Polaris expands facility in Minn.

Polaris snowmobiles
In this file photo, snowmobilers leave Luce Line Trail and head toward Lake Minnetonka Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007 in Long Lake, Minn. Polaris has announced plans to expand its facility in Wyoming, Minn., and hire up to 350 new workers.
AP Photo/Jim Mone

Medina-based Polaris Industries, the world's largest maker of snowmobiles, plans to double the size of its research and development facility in the town of Wyoming. The project will create up to 350 additional jobs.

Polaris makes all-terrain vehicles, side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and on-road electric/hybrid vehicles, and employs about 375 engineers and support staff at its Wyoming facility. The company's 144,000-square-foot expansion is expected to be complete by next summer.

The state Department of Employment and Economic Development has pledged to give Polaris a $400,000 forgivable loan if the company creates 150 permanent jobs within two years. "If you look out at Polaris' projections, the plan is for them to create more than that," said the agency's Blake Chaffee. "These are engineering jobs paying in the ballpark of more than $100,000 a year, and that's a huge investment in the local economy, a huge boost for the local economy."

Wyoming is located in Chisago County, northeast of the Twin Cities metro area, and Chaffee said the expansion is a much-needed boost for greater Minnesota.

"They are a company that has created and has a lot of workers here in the state," he said. "They are an important company to Minnesota's economy, and we are happy that they decided to expand their facility here."

Polaris is also eligible to receive special tax exemption benefits. In addition to the Wyoming facility and corporate headquarters in Medina, the company has operations in Roseau; Spirit Lake, Iowa; Vermillion, S.D.; Osceola, Wis.; and Monterrey, Mexico.

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