Cretex to Build 245,000-Square-Foot Medical Device Plant in Brooklyn Park
Elk River-based Cretex Cos. late last week unveiled plans to build a 245,000-square-foot medical device manufacturing facility in Brooklyn Park.
In a news release, the company said the new facility will be dedicated to “medical device contract manufacturing,” which means Cretex will use the plant to build parts for other medical device makers. CEO Jeff Wollerman said the facility will bring the company’s “capabilities together under one roof.”
Cretex has reached an agreement to buy land at the intersection of highways 610 and 169, which is already home to a number of manufacturing plants, including a Tesla engineering center and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.’s biologics facility. Cretex officials said the Brooklyn Park location is within a “close radius” to its other locations in Anoka. The plan is to consolidate the company’s Anoka operations at the new facility.
Construction is slated to start in April and wrap up by year’s end. The company aims to house stamping, molding, and tool design operations at the new facility. There are plans to fold in the company’s engineering and assembly businesses, too.
“This state-of-the-art facility will allow for the expansion of our new technology and engineering investments while also eliminating the constraints to our existing production,” said Pete Herman, president of JunoPacific, Cretex’s medical device molding company.
Within five years, Cretex hopes to house 350 to 400 employees in the new plant, said company spokeswoman Anja White.
The facility is part of United Properties’ larger 610 Junction plan. In early March, the Brooklyn Park City Council formally approved updates to the developer’s plan, according to the Press and News newspaper.
The demand for commercial real estate and retail property has fluctuated throughout the pandemic, especially as some companies opt for smaller office spaces. But industrial real estate has seen a resurgence due to massive e-commerce growth.
