A
GROWING FAMILY BUSINESS FINDS ITS IDEAL HOME IN BUFFALO
HSI Metal Stamping
is a 31-year-old, family owned company that had resided
in other Twin Cities area communities before finding its
perfect home: a 40,000 square foot facility in the City
of Buffalo 's Centennial Industrial Park in Wright County
.
In looking for a
home, an expanding business values many of same qualities
that a relocating family seeks in a place to live: an environment
in which to thrive and grow, comfortable and enriching relationships
with neighbors and civic leaders, ideal surroundings.
It was the fourth
expansion and second move in two decades for the firm founded
by the Paumen's. Buffalo , the largest city in Wright County
with an estimated population of more than 12,000, was the
community that could supply just what the Paumens' were
looking for:
• An aggressive
economic development team eager and willing to help meet
HSI's unique needs;
• A well-sited
industrial park that included a location with plenty of
room for future expansion (a common occurrence in HSI history);
• Easy
access to major suppliers, finishers, commercial transportation
and shipping options via Minnesota Highway 55;
• A city-owned
fiber optic network that links the city, county, school
district and local businesses, and assures high-speed telecommunications
capability for a company that serves an international clientele;
and
• A qualified
labor pool.
“ Buffalo is a very
aggressive town (in terms of promoting economic development),”
Mrs. Paumen says. “The city is very easy to work with.”
“I have worked with
a couple different cities over the years, and I have to
say they were probably the easiest to work with,” Mr. Paumen
adds. “It's a very good place to be. We've never regretted
moving here.”
Buffalo site offers
expansion potential
HSI Metal Stamping
specializes in manufacturing short- to medium-run metal
fabrication of precision parts for the automotive, electrical,
computer and other industries. The company has about 60
accounts in three countries and about 30 employees, including
the Paumens' son, Paul Paumen and daughter, Paula Herda.
Major clients include
Holley Performance Products, a high-performance auto parts
maker, and Tennant, a manufacturer of floor and surface
maintenance equipment, and another recent job for C.P.C.
included making components parts for locks to secure the
Taliban detainees' cells at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Government
Detention Center in Cuba .
The company was founded
as Hamel Stamping Inc. in 1972 in Hamel , Minn. in Hennepin
County . By 1981, the firm had outgrown its original leased
space. So, it built a 6,000 square facility in nearby Loretto,
which is also in Hennepin County , and changed its name
to HSI.
The company kept
adding space: 6,000 square feet in 1986 and 8,000 square
feet in 1994. Continuing growth ultimately led HSI to seek
a new home – one with plenty of opportunity for expansion.
That's when the Paumens came to see Buffalo in Wright County
as the perfect home for their business.
HSI makes the call,
Buffalo runs with the opportunity
Positive word-of-mouth
from business acquaintances that were happy industrial residents
of Buffalo encouraged the Paumens to make contact with city
officials.
The quick-working
and problem-solving Buffalo economic development team ran
with the opportunity from there. Key players from Buffalo
included City Administrator Merton T. Auger, Assistant Administrator
Laureen Bodin and Mayor Fred Naaktgeboren .
According to Laureen
Bodin, the city put together a package that mixed solid
business incentives with an enterprising approach to meeting
HSI's particular needs. These included:
• Sale
of a site in Buffalo 's 80-acre Centennial Industrial
Park for $1;
• A streamlined
development process that featured a boilerplate development
agreement ready for the company to sign;
• Sensitivity
to HSI's potential expansion needs. Buffalo officials
pieced together the company's industrial neighborhood
in a way that assures the firm space to at least double
the size of its facility in the future. Making those
accommodations involved working with a neighboring business
to make sure everybody would coexist comfortably in
the future.
“We provided them
with the land completely improved, ready to be developed,”
Ms. Bodin adds. HSI moved into its new facility in 1998.
Wright County gives
HSI an edge
The
Paumens continue to enjoy the company's newest home. Mrs.
Paumen appreciates the fact that the cast at City Hall has
remained familiar and positive. 
HIS
employees pose in their new workplace
Qualified workers
are plentiful, too. Wright County is Minnesota 's sixth
fastest growing county, with a population that increased
an estimated 23.6 percent during the past six years. The
county work force totals 55,750 according to recent statistics
from the Minnesota Department of Economic Security. Wages
in the county are at the lowest weekly average within the
seven-county Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Area.
Buffalo 's location
40 miles from the Twin Cities offers the advantages of both
urban and small town life. The major metropolitan area is
easily accessible. But, Buffalo and surrounding Wright County
have an appealing small town and rural feel.
“It's been a good
move,” Mr. Paumen concludes. “Everything you need is right
here.”
