2 hours ago
Courtesy of Niron Magnetics
Niron Magnetics officially announced plans to open a new manufacturing facility, which it is planning to begin building in 2028. Niron’s first facility will open in Sartell in 2027.
Niron’s CEO, Jonathan Rowntree, originally unveiled the company’s plan in a Feb. 25 interview on The Twin Cities Business Show.
The Minneapolis-based company manufactures a proprietary magnet that uses iron and nitrogen instead of rare earth materials, which are largely controlled by China. The idea was born out of research at the University of Minnesota.
“The sky is the limit with our technology,” Rowntree shared in the interview. “We have plans to build a number of high-volume manufacturing plants—I mentioned that plant one was in Sartell, and the process for plant two is moving into where else in the U.S. we want to put it.”
The new facility is expected to be 1.6 million square feet. Ideally, it helps the company increase its manufacturing capacity to 10,000 tons a year while supporting 700 full-time jobs.
This expansion of the company’s manufacturing capacity may not be the end of the road. It’s clear that Niron has its eyes on a bigger vision and a growing footprint that could carry it around the globe. “We may build more plants in the U.S., and we’ll also have a very busy export business, so we’re also considering future plants in Europe and in Southeast Asia,” said Rowntree.
Magnets are used in nearly all pieces of electronics, from motors to phones. As electrification of the power sector increases over time (a trend line that’s moving much faster in Europe and China than in the U.S.), the total market for magnets is expected to rapidly grow along with it. Add to that the rare-earth chokepoints for developing magnets today, and you can see that Niron is well positioned.
“If you think about three high-volume plants, supplying 30,000-plus tons to customers around the world, it sounds like a lot, but it’s only about 10% of the global market today,” Rowntree added, alluding to the company’s future plans. “The number of magnets … needs to triple in the next 10 years.”
The company will work with Savills, a global commercial real estate advisory firm, to identify a location for its new site. There has been no indication of where or when they will be selecting the new location.
