Gov. Walz touts Philips expansion in MN: 'That's how you bring manufacturing back'

PLYMOUTH, Minn. (FOX 9) - Philips company leaders and Gov. Walz celebrated on Thursday as the company moved forward with a new expansion in Plymouth, Minn.

Philips expansion

The backstory:

Back in December, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development announced it was sending more than $3.5 million to support the expansion, while Philips announced it would invest $31 million into the project. DEED said the expansion was expected to create 158 new jobs.

Dig deeper:

Philips, a Dutch conglomerate, is expanding its image-guided therapies division, which makes medical scanning equipment. The company plans to add more manufacturing and research and development capabilities with the expansion.

The expansion will also bring a new training center to the Philips campus that the state says will bring in 2,000 visitors annually.

Walz celebrates expansion

What they're saying:

Gov. Walz lauded the expansion at a Thursday news conference. He pointed out that, while Philips is mostly known for its household goods, it has a large product line, like its medical products.

"Philips is a household name, but I think many people don't understand how broad they are and how deeply they are into some of these," said Walz. "And they use a statistic… They said, ‘At one point in time, the only entity that produced more light than Phillips was the sun – which was a true fact. But reinventing themselves, reinventing what that technology looks like, a hundred-and-thirty-year-old company that’s now at the forefront of making someone's life easier."

Walz also touted the state adding new manufacturing jobs.

"I think for Minnesotans, you hear a lot about bringing manufacturing back to America," said Walz. "We couldn't agree more with that. And I think this team and this collaboration under the vision of Philips, that's how you bring manufacturing back. Those are the jobs you want to see. And Minnesota once again establishes ourselves as the hub of biotech innovation because of it."