The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) recently awarded $175,000 in business expansion funding to Bemidji's Aircorps Aviation. The company specializes in restoring, maintaining and rebuilding modern, vintage World War II and legacy aircraft, as well as other aerospace manufacturing and parts sales.
Aircorps Aviation will invest a total of $986,000 to expand and improve its current site in Bemidji, and is expected to create 14 jobs within the first three years, a press release noted.
Aircorps Aviation joins two other businesses, Broekema Beltway USA in Pine City and Marotta Controls in Chaska, in receiving business expansion project funds.
"Minnesota has been consistently ranked as one of the best places in the country to establish and expand a business, no doubt in part because of the support offered through DEED programs like the Job Creation Fund and Minnesota Investment Fund," DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek said in the release. "In the communities where these businesses choose to expand, the job creation and private investment leveraged promote economic vitality and a high quality of life — efforts DEED is proud to champion."
The Job Creation Fund provides financing to new and expanding businesses that meet certain job creation and capital investment targets. The Minnesota Investment Fund provides loans for capital equipment to help businesses add new workers and retain high-quality jobs, with a focus on industrial, manufacturing and technology-related industries.