Minot Area Development Corporation : Success Stories

Show in picture from left to right: Minot Mayor Curt Zimbelman, ND Governor John Hoeven, Pure Energy president Paul Debonis, and Pure Energy US operations manager Mike Mahoney.

Oil-Servicing Company Announces Minot Location

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA, MAY 2008 -

Pure Energy, an oil-field servicing company headquartered in Canada, announced its plans to expand into Minot's Great Plains Energy Park. Pure Energy president Paul Debonis said the company chose Minot because of the warm reception they received and for the opportunity to grow in the Williston Basin for the long term.

Pure Energy received a vote of confidence from the Minot City Council with a $600,000 incentive package to begin operations in Minot. The company will receive MAGIC Funds in the form of a $200,000 cash grant and $150,000 to buy lots in the Energy Park. Additionally, a $250,000 loan will be received and forgiven upon meeting certain employment criteria.

Pure Energy currently employs 45 people with plans to create at least 80 jobs by 2011.

Petroleum companies will establish Minot offices

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA, MARCH 2008

Two major energy conglomerates - Hess Corporation and Leader Energy USA - have announced they will establish a major presence in Minot to conduct operations. Hess is finalizing its choice of locations and Leader has already selected a location in
southwest Minot.

Hess officials announced in January that they would begin expanding their operation to Minot. A Hess spokesperson said the Minot office opening this year will be used primarily to recruit engineers to work in the Bakken formation, which includes Ward County and several additional counties in North Dakota and Montana. Hess state offices will be moved to Minot sometime next year. Hess operations include the Williston Basin, the Permian Basin in west Texas and deepwater rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Leader Energy Services, originally operating out of Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, is an oilfield services company providing coiled tubing and nitrogen pumping. Leader began working with city officials last summer to discuss facility needs, zoning and
permitting issues.

Minot Projects Receive Final Approval for $4.6 Million in Centers of Excellence Funds

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA, October 30, 2007 -

Two Centers of Excellence projects that will ultimately benefit Minot and the surrounding area have received final approval for $4.6 million in funding. The North Dakota State Legislative Budget Section approved $10 million in total funding Tuesday for Centers of Excellence projects. Projects with economic benefit to Minot include the University of North Dakota (UND) Center of Excellence for Biomedical Device Research, Development & Commercialization and the Great Plains Knowledge and Data Center at Minot State University.

"The Centers of Excellence recommendation is a vote of confidence in Minot's economic development activities," Minot Mayor Curt Zimbelman said. "The caliber of these projects and their ability to create new higher-paying jobs is certainly good news for Minot and the region."

Biomedical products will be manufactured in Minot in connection with the Center of Excellence for Biomedical Device Research, Development & Commercialization, which received $2.5 million. The UND School of Engineering and School of Medicine will collaborate with Minot Area Development Corporation (MADC), the community of Minot and North Dakota State University College of Engineering and Architecture to provide the first biomedical platform of its kind in the state.

The Great Plains Knowledge and Data Center, approved for $2.1 million, will promote development and advancement of knowledge-based business in the region. Projected to create 70 new jobs over 2.5 years, the Center will include a production data center and a research and development center (R&D) to support current and new knowledge-based business ventures. MADC, InfoTech - Minot Technology Center and SRT Communications, Inc. are partners with MSU in the venture.

Prior to approval by the legislative budget committee, the Centers of Excellence applications were reviewed by the State Board of Higher Education, the state Economic Development Foundation and the Emergency Commission. The Centers of Excellence initiative seeks to promote projects that combine education and economic development to create higher paying jobs for North Dakota citizens.

Port of North Dakota™ One Step Closer to Becoming Operational

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA, August 8, 2007 -

Minot businessman and local agricultural leader Greg Johnson has been selected to manage the Port of North Dakota, following a decision in August by the Minot Port Authority to approve a Request for Qualification by North Dakota Port Services (NDPS), with Johnson as its president.

Johnson's primary role will be to work with various transportation providers to ensure smooth service for shippers, said MADC President Jerry Chavez. The facility is doing preparatory work in anticipation for an early spring 2008 opening.

InfoTech Celebrates Minot Opening

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA, March 24, 2007 -

New York-based InfoTech celebrated the opening of its Minot Technology Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 24th. InfoTech-MTC will create a state-of-the-art, global information network for the U.S. military.

Matti Kon, president of InfoTech, said there is a trend in the country for technology jobs to be moved overseas, and that keeping jobs in the U.S. is important. The IT industry is turning their focus to the Midwest to find quality employees who do the work at a less costly price. "I think the trend of bringing IT to places like this (Minot) will continue," Kon said.

InfoTech-MTC is the seed tenant to Minot's anticipated Research and Development Complex. It is Minot's vision to attract other high-technology companies that can leverage available resources and relationships to compete competitively on a national and global level.

Value-Added Ag Business Announces Minot Location

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA, March 8, 2007 -

MG Grain, LLC announced that Minot will be home to their new agricultural commodity processing facility. "We are very excited to come to this community," said Milad Ghattas, international businessman and owner of MG Grain. "Minot and the state of North Dakota welcomed us with open arms. In meeting with growers from the region, we knew Minot was the right place to build our business."

MG Grain, to be located on 40 acres in Minot's Value-Added Agricultural Park, will utilize the intermodal system for international distribution. It is anticipated the facility will produce 600 tons of agricultural commodities for transport per day, and the three-phase project will result in a minimum of 20 new jobs. Facility construction will begin this year.

Knowledge-Based Business Welcomed to Minot

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA, October 11, 2006 -

$1.8 million in federal funding will help bring New York-based InfoTech to Minot. The facility will be included in Minot's Research and Development Complex. At a press conference Oct. 11 in Minot, InfoTech President Mattie Kon announced the company's plans to begin operations in about 90 days.

"This project is an exciting opportunity for Minot that will spur the local economy while strengthening the U.S. military," Senator Byron Dorgan said. "This new capability will help our service members get the information they need, when they need it, so they can better do their jobs protecting America."

"With Senator Dorgan's assistance, MADC has been able to identify a need expressed by the Navy, partner with a growing East Coast technology company that can meet
that need, and obtain federal funding to entice that company to locate personnel in Minot," said Mayor Curt Zimbelman. "This is a great accomplishment for Minot."

MADC CEO Jerry Chavez said North Dakota's business friendly climate and easy access to its Congressional delegation enhance MADC's efforts to attract new businesses. MADC has focused its marketing efforts on attracting knowledge-based companies that offer nationally competitive salaries to employ people with advanced educational degrees and professional skills.

$1.5 Million Intermodal Park Grant To Help Economy

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA, May 9, 2006 -

$1.5 million federal grant will help Minot build its planned Intermodal Park to provide flexible, efficient, economical rail and truck shipping of area commodities.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Economic Development Administration was presented to the Minot Area Development Corporation (MADC) and announced today during a news conference at Minot City Hall. Gov. John Hoeven and Sandy Baruah, Assistant U.S. Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, made the annoucement.

MADC President and CEO Jerry Chavez saw the grant as affirmation that the Minot area was pursing industries that would be substainable in the area. "The Minot Area Development Corporation has done its homework," Chavez said. "We've targeted two key industries that are naturally suited to the area: value-added agriculture and transportation, freight and shipping. This grant is a vote of confidence from the U.S. Department of Commerce that we're moving in the right direction."

New BNSF Fueling Facility and Car Shop in Minot

FORT WORTH, TEXAS, March 9, 2006 - Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) today announced that it intends to begin preliminary work to construct a new locomotive fueling facility and a new mechanical facility in Minot to help improve service to shippers in North Dakota and across the rest of BNSF's network.

"We appreciate BNSF's investment in Minot to establish both a refueling facility and mechanical facility," said Governor John Hoeven. "When completed, the investment in the fueling facility alone will exceed $20 million and there would be significant additional investments for the mechanical facility. In addition to the construction activity these facilities will create 35-50 jobs in the Minot area."

Choice Hotels International

Choice Hotels International celebrated the 15th anniversary of its Minot reservation call center in Minot on March 14, 2006. "For us, it's a milestone," said Phyllis Burckhard, senior director of call center operations in Minot. "We want to continue to grow this call center as well as strengthen ourselves in this community," she said.

MADC President and CEO Jerry Chavez stated, "When Choice Hotels International was looking for a new location for an international call center, they came knocking on Minot's door. We weren't surprised."

Chavez added, "After all, a move to Minot meant Choice Hotels would become even more competitive and profitable. That's what having one of the nation's most productive work forces can do for a bottom line. Combine that with the ability for companies to expand in 30 days or less and a highly-competitive incentive package, and the choice for Choice Hotels became very easy." MADC is proud to support this project, imagine what we can do for you.

ING

ING/ReliaStar established a service center in Minot in December of 1998 and currently has 680 full-time employees. ING has proven itself as a highly reputable asset to the Minot Area and has had a significant and positive impact on the Minot economy.

"ING chose Minot for our expansion because our service center employees have demonstrated that they can provide unsurpassed customer service. I think this decision speaks volumes about Minot and the caliber of people who live and work here," Tom McInerney, CEO, ING U.S. Financial Services