Company plans to add 20 jobs

OWATONNA - Food ingredients maker Vision Processing Technologies is expanding operations in Owatonna with 20 new jobs and a 15,000-square-foot building addition.

The company, which serves the food and nutraceutical industries, said the project will give it more room to add equipment and expand production. Vision Processing moved to Owatonna in 2010 after being headquartered in Litchfield, where it still has a production facility.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is assisting Vision Processing with the expansion, providing the company with a $400,000 low-interest loan from its Minnesota Investment Fund.

"I congratulate Vision Processing Technologies on their new expansion and for the 20 new jobs this expansion will create in Owatonna," said Governor Mark Dayton. "This business expansion - and the many others that have been made possible with help from the Minnesota Investment Fund - offer good news for our state, our economy and the many Minnesotans these businesses employ."

Governor Dayton and state leaders committed $108 million in economic development funding in the 2013 legislative session, including $30 million for the Minnesota Investment Fund.

"Vision Processing Technologies is an innovative company that is growing and contributing to the economy of Owatonna and the surrounding area," said DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben. "We're pleased that we can help this company expand and bring new jobs to southeastern Minnesota."

Vision Processing, which was founded in 2003, specializes in customized product formulations, ingredient processing and particle coating within the food and beverage and the nutraceutical sectors. The company's products include CrystaLock, a hydrogenated oil alternative that is used in a wide variety of applications, including organic nut butters, to prevent oil separation. Other products include powders for teas, coffee and hot chocolate.

"The city of Owatonna also assisted with this expansion of Vision Processing Technologies. The city approved tax increment financing for the project. The estimated tax increment to be contributed to the project amounts to approximately $380,000," said Owatonna Community Development Director Troy Klecker. "This was a great project to partner with the state to help grow a Minnesota company right here in Owatonna."

The Minnesota Investment Fund is a financial tool that DEED uses to encourage job creation and retention in Minnesota. With money from the fund, DEED awards grants to local units of government, which then give loans to new and expanding local businesses. In exchange for the loans, the businesses must create or retain a specified number of jobs. The program focuses mainly on manufacturing and technology-related businesses that need money for land, buildings, infrastructure improvements, equipment and renovation.