News and Events

On Thursday, February 24, 2011, APEX President & CEO, Rob West, provided an economic update for the Hermantown Chamber of Commerce, noting significant progress in several key development initiatives promoted by APEX, its members and economic development partners from across northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. West took the opportunity to thank the Hermantown Chamber of Commerce and its members for their role in supporting a successful business environment in the region, before giving a detailed report on several major projects APEX is helping to bring to the area. These included a large-scale data storage facility, an advanced biofuels refinery and several new mining and equipment manufacturing ventures that are currently exploring new investment/expansion opportunities.  West further stressed the need to support new tech-based start-ups like GeaCom and he outlined a viable marketing strategy for the former NWA maintenance facility, which has the potential to put as many as 200 Northland mechanics back to work in the Hermantown area. 

Please join APEX in thanking the Hermantown Chamber for their work and in congratulating them on their new home at the Hermantown Square Center on Miller Trunk Highway.

During the week of February 16, 2011, APEX President & CEO, Rob West, and Business Development Director, Elissa Hansen, participated in Duluth & St. Louis County at the Capitol Days. During the time spent at the Capitol, APEX led a lobbying team and visited a several of our region's Senators and Representatives. The team included John Heino, Como Oil & Propane; Chris Dahlberg, St. Louis County Commissioner; Ruth Janke, WLSSD; Bob Zimmerman, Liscomb-Hood-Mason Company; and a handful of area residents, including retired professor and active SHIP (Statewide Health Improvement Program) advocate, Gary Gordon. The team thanked the legislators for their commitment to creating a better Minnesota and discussed local government aid, economic development strategies, and permitting policy. West and Hansen also attended the rally in the Capitol Rotunda and engaged state legislators and their assistants in conversation at the APEX booth during the Grand Reception in the Cedar Street Armory. The following morning during the Legislative Breakfast, everyone had the opportunity to learn about Governor Dayton’s outlook during this session.

Pictured left to right: Duane Northagen, Jennifer Pontinen, Elaine Hansen, Com. Mark Phillips, Sen. Al Franken, Mike Valentine, Com. Tony Sertich, Connie Christenson, Jeff Borling and Michelle Ufford

On Sunday, February 13, 2011, economic development professionals from across the Northland had an opportunity to sit down with three of the State's most influential leaders and discuss economic development policies which affect the communities of northeast Minnesota's Arrowhead Region.  

Senator Al Franken came together with Mark Phillips, Commissioner of the Minnesota Dept. of Employment & Economic Development (DEED) and Tony Sertich, Commissioner of the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB), to discuss the potential impact of budget deficit-reducing measures on workforce development programs in Minnesota.  The meeting, organized by the Iron Range Economic Alliance, was held at the Minnesota WorkForce Center in Virginia, MN and included a detailed report from Michelle Ufford, Executive Director of the Northeast Minnesota Office of Job Training.

In addition to extolling the virtues of northeast Minnesota's outstanding post-secondary academic institutions, Ufford's report also highlighted the success workforce development programs at the Federal, State and regional levels have had in strengthening northeast Minnesota's workforce. One initiative discussed in detail was the Wage Enhancement Program developed by IRRRB in 2009 and 2010, as a means of stimulating new job growth among the region's smaller employers.

The program, which was modeled after a similar program developed in the early 80s by then-Governor of Minnesota, Rudy Perpich, targeted small businesses with fewer than 25 employees and headquarters in northeast Minnesota. With an initial investment of $1.5 million, IRRRB's Wage Enhancement Program helped 122 businesses hire 322 workers on the Iron Range. Although these funds have been fully depleted, Com. Sertich seemed open to considering refunding the program again in 2011 and Sen. Franken noted that a similar program is being discussed at the Federal level.

Also present at the meeting were members of the Steering Committee for the Iron Range Economic Alliance, a member organization of professionals and associations representing rural communities from across the Arrowhead Region. These included Mike Valentine, Chair of the Steering Committee and Owner of Valli Enterprises (Two Harbors); Duane Northagen, Vice Chair and Economic Development Coordinator for the City of Hibbing; Connie Christenson, Chair of the IREA Membership Committee and Regional Administrator for DEED's Workforce Development Division (Virginia); Elaine Hansen, Chair of the IREA Education Committee and Executive Director of the UMD Center for Economic Development (Duluth); Jennifer Pontinen, IREA Secretary & Treasurer and Business Consultant for the UMD Center for Economic Development (Virginia); and Jeff Borling, Chair of the IREA Public Relations Committee and Director of Business Development for APEX and IEDC (Grand Rapids).

Steering committee members pictured left to right: Brian Brashaw, UMD-NRRI; Alan Doering, AURI; Mike Curci, Indeck Energy; Gregg Mast, BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota; Chris Wiberg, Twin Ports Testing; and T.J. Morice, Marth Wood Fiber

On February 9th, 2011, an initial summit meeting for a Midwest initiative called “Heating the Midwest with Renewable Biomass” was conducted at the Fond Du Lac Band of Chippewa’s Black Bear Casino & Hotel in Carlton, MN. There were 53 individuals in attendance representing 43 organizations with influence in the biomass thermal heating sectors of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The intent of the summit was to present an idea to the Midwestern states similar in concept to an initiative introduced one year ago in Manchester, NH called “Heating the Northeast with Renewable Biomass.”

At the Northeast event, program coordinators released “A Bold Vision for 2025” in which seven Northeast states had banded together to proclaim their intention to provide 25% of all thermal energy from renewable sources by 2025, most of which would come through sustainably harvested biomass. The supporting documentation of the vision outlined how 19 million green tons of sustainable biomass would be made available annually from forest and farm sources, the intent to convert 1.38 million households in the Northeast to biomass for thermal needs, as well as significant regional benefits including the reduction of 1.14 billion gallons of heating oil annually, reinvesting $4.5 billion dollars in resulting economic wealth into local economies, and the creation of 140,200 jobs.

Similar to the New England states, the Midwest states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan have significant heating needs that are often satisfied by burning costly fossil fuels that carry little economic benefit in the way of job creation for the consuming states. Drawing upon the "Heating the Northeast" model, the "Heating the Midwest" group intends to raise awareness around these issues and the related opportunities, urging policy makers and the general public to make a concerted effort to use more woody biomass and agricultural residues as fuel for thermal energy production. Several APEX members are helping to lead this effort, including Brian Brashaw from the UMD Natural Resources Research Institute and Chris Wiberg from Twin Ports Testing.

Over the past several years, APEX has conducted extensive research into the benefits of utilizing wood fuels as a source of renewable energy, as part of our over-arching strategy to expand the economic impact of Minnesota's timber industry. Although thermal energy derived from wood pellets or chips is currently the most commercially viable application of woody biomass feedstocks, a lack of awareness and support has limited the growth of the bio-thermal industry throughout most of the region.  With plans for a full conference in January of 2012, the group organizing "Heating the Midwest with Renewable Biomass" hopes to reverse that trend.  

APEX is pleased to introduce Elissa Hansen, the newest addition to the APEX team, who begins her position as APEX Director of Business Development on Tuesday, February 1, 2011. Hansen is a certified Economic Development Finance Professional through the National Development Council and earned her BS and MBA from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. A native of Brainerd, Hansen joins APEX after a successful track record with the Brainerd Lakes Area Development Corporation and the Carlton-Cook-Lake-St. Louis Community Health Board in Duluth. Her duties encompass all aspects of attracting, expanding and retaining businesses in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin, in support of the APEX mission and vision for private sector business development. Please join us as we welcome Elissa Hansen to the APEX family!

The College of St. Scholastica (CSS) has also rejoined APEX this month at the Contributing Membership level, reaffirming the College’s support for the APEX mission and vision for sustained regional growth. The College of St. Scholastica was founded in 1912 and is the only independent private college in the Arrowhead Region. In addition to its Duluth campuses, CSS operates three other campuses in Brainerd, St. Cloud and St. Paul. As of today, the College educates more than 3,250 men and women and has graduated more than 16,000 alumni, adding greatly to the exceptional workforce of northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin.

Please join us in welcoming College of St. Scholastica and Great River Energy as the first new APEX members of 2011.

APEX is pleased to report that Great River Energy joined APEX this month at the General Membership level. Great River Energy is a not-for-profit electric cooperative owned by its 28 member cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Great River Energy provides wholesale electric service to its members, who in turn distribute electricity to more than 645,000 member consumers – about 1.7 million people. Great River Energy has also demonstrated strong leadership in the areas of renewable energy and sustainable development, with its Platinum LEED-Certified headquarters building and its recent accomplishments in helping customers convserve more than 167 million kilowatt-hours of energy in 2010.

The first quarter of 2011 marks a significant milestone for the local businesses working with ABioNova, a state-of-the-art biomass boiler manufacturing company led by Per Carlsson of Gothenburg, Sweden, in partnership with D’Alessandro Thermomeccanica Company of Miglianico, Italy.  WoodMaster, ABioNova’s U.S. sales and distribution partner out of Red Lake Falls, has reportedly received its first order for four BioMax Commercial Boiler systems ranging in size from 440,000 to 6,800,000 btu/hour output capacity.  These and future units will be manufactured by Superior Steel in the Twin Ports, which completed a 5,000 sq. ft. expansion in November, 2010, and is now looking to hire as many as six more employees to accommodate recent growth.

“2011 is shaping up to be a big year for Superior Steel. We have experienced sustained growth with several new and existing contracts, and our work with ABioNova has opened new doors for us in the areas of renewable energy technology and ASME-compliant products.”
- Rusty Hoglund, CEO, Superior Steel

“We’re very happy to be working with Per and his company, and honored that they have chosen us to help them with the United States distribution of the BioMax. We have a definite advantage by being able to use the advanced European technology, accompanied by American-made quality.”
- Chuck Gagner, CEO, Northwest Manufacturing (parent company of WoodMaster)

“AbioNova represents the convergence of high-performing pressure vessels out of Italy and advanced control systems developed in Sweden. When matched with Superior Steel’s exceptional manufacturing skills and WoodMaster’s extensive sales and distribution network, what we’re left with is one of the most competitive commercial boiler systems available today.”
- Per Carlsson, President, ABioNova

APEX first introduced Per Carlsson to the region of northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin in October of 2008. Since that time, APEX has worked with its members and economic development partners to assist ABioNova in all aspects of its U.S. expansion, including the facilitation of meetings with numerous engineering firms and other project leaders working to develop biomass and wood pellet heating projects. As a result, the BioMax Commercial Boiler systems are currently being considered for projects throughout this region and beyond, offering the dual impact of significant energy savings and good quality jobs for our Northland economy. For more information about the BioMax Commercial Boiler systems, please contact Aaron Thibert at: Thibert@woodmaster.com

 For several years, APEX has engaged in countless discussions, focus groups and research initiatives aimed at addressing the need for increased angel investment activity in the Northland, as we work to connect promising business opportunities with the early-stage capital needed to advance. On Wednesday, January 19, 2011, APEX hosted a meeting with the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota and shared with its members and economic development partners a major breakthrough in this initiative: Under the auspices of the BioBusiness Alliance, theMinnesota Angel Network has been formed for the purposes of providing an organized process for enabling qualified investors to review potential investment opportunities and connect with early-stage companies throughout Minnesota.