KEB's North American headquarters is located at 5100 Valley Industrial Blvd. Shakopee.  KEB is a major designer and manufacturer of high technology compenents and specialty electronics, especially in the braking industry where the components are used in items like elevators.

The 86,000 sq. ft., ISO 9001:2015 facility has full design and manufacturing capabilities and is responsible for supporting the North American market. With more than 100 employees and growing KEB America provides top-tier service, repair, and field support for customers in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

The Elevator group in Shakopee is the largest application team focused on a specific vertical market. Local production allows for short production and shipping lead times. Customers in this market benefit from the F5 line of drives – high overloads, an integrated brake transistor, safety features, and control options – as well as the R6 regenerative drives.

A more recent development in Shakopee has been the growth of the theatre and stage market. Many KEB control and automation products work well in theatre machinery, amusement parks, entertainment venues, and other mechanized structures. Stadiums with retractable roofs, such as the University of Phoenix Stadium – home field of the NFL Cardinals – and the Lucas Oil Stadium – home of the NFL Colts – use KEB brakes in the roof operation. KEB F5 drives are used to synchronize the fire-breathing dragon Maleficent the Disneyland show Fantasmic. Backstage, KEB gear motors are used on a variety of applications where their quiet operation and configuration options are beneficial.

KEB America also has a focus on the plastics machinery market. The kinds of machines used in plastics-related applications can vary widely in size and power, so there are many KEB drives that can be used. Typical applications include injection molding machines, extruders, blow molding or film, upstream and downstream conveying, robotic handling, granulators, winders, and unwinders.

Another market that KEB America heavily focuses on is medical applications. Hospital beds, surgical tables, imaging machines, surgical robots – all require precise movements and accurate positioning. KEB P1 brakes provide backlash-free power-off braking. Customers trust KEB products in the most critical and demanding applications.

KEB sees the North American market as one with huge growth potential.  The Shakopee location has the capacity to double the size of the operation with a new two-story addition.  The facility will be hiring at least 30 people once the structure is completed.  KEB already employs more than 100 people at largely high wage jobs with machinists and engineers.  The expansion will provide jobs at an average wage of $25 an hour plus benefits.  KEB has already met with the State training providers since they have had difficulty finding CNC operators and automation engineers.  Long term, the facility’s improvements have been designed to handle almost 200 employees on site.

If the expansion does not occur in Shakopee, the product would be imported from Germany or another location to be determined.  This is a great opportunity to allow a headquarters to expand locally and provide employment opportunities for those in the region.

Baker Tilly is in the process of calculating the tax abatement amount based on the proposed investment.  This Resolution is only setting the public hearing date.  The abatement will only be for the new value of the addition. KEB will continue to pay all taxes on the current real estate and existing improvements.