MME Group, Inc., a full-service contract manufacturer headquartered in Vadnais Heights, MN, is expanding its footprint, adding 90,000 sq. ft. of medical manufacturing space in Vadnais Heights, which will be the new home to the bulk of MME’s production and assembly operations. MME will continue to operate its tooling and development functions out of the Kristen Court facility in Vadnais Heights.
Located at 1185 Willow Blvd., the new home of one of Minnesota’s fastest growing manufacturers is just a 5-minute stroll from MME’s current headquarters located off of Labore and Kristen Court. Jill Byrne, MME’s Logistics Manager, is overseeing the transfer of dozens of injection molding presses and a slew of fixtures, automation equipment, and other machinery from the Kristen Court facility, as well as over 300,000 lbs. of raw plastic and silicone resins packed in gaylord boxes from a building in Maplewood where MME also shipped finished goods from. “Moving into the Willow facility and having production, shipping/receiving, and the office staff in one main location with close proximity to the Kristen building allows us to re-organize, work more efficiently, and allow for quick growth as necessary. Products can now come off the line and go right to shipping without having to be transported to the other facility”, Byrne states. “This move allows us to bring in new technology and add more resources for our customers.”
MME builds product for a wide array of customer’s, ranging from the large and established MN headquartered medical corporations, to small startups looking to fill a niche, or break through the industry with innovative devices and instruments. MME’s 40+ years of tooling and complex molding experience attracts the big players in the industry, while its agility and small business mentality lend a great match for emerging companies to find a manufacturing partner to grow with.
MME’s focus on medical manufacturing has been increasing over the past few years and really took off during the Covid pandemic. Phil Boeke, President of MME, said this new facility will help to position the company for future growth. “The Willow Lake facility was built for highly regulated medical manufacturing, containing 25,000 sq. ft. of clean room space. We are now positioned to handle the ongoing influx of medical work that our customers keep sending our way”.
There’s a lot of work to be done, and Director of Operations, Dave Billingsley is looking forward to the opportunity ahead. “With the move, the layout and product flow throughout the new location are being planned strategically, and it’s nice being able to customize our needs to an already existing and excellent space. These efficiency gains within the new floorplan are exciting to design, and will allow MME to re-imagine “speed to market” and other benefits such as cost savings for our customers.”