Uponor North America expanded plant; hiring is bigger challenge

Uponor North America, which has added enough manufacturing space at its Apple Valley flagship campus over the last couple of years to accommodate a huge Target store, is finding it isn't easy to fill the job openings.

"It is a challenge to fill these … particularly in manufacturing," acknowledged Bill Gray, president of Uponor North America, which has 71 manufacturing-and-office openings. "We plan to hire 130 people over the next year."

Uponor already employs about 600 in the Twin Cities area, primarily at plants in Apple Valley and Lakeville. It is a growing manufacturer of piping systems and related components used by heating-and-cooling systems for residential and commercial buildings.

The firm sold $305 million worth of product in its last fiscal year, its fifth consecutive record year. It recently opened a 90,000-square-foot, $18 million addition to its Apple Valley plant, which included $3 million in assistance from state and local government tied to local hiring.

"Our North American business is good, which is tied to the [continuing] recovery of the housing market and revival of the commercial market, including hotels, multifamily housing, high-rise [commercial buildings] and schools," Gray said. "Our outlook for 2017 is pretty good.

"It is a challenge to fill these jobs. It is hard to attract people to manufacturing jobs. We consider ourselves above-average in wages and benefits. All manufacturers for skilled and semiskilled have a challenge attracting people. The education system doesn't encourage manufacturing [employment]. We offer a solid career opportunity. Our challenge is telling the story. A high percentage of our jobs are head-of-household jobs."

Uponor is conducting a job fair this week in Apple Valley and working with Dakota Tech and Dunwoody College to drum up candidates for about 80 manufacturing and other jobs within the next few weeks.

Uponor offers starting factory floor wages of $15-to-$17 an hour, including a month's time off, a 401(k) retirement plan match, "above average health coverage," night-differential pay and up to a $2,000 bonus for working nights. And benefits commence the first month of employment.

The manufacturing-and-maintenance job pay can rise to as high as $25 an hour within five years.

"Our best advocates are the people who work for us," Gray said. "We have to tell our story and promote ourselves. Filling skilled and semiskilled labor for operating machinery, fabricating and installation will be a challenge for 30 years. There are fewer people who want to do that work."

Uponor's mainstay growth product is "cross-linked polyethylene" tubing that has been hailed for its precision, flexibility, energy efficiency and other features sought by heating-and-cooling-system manufacturers and installers.

Uponor North America, which employs a total of 650 in North America, is part of the Finland-based manufacturer that employs 3,700 around the globe. Uponor has expanded several times since it located its North American headquarters in Apple Valley nearly 30 years ago.

It is Apple Valley's largest private employer.

Neal St. Anthony has been a Star Tribune business columnist and reporter since 1984. He can be contacted at nstanthony@startribune.com.