site with heavy truck traffic related to Andersen’s day-to-day operations. Controlling stormwater runoff is top of mind because the site overlooks the environmentally sensitive St. Croix River, he said.
“They are putting a lot of emphasis into additional infiltration basins and native grass plantings to make it a more sustainable site,” Hassenfritz said.
McGough, which worked with Andersen on a number of other projects, plans to complete construction by the end of this year. Andersen will then start to move in and equip the space, Hassenfritz said.
Andersen said the expansion will add 40 full-time production jobs.
Jay Lund, Andersen’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement that the company “reviewed several locations” as possible expansion sites.
Andersen settled on Bayport because of its “experienced workforce, the proximity to our 100 Series operations, and the ability to leverage land at our flagship manufacturing campus,” Lund added.
Founded in 1903, Andersen employs more than 12,000 people and has manufacturing sites in North America and Europe.
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