In expectation of further growth opportunities on the North American commercial and residential market, Finnish pipe manufacturer Uponor (Vantaa; www.uponor.com) is investing EUR 16m in its facility in Apple Valley, Minnesota / USA. Most of the money will go towards an 8,175 m² expansion of both manufacturing and office space, including new manufacturing equipment, Uponor said. Works are scheduled to begin in spring and will likely be wrapped up in December this year.

The move is set against significant growth in the company’s North America business, where operating profit improved by 27.4% year-on-year in euro terms in 2014, reaching EUR 31.5m. The gains were largely the result of residential and commercial markets returning to growth, the company said when reporting its financial results (see Plasteurope.com of 16.02.2015).

Uponor employs almost 500 workers in Apple Valley. About 130 of them have been added over the course of the past three years, and the company plans to raise staff levels even further following the latest expansion.