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By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Employees of MTS Systems Corporation's automation division reported to work at new offices and work stations today.

Its new offices and production plant are 55,000 square feet larger than the older building. It is loaded with brand new office furniture and clever high-tech artwork.

"Our other operation was fairly squeezed," said Jerry Derner, MTS director of operations for North America in his new office on the first floor Friday afternoon. "This new facility will allow better growth."

The new plant and offices also represent one of the most recent efforts to contribute to the local economy made by the New Ulm Economic Development Corporation (NUEDC). The building was built to specifications for the exclusive use of MTS, although the NUEDC legally owns the building. Coordinator Brian Tohal said the building cost about $3.5 to 4 million and included $350,000 worth of tax-increment financing.

"It's a beautiful building," Tohal said.

And it's certainly one that was needed. In February, when construction was just beginning, trailers and sheds around the company's old building on South Bridge Street lined the parking lot and functioned as office and storage space. One factor that contributed to the crowding was the move of a couple MTS production lines to New Ulm from Chaska. The move created nine new jobs in New Ulm and closed a production facility in Chaska.

"We needed it, for sure," said division controller Tim Reinke. "It gives us an opportunity to move in other product lines."

Derner said the new facility will create 15 to 20 new jobs. Tohal said it will allow MTS to keep its automated division in New Ulm, which means more white-collar jobs opposed to assembly-line jobs. He said that while it provides instant growth to the local economy, the new facility also represents a possibility for future growth.

"We're tickled pink that MTS gave New Ulm a vote of confidence," Tohal said. "It tells us they believe New Ulm is favorable place to run a business."

MTS now has the ability to produce four of its motion control products under one roof

Its office space will house the division's purchasing, planning, customer service, design, finance and manufacturer support departments. The office space consists of two floors of cubicles, perimeter offices, a board room and a small kitchen.

The production room boasts 26-foot high ceilings and allows for vertical storage of finished products. It also has many different lines where workers assemble and test the various parts that make up the company's products.

The New Ulm facility produces servo motors, controllers and amplifiers for factory production machinery.

Said Derner, "There's a lot of potential to grow here."

MTS is headquartered in Eden Prairie and has production plants in Horsham, Penn., and Freibourg, Germany. The automation division began in New Ulm in March of 1991 as Custom Servo Motors and merged with the machine controls division of MTS in 1992 and officially changed its name in 1999.