Manufacturing Bus Tour guides residents through the city’s lesser-known employers

The Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Manufacturing Bus Tour on Oct. 22 to showcase local manufacturers. The event was emceed by Dave Lindahl, the city’s economic development manager, who retired Oct. 31.

Manufacturers make up about 12% of Eden Prairie’s employers, a small but mighty portion of the city’s businesses, Lindahl said. He led the bus tour through a variety of businesses — some that do their manufacturing in Eden Prairie and others that operate facilities nearby.

“They’re really cool companies, and they’re doing really important work,” Lindahl said. 

As the bus pulled out of Fat Pants’ parking lot, Lindahl detailed Tennant Co., which manufactures floor-cleaning machines. Its headquarters are located at 10400 Clean Street in Eden Prairie, but its manufacturing site is in Golden Valley.

On the road to the first stop, Lindahl reminisced about a time when the Minnesota Vikings and Twins considered moving their stadiums to Eden Prairie. The city approached the Vikings with a 50-acre site in the Golden Triangle that used to be part of the Best Buy campus and could have worked as a stadium.

“We approached the Vikings and said, ‘We think this could potentially work. We have all the infrastructure in the area to get people in and out. There’s plenty of parking on weekends because most of the businesses are vacant’,” Lindahl said. 

Neither the Vikings’ nor the Twins’ stadiums came to fruition in Eden Prairie; both are located in downtown Minneapolis. 

Day-to-day devices

Anagram Balloons, 7700 Anagram Drive, is a longtime Eden Prairie manufacturer that got its start in the early 1990s, Lindahl said. It produces foil and latex balloons for parties.

Moving further down the list of manufacturers, Lindahl pointed out Tricam Industries, 7677 Equitable Drive, which mainly produces ladders and other handiwork tools such as gardening tools and hose reels.

Lindahl explained some of Eden Prairie’s business parks and industrial areas, including the Golden Triangle and the area along Martin Drive. Several manufacturers sit along Martin Drive, such as Berry Coffee Co. and steel manufacturer Accurate Die Specialists Inc.

MTS Systems, 14000 Technology Drive, opened in 1968 and is one of the city’s oldest companies, Lindahl said. The company manufactures, designs and tests a wide range of equipment. 

“They test literally anything,” Lindahl said. “They’ll have wheels from cars or tires spinning around on a machine forever to see how long they last.” 

While reminiscing about his own visit to MTS, Lindahl said he once saw the company testing a Formula One car in a wind tunnel to measure its wind resistance.

Deli Express, 16101 West 78th St., was originally called Stewart Sandwiches. The company first opened its Eden Prairie office in 1970 and produces deli products often found in grocery and convenience stores.

“I still remember when Stewart Sandwiches were introduced to Eden Prairie High School back in about 1974,” Lindahl said. “I mean, it was just like, wow, it’s not just mashed potatoes and gravy and fish sticks. We actually have some other options for food.”

Also along Fuller Road sits Birchwood Laboratories, 7900 Fuller Road, a longtime Eden Prairie company that first opened in 1969, Lindahl said. Birchwood Labs manufactures products for cleaning guns and various medical products.

Another company, Climatech Industries, has its manufacturing facility in Eden Prairie at 6950 Washington Ave. S., Lindahl said. The company used to lease property in Hopkins that was acquired for the Green Line Extension project.

The plastic extrusion company found a building that used to be the headquarters of Wilson Learning Corp., which sat vacant for seven years before Climatech moved in, Lindahl said. Climatech reinvested in the building to rebuild and reface it, and the city helped the company obtain grants to fund the project.

Another manufacturer, Apex International, has two locations in the southwest metro — one in Eden Prairie and the other in Chaska, Lindahl said. The company, whose Eden Prairie location is 10000 Valley View Road, manufactures cosmetic and personal care products.

Lindahl mentioned Philips & Temro Industries, 9700 W. 74th St., which manufactures thermal, electric and HVAC components.

Philips & Temro has been in the city for around 35 years, Lindahl said.

Longtime Eden Prairie 3D-printing company Stratasys was headquartered in the city for about 40 years before moving to Opus in Minnetonka, Lindahl said. While the headquarters moved, Stratasys still has three buildings in Eden Prairie, including one where it manufactures at 8081 Wallace Road.

Douglas Corp., 9650 Valley View Road, is now owned by Spanish-based ALUDEC, Lindahl said. The company manufactures decorative emblems for cars, such as the logo on the rear of a vehicle.

NVE Corp., 11409 Valley View Road, manufactures technological devices using spintronics, a technology used for data storage. 

Lindahl said he especially wanted to point out NVE Corp. because it takes advantage of a state program called the Minnesota Investment Fund, which provides grants to companies hiring new employees.

Eden Prairie is also home to a distillery called The Flying Dutchman, 6801 Flying Cloud Drive, which manufactures a wide range of spirits, from gin to vodka, Lindahl said. 

“If you haven’t been there, I really recommend you try it,” Lindahl said. 

What’s up with Danfoss?

Passing by Danfoss’s property — a Danish company that manufactures products from thermostats to automotive parts — Lindahl detailed the site’s long history. Industrial equipment manufacturer Char-Lynn first purchased the land in 1965 but later sold the company to another manufacturer, Eaton, in 1970.

Eaton later sold the land to Danfoss in 2021, Lindahl said. Danfoss used the campus until early this year, when the company announced plans to sell the 55-acre property.

Half of the property will likely be redeveloped, Lindahl said. United Properties had a plan for the site that resonated with the city, but negotiations between Danfoss and United fell through.

“I’m actually hoping they’ll come back, because they really have a good plan, a nice mix of uses,” Lindahl said. 

The other half of the property is under contract with another developer, Lindahl said.

Medical devices

Fuller Road is another area of the city that houses many manufacturers, Lindahl explained. The street is home to some of the city’s oldest businesses, like Bracco ACIST Medical Systems, 7905 Fuller Road. 

The company manufactures a number of medical devices, Lindahl said, from cardiology to radiology. 

“It’s another great company, one you probably never really see or think about,” Lindahl said. “But it’s a great employer.”

Another medical device company, Augustine Surgical Inc., 6581 City West Parkway, designed a warming blanket for surgery patients called the HotDog Patient Warming System, Lindahl said. The blanket controls a patient’s temperature without using air or water, instead using polymer fabrics. 

“That’s Scott Augustine’s claim to fame,” Lindahl said. “He’s got a lot of patents, but that one really has done well for them.” 

As the bus continued on the tour, Lindahl pointed out Harland Medical Systems, 7418 Washington Ave. S., which manufactures a variety of medical devices.

Another longtime Eden Prairie company, Starkey Hearing Technologies, has been in the city since the early 1970s, Lindahl said. The company expanded over the years — from one building to several — creating a substantial campus. 

Starkey manufactures hearing aids for a variety of needs, including hearing loss and tinnitus.

Aldevron’s Eden Prairie location at a standstill

Aldevron, a Fargo-based biotech company, purchased the building at 7075 Flying Cloud Drive to expand into Minnesota, Lindahl said. The company manufactures plasmid DNA and RNA for researchers.

Aldevron purchased the building in 2023, but little progress has been made to renovate it, Lindahl said. Like many companies in the life sciences industry, Aldevron has slowed expansion, and the city is unsure whether the project will move forward.

“We were really looking forward to the investment,” Lindahl said. “They were going to bring a lot of really good jobs, mainly engineers.”

Aldevron’s parent company, Danaher, was going to finance the expansion, Lindahl said. The city still hopes the company will move in, but if not, the site could be sold for redevelopment.

Nearing the end of the tour, Lindahl thanked riders for coming along his last bus tour as emcee. 

Pat MulQueeny, president of the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce, said he was sad to see Lindahl go. 

“The scariest thing we’ve heard about Halloween is it’ll be Dave’s last day with the city of Eden Prairie,” MulQueeny said. “And we have loved our partnership working with Dave.”