By John McLoone

Intek Plastics wants to grow, and the City of Hastings wants it to be here.

The Hastings City Council passed a resolution Monday night to support an application by the firm for a loan from the State of Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) in the amount of $975,000 if the firm decides to expand in Hastings.

Intek Plastics is located at 1000 Spiral Blvd. According to the company website, “Intek Plastics specializes in designing, manufacturing, assembling and delivering a wide variety of customized plastic extrusions.” Its products are used in such markets as construction, lighting, refrigeration and hydroponics. The company has more than 200 employees.

Intek is weighing expanding in Hastings, where there is adjacent land to their facility available, or in Ohio. City Economic Development Coordinator Eric Maass told the city council that Intek is planning an expansion of 60,000 square feet. The project would total $6.6 million in new construction and $1.6 million in machinery and equipment.

City staff facilitated planning with DEED to secure the financing. In a memorandum to the council, Maass wrote, “Community Development staff conducted a business retention and expansion visit with Intek Plastics in June of 2021. This meeting is when staff first learned that due to business growth that Intek was running low on building capacity and would soon need to consider expansion opportunities. At that time, staff made Intek aware of HEDRA’s (Hastings Area Development and Redevelopment Authority) land holdings with the business park including an immediately adjacent parcel, and the city’s desire to collaborate with Intek in an expansion at their Hastings location.”

“Due to the out of state competition, DEED and Greater MSP Partnership have engaged in the site selection process in an effort to help land this business expansion for the City of Hastings and the State of Minnesota.”

The loan through DEED is only possible, obviously, if Intek expands in Minnesota. The money comes through DEED to the city. Under the program, private financing must also be acquired in at least the same amount as the DEED financing.

Intek has had a long history in Hastings. The firm was founded in 1961 by engineer Lyle Ward.

The company was awarded by the Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce as 2022 Business of the Year. The Minnesota State Senate passed a commendation in February honoring Intek for the award.