Uponor’s North American headquarters in Apple Valley, Minn., is expanding for the fifth time to add 17,500 sq. ft. of manufacturing space.

Beginning in May, Uponor North America will be breaking ground at its headquarters facility in Apple Valley, Minn., to add 17,500 square feet of manufacturing space to help meet forecasted growth for crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) tubing for plumbing, fire sprinkler and radiant heating and cooling systems. This will be the fifth expansion for the 1990-built facility, bringing the total space to 230,000 square feet, which houses the North American corporate offices, manufacturing and Uponor Academy, the company’s onsite training center.

“We are projecting substantial growth for our PEX product in the commercial and residential markets for plumbing, fire sprinkler and radiant floor heating and cooling systems,” says Uponor North America President Bill Gray. “This expansion will allow us to continue our growth in the PEX marketplace and ensure we can meet current and future customer demand.”

The expansion, set to be complete by October 2013 with a planned occupancy date of late December, will also include 3,000 square feet of employee service areas, including an expanded lunch room, locker rooms, restrooms and outdoor seating. “We are a 24/7 operation, so we’re making PEX tubing every minute of every day,” says Rusty Callier, director of Operations at Uponor. “We want to make sure we have sufficient space to manufacture the tubing, as well as provide a positive and productive environment for the employees who are making the tubing.”

The company is not just expanding its footprint, but also its workforce. On April 18, the facility hosted an onsite job fair which brought in more than 60 candidates looking for manufacturing and maintenance positions. Additionally, the company was awarded the 2013 Manufacturer of the Year award from the Manufacturers Alliance, recognizing the company’s lean manufacturing operations and processes.

“This is an exciting time at Uponor,” says Callier. “We are not only expanding our facility and growing our workforce, but we are also being recognized by our peers in the manufacturing industry. It’s rewarding to be part of an organization that is continuing to invest in its future.”

For more information, visit http://uponor.oreilly-depalma.com/2013/na-expansion-us.shtml

From left, Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce President Ed Kearney; Uponor North America President Bill Gray; Apple Valley Mayor Mary Hamann-Roland; and Manufacturers Alliance President Art Sneen

On April 11, Uponor was honored as the 2013 Manufacturer of the Year in the large-company category by the Manufacturers Alliance, an association providing peer-to-peer training, education and resources which allow Midwest manufacturing companies to continuously grow, improve and stay competitive.

“We are honored to receive this recognition and award and are privileged to be part of the Manufacturers Alliance where we not only share our best practices, but where we also learn from others,” said Uponor North America President Bill Gray.

The event began with Apple Valley Mayor Mary Hamann-Roland presenting a Certificate of Commendation from Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and a video from Senator Amy Klobuchar [D-MN] sending her congratulations and support to the manufacturing community. Last year, Klobuchar visited Uponor and took a tour of the manufacturing facility as part of her “Made in America” economic tour.

Uponor is a relative newcomer to the Manufacturers Alliance’s Manufacturer of the Year awards. In fact, last year was the first year the company was nominated and came in as runner-up. “I am excited for Uponor and for our employees,” said Rusty Callier, director of Operations. “This award validates what we have accomplished and will be used as a springboard to sustained success.”

The Manufacturers Alliance chose Uponor due to several lean and operational efficiencies the company had experienced in the past year, including:

• Improving Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) by 7.8%
• Decreasing Non-value Added (NVA) by 19%
• Decreasing scrap rate by 9%
• Decreasing Variable Production Cost (VPC) by 6.3%
• Improving lacquer lines changeover from three and a half hours to 10 minutes
• Improving pipe recoil changeover from 45 minutes to two minutes
• Best year for reducing severity and frequency of accidents
• Sharing lean processes with office personnel, resulting in a new product catalog lean process that reduced production costs by 21% and production time from 207 days to 30 days

On July 31, 2012, Uponor was asked to be one of two companies on the Manufacturers Alliance Tour of Excellence, to showcase its outstanding accomplishments in operational improvements. Topics included tier management, Continuous Improvement (CI) boards, A3 projects, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and Manufacturing Execution System (MES).

“Our 2012 body of work has not only allowed us to make great strides in our business, but also in our belief that we are a learning organization that must invest in learning and benchmarking to stay competitive,” said Callier. “Through participating in Manufacturers Alliance training, holding training events and plant tours, hosting peer meetings and participating in numerous site visits set up through peer groups, we continue to learn from other Manufacturers Alliance members.”

For more information, please visit http://uponor.oreilly-depalma.com/2013/manufacturer-of-the-year-us.shtml  A special video regarding the award can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAfxnz07ZeA&feature=youtu.be