Daikin cuts ribbon on facility expansion

With the snip of a ribbon, Owatonna saw the opening of a 64,000-square-foot facility and jobs for about 90 more people.

The project was an expansion of Daikin Applied, which manufactures commercial HVAC systems, and will be dedicated to coil production and electronic control panel production.

But don’t let the technical process intimidate you, said Kyle Evenson, senior vice president and general manager of applied air handlers. He oversees the facilities in southern Minnesota.

“Pre-COVID, we were looking for people with manual-type labor skills, folks who could read (engineering) drawings,” he said. “But as we emerged from COVID, we really dramatically shifted our hiring model.”

In general, Evenson said, “if you’ve got a great attitude, a willingness to learn and want to show up every day, we’ve got a job for you.”

That means training, which is done in what he called “world-class dojos,” or training centers, where employees can learn how to do nearly anything at the facility.

Included in that is brazing, which is a metal-joining process where two or more copper pieces are joined using a filler metal. The process creates a strong and durable joint, making it suitable for applications requiring high pressure or stress, like HVAC systems.

The plant ships all over North America, Evenson said, to customers that include colleges, health care facilities, government buildings, indoor agriculture facilities, solar plants and more.

Because the product is designed to last for 25 years or more, the company also has a fleet of Daikin service techs across the country.

Within the production process are designers who use predictive analytics to find solutions “to optimize a building’s” HVAC needs, Evenson said.

While the Owatonna facility has manufacturing, production and product engineers, the design portion of each project is typically done in the company’s Plymouth office, he said.

The production uses cutting edge equipment, robotic machines – and advances to improve efficiency and quality, Evenson said.

The designers send the drawings to the shop floor, the pieces are procured, the final unit is built and a delivery is scheduled.

“Every one of them comes on a semi,” he said of the completed product, “so we have to coordinate … for either a crane or a helicopter to actually move the unit from the truck to the top of the building.”

The company has grown significantly since purchasing the Faribault facility known as McQuay back in the early 2000s.

“In the last five years, we’ve added more than 350 jobs in Owatonna and Faribault,” Evenson said, “and we expect to add another 50 roles in the new plant by the end of 2025 to boost both Daikin, the local workforce and the economy.”

The facilities in Owatonna have about 475 employees, including 90 in the new plant.

That facility, he said, “is part of our larger mission to deliver sustainable products and unrivaled customer service, to create career pathways and really strengthen our presence and investment in this community.”

Additional capacity may be needed within two years, Evenson said.

“We’re committed to the community, we’re committed to a safe working environment, and to an unrivaled experience for our employees and customers,” he said.

“We’re here to stay in the community.”