LAKEVILLE, Minn. - Uponor, a leading manufacturer of PEX-a tubing systems for radiant floor heating and cooling, plumbing, and fire safety, broke ground for the company’s new 285,000-square-foot distribution center, located in Lakeville, Minn., a suburb south of the Twin Cities. The new building, which will house Uponor’s primary North American distribution operations, is a build-to-suit facility leased from commercial building developer First Industrial Realty Trust, based in Chicago.

“We are very excited for the opportunities this new facility will offer us,” said Anders Tollsten, executive vice president, Uponor North America. “Building this state-of-the-art facility helps us continue our strategy for enhancing our distribution network serving the North American market.”

In accordance with Uponor’s build-to-suit requirements, First Industrial is developing the building to apply for LEED® certification. Specific areas of the building, primarily 13,000 square feet in the office area, will feature Uponor radiant floor heating and cooling as well as snow and ice melting in the sidewalks outside the office area.

“We want to make this a sustainable development,” said Craig Patterson, senior development officer for First Industrial’s Midwest region. “Incorporating Uponor’s radiant technology in their new building helps us achieve this goal.”

The new facility will be slightly larger than Uponor’s current 271,000-square-foot distribution center located in Burnsville, Minn. However, the new facility will provide more storage space (about 30 percent more cubic volume) due to the higher interior clear height. The building will feature 25 dock doors along its east side, and its dimensions are designed to optimize Uponor’s warehouse and distribution operations.

“This new facility provides several benefits for our operations from a logistical standpoint,” said Dan Hughes, Uponor’s real estate and development manager. “It is designed to be more operationally efficient and offers our employees, customers, and business partners convenient access from freeways as well as our corporate headquarters in Apple Valley.”

The facility’s completion date is set for March 2009, with occupancy in early April.

For more information, visit www.uponor-usa.com.

Publication date: 09/01/2008