is polaris rampd moving out of roseau
Amsnow
According to an exclusive report in the Minneapolis/St. Paul The Busines Journal, Polaris Industries Inc. is considering a plan to centralize research for all of its powersports products (sleds, ATVs, motorcycles) closer to its Medina, Minnesota, headquarters.
The Business Journal reports that Polaris is considering a new 600-acre site. Acreage in Wyoming, MN and Osceola, WI are under study as a base for a 100,000-square-foot testing facility that would employ as many as 300 engineers and researchers.
A Polaris company spokesman is quoted as saying that both areas are bidding for the research facility and that a decision should be forthcoming by the end of 2003.
Construction would get underway in 2004, Polaris' 50th anniversary year.
It has been reported that Polaris CEO Tom Tiller has publicly indicated that he expects the company accelerate its R&D spending in the next five years and focus more on new products.
According to the story, Roseau city officials have been told that an ongoing $9 million expansion of Polaris' research facility there won't lead to more jobs.
The Business Journal notes that Polaris thinks it is easier to recruit out-of-state workers to the Twin Cities than to Roseau, just 10 miles from the Canadian border. Expressing concern that the city might lose some of its existing R&D jobs, a Roseau official disagrees with the company on that point.
Polaris completed a $12 million upgrade last year to the Roseau manufacturing plant.
In addition to the Roseau facility (and current home to Polaris R&D), Polaris has a production facility in Osceola as well as Spirit Lake, IA.