Real estate

Minnetronix to double space, in part via forgivable loan from city of St. Paul

“We’ve been crowded for two years and really, really crowded the last year,” says Rich Nazarian, CEO of Minnetronix Inc.

He’s signed a lease to add 23,000 square feet at current headquarters in St. Paul, with Wellington Management overseeing the expansion. They have 21,000 square feet now.

Minnetronix designs and manufactures products for medical-device firms. “This is in-country outsourcing,” Nazarian says, noting that out-of-country outsourcing gets a bad name. The company has grown 15 percent to 25 percent each year in sales since its founding in 1996, to $12 million plus in annual revenue.

Its 93 employees will likely be in the new space by June or July. Nazarian expects 150 to 200 employees within the next five years.

Because the company employs design engineers, they work hard at creating good-looking space. “We try to engineer unique personal spaces. The new building has communal space, too,” Nazarian says. “In an office you get a window or a door, not both.”

One other thing: they have a 3,000-square-foot basketball court. “We’ve built a pretty sizable conference room/rec room, that has room to play sports,” Nazarian says. He plays point guard, and they hit the court at noon time. “But we also need a space to put 100 people in for meetings.”

Nazarian says he is grateful to the city of St. Paul’s economic development office. The city loaned $330,000, based on $3,000 per job in St. Paul (they figure they’ll have 110 employees 12 months from the loan date). Ten percent of the loan is forgiven each year for 10 years if Minnetronix stays in St. Paul.

Paying for all that extra space makes him a little nervous. “It’s in some ways scary,” Nazarian says, “but it’s not as scary as having unhappy employees without enough space to work.”Rich Nazarian, Minnetronix Inc.: 651.917.4060; ranazarian@minnetronix.com; www.minnetronix.com