Minnesota Wire & Cable nears deal to expand

The City of Eau Claire Economic Policy Advisory Committee this week approved a motion that directs city staff to proceed with the purchase of the Minnesota Wire & Cable Company building at 1903 Oxford Avenue for $390,000. The building acquisition will allow the company to relocate and expand to the former Intek Plastics facility in the Gateway West Industrial Park.

According to Minnesota Wire & Cable Plant Manager Brian Wagner, there are still issues to be resolved before the transaction is finalized.

"The city council has to approve the purchase of our building and the Intek Plastics people have not approved our offer to purchase yet. So, we have no closing dates yet. But, it's probably 98 percent done and we hope to get things finalized soon," said Wagner, who presently oversees a staff of 105 people. He said the company will create another 100 jobs as the result of the company's expansion into the defense contracting business.

"The Army is redoing the communications systems in all of their vehicles and we have the contract to provide the cable assemblies and interconnect cables for the headsets and radios used in these vehicles. The new location will give us a lot more space and help us spread our wings a bit," said Wagner, who added that the company has entered into an agreement with the Chippewa Valley Technical College to train potential employees for the next phase of the firm's growth.

St. Paul,MN-based Minnesota Wire & Cable makes cables for the electronics and medical industries in addition to its government contracts.

"Up to this point,80 percent of our revenue was geared towards the medical industry, but I would guess that our facility will be 50-50 defense and medical by the end of this year," said Wagner.

Intek Plastics closed its Eau Claire operations in 2004. TBL