Governor Tim Walz celebrated the opening of a $71 million recycling plant expansion in Rosemount on Wednesday.

Spectro Alloys says the expansion will create as many as 50 new jobs and give the facility 120 million more pounds of recycling capacity. Walz credited Spectro for its expansion and also for the work it’s doing on behalf of the environment.

“I keep talking a lot about how I want this to be the best state for kids to grow up and for families to live,” Walz says. “It’s going to have to be the best state for business so that folks have jobs and are able to buy those homes and create that. And it’s going to have to be a state that cares deeply about the environment.”

Spectro says the expansion will include state-of-the-art technology that will allow it to recycle aluminum at 90 percent of the cost of creating new aluminum.

”We are excited to celebrate the future of aluminum recycling right here in Minnesota,” said Luke Palen, Spectro Alloys president. “This expansion will meet the growing demand for high-quality recycled aluminum.”

The state gave Spectro $1.7 million for the project and also provided broader financing assistance.

"The 50 new jobs do matter,” Walz said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “And it’s not just a place to work, it’s a place to actually do something that makes a difference."

Spectro says the new facility will be operational in mid-2025.

Collected from Minnesota Public Radio News. View original source here.