FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, Sept.9, 2004

CONTACT: Mary Lehecka Nelson, 773-3301 

AcroTech Midwest to Relocate to Watertown

Pierre, S.D. –AcroTech Midwest, Inc., (AcroTech) of Riverton, MN, is relocating its operations to Watertown, SD, a move that will create 125 jobs, Gov. Mike Rounds announced today, Sept. 9, 2004. 

“I am extremely excited to announce that AcroTech decided to relocate to Watertown. As more and more manufacturing jobs go off-shore, this announcement reaffirms South Dakota’s outstanding business climate,” Gov. Rounds said. “It also helps accomplish the state’s 2010 Initiative goal of promoting the creation of new businesses in our state.”

AcroTech is a leading domestic manufacturer of plastic blow-molded fuel tanks for the recreational vehicle industry. Their customers include Polaris, Yamaha and Kawaski, Arctic Cat, Kubota and Club Car. AcroTech has led this market for five years. “This is a company with tremendous growth potential,” the Governor added.

Focus Watertown President Richard Benda said Watertown is thrilled to welcome AcroTech. “We have been working on this project for many months, and our efforts have paid tremendous dividends for Watertown,” Benda said. “Watertown has proven itself as a successful manufacturing community. AcroTech will capitalize on South Dakota’s excellent business environment, and on the quality workforce in Watertown,” Benda noted.

AcroTech will lease a $6 million building in the Hanten Industrial Park. The building was designed to fit the company’s needs. The company will invest more than $10 million in equipment to meet recently adopted EPA rules to reduce fossil fuel emissions effective for 2008 models of recreational vehicles. New fuel tanks must be in production by 2007. The equipment necessary for the new manufacturing standards is quite large. The building will be designed with extra high ceilings to accommodate the equipment.

The City of Watertown and the State of South Dakota have been instrumental in financing, as well as infrastructure development. “We worked closely with Focus Watertown and the company to come up with the best financial package possible,” Rounds said. The City Council and Mayor Barger were also instrumental in completing this project, the Governor noted.

AcroTech CEO Robert Levy said the move to Watertown will enhance AcroTech’s profitability and help the company be more competitive. “We picked the right state and community,” Levy said. “When we first narrowed our focus to South Dakota, we knew it was a good move. Gov. Rounds’ Office of Economic Development and Focus Watertown were tremendous partners in this project.  We determined that Watertown was the best fit for our business because of the workforce and the rail spurs already in place. The low utility costs and Lake Area Technical Institute were also critical factors in this decision,” Levy said.   

The building will be located on 15 acres in the park, and is ideally located for the business which will require rail access. “Focus Watertown secured rights for and completed a rail spur for the Glacial Lakes Energy Ethanol Plant in 2002,” Benda explained. “We were planning for future development, as well as meeting needs for the ethanol plant. The rail access was a key element to AcroTech choosing Watertown as its new location. It demonstrates how infrastructure development investment is essential to economic growth,” Benda concluded.

-30-