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Investment in state-of-the-art coater to enable new products and efficiencies
OWATONNA, MN – Viracon, Inc., the nation’s leading single-source architectural glass fabricator, announced that it will make an investment of more than $30 million at its Owatonna, MN facility. The investment is for a new coater that will allow Viracon to continue its leadership in architectural glass products and ensure its long-term competitiveness.
Viracon decided to install the new coating technology in Minnesota because the Owatonna facility contains Viracon’s most extensive product capabilities and deepest bench of technical talent, and it is centrally located for serving the company’s primary North American market. Support from the city, county and state was also a pivotal factor in the location decision.
“Viracon is the only North American architectural glass fabricator focused on commercial buildings with its own coating capabilities,” said Kelly Schuller, Viracon president. He explained, “Our coatings are a key underpinning of our competitive differentiation, and the new coater will have many new capabilities and features that will ensure Viracon remains at the forefront of architectural coating technology.
“On behalf of our employees, I would like to thank the City of Owatonna, Steele County and the State of Minnesota for their help in making this investment in our largest location possible,” said Schuller.
“Preserving the competitiveness of a key manufacturer, such as Viracon, whose high performance architectural glass products are sold all over the globe, is a priority for the State of Minnesota,” said DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben. “We congratulate Viracon on their most recent expansion and thank them for making this key investment in Minnesota.”
“Our state, city and county board leaders worked hard to be creative to ensure that the project was won in Owatonna,” said Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz. “Viracon is a great employer and very valuable to the community.”
Schuller said the project is expected to get under way in April 2013, with the site work required to make way for a building addition to house the new coater. It is anticipated that the new coater will begin delivering product for distinctive commercial buildings by late summer 2014.
About Viracon, Inc.
Viracon is based in Owatonna, Minnesota, and has facilities in Statesboro, Georgia, St. George, Utah and Nazaré Paulista, Brazil. Viracon produces high-performance glass products, including tempered, laminated, insulating, silk-screened and high-performance coatings, for North American and international markets. The company is a subsidiary of Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: APOG). Apogee, headquartered in Minneapolis, is a leader in technologies involving the design and development of value-added glass products and services.
