< Previous66 MI NNE SO T A E C O N O MI C D E V E L O P ME N T G U I D EF O OD P R O C E SS I N GSprouting Startupsby S AVAN NAH K I N GMI NNE SO T A E C O N O MI C D E V E L O P ME N T G U I D E 67etween Minnesota’s rich soil, plentiful water and productive growing season, the state has a legacy of growing everything from food to Fortune 500 companies. In fact, Minnesota leads the nation in food patents per capita, and ranks No. 4 in crops, No. 5 in total agricultural production and No. 8 in livestock. Minnesota also has the third highest number of Fortune 500 headquarters per capita with 19 total companies. Several Fortune 500 firms including General Mills, Land O’Lakes, Hormel and Supervalu, as well as large private companies like Cargill, Schwan’s and Rosen’s Diversified, are in the state. Products made by the food manufacturing industry in Minnesota have sales of over $28 billion a year. In 2017, Minnesota exported $1.7 billion in food products — with Canada, Mexico and China (including Hong Kong) as the top markets. Grain and oilseeds (including flour, related fats and oils and breakfast cereals), meat products, animal food products and dairy products are the main commodities. More than 47,800 people are employed in food products manufacturing industries, ranking Minnesota No. 11 nationally. Agriculture accounts for $57.5 billion in output and more than 147,000 jobs across the state, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Of the 715 food manufacturers in the state, more than half are located in Greater Minnesota. Minnesota has all the right ingredients to grow successful startups.BRound Lake Vineyards and WineryPhoto by Shay La’ VeeGrowing with GiantsWhile many of the nation’s favorite brands have called the state home for years, small companies and startups also find a favorable business ecosystem to grow in. Two giants of the food industry, Cargill and Ecolab, have partnered to create the Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator. The accelerator launched in Minneapolis in 2018 and brought 10 of the world’s most promising startups to the city for a 13-week program that works to help businesses develop technology that will positively impact the food industry, secure capital and expand industry research. “We are thrilled to welcome some of the brightest minds in food and ag tech into Cargill and Ecolab’s backyards,” said Justin Kershaw, Cargill CIO. “This Accelerator allows us to invest our time and resources in technology shaping the future of agriculture, and to address some of the greatest challenges facing the food system. At the same time, we see the partnership with Techstars to inject startup energy inside Cargill, where we are committed to creating a culture that fosters technology innovation through internal expertise and external partnerships.”Horses roam the pastures of Round Lake Vinyards in Round Lake, Minnesota.Photo by Shay La’ VeeMI NNE SO T A E C O N O MI C D E V E L O P ME N T G U I D E 69The accelerator is scheduled to continue for three years, engaging both early-stage entrepreneurs and late-stage startups with a vision for affecting positive change across the food system. Startups accepted into the program will be offered mentor support from Cargill and Ecolab executives and access to the companies’ market expertise, global connections and investment capital. Techstars’ network of successful entrepreneurs, mentors, investors and other partners also work together with the selected startups throughout the accelerator.“Minnesota was literally built by food entrepreneurs more than 150 years ago, and entrepreneurs continue to thrive in the state’s quickly expanding, yet supportive ecosystem,” said Brett Brohl, Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator managing director. “The Farm to Fork Accelerator will build on this rich history, leveraging Cargill’s reach and leadership in food and agriculture as well as Ecolab’s expertise in safe food, clean water and healthy environments. Combined with Techstars’ proven accelerator model, we can truly help entrepreneurs take their companies to the next level while making a positive social impact.” 10thin poultry & eggs9thin cattle & calves8thin milk, wheat, potatoes, honey, mohair6thin barley5thin mink pelts4thin corn, canola, rye, flaxseed3rdin soybeans, dry beans, sunflowers2ndin hogs, sweet corn for processing, green peas, oats, wild rice1stin turkeys raised, sugar beetsTop Crops and ExportsMinnesota ranks among the top 10 in more than two dozen agricultural products, including:W A T E R T E C H N O L O G Y70 MI NNE SO T A E C O N O MI C D E V E L O P ME N T G U I D Einnesota — nicknamed the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” — is well known for its abundance of water. Less well-known, perhaps, is that the state is home to a sizable community of water technology companies. With innovative products and expertise, they’re playing an outsized role in taking on water challenges across the globe — including in some of the most water-scarce places on Earth. More than 1,100 water business locations employing about 22,000 workers in the water technology industry are leading the way in water and wastewater treatment solutions, both at home and abroad. Major players include Ecolab, Pentair, Dow Water & Process Solutions, SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions (formerly GE Water) and 3M, to name a few.Today’s landscape can be traced to a legacy in membrane and separation technology expertise. Since the 1970s and earlier, innovators at Osmonics (now SUEZ) and Filmtec (now Dow) have been refining the science and know-how of cleaning water with membranes. That includes removing salt from seawater in arid countries in the Middle East.Why Minnesota? Over the years, the University of Minnesota has developed top-notch water technology research programs, and the state’s business climate has been conducive to advanced technology manufacturing and R&D. These factors have translated into Minnesota now being among the top 10 exporters of water technology in the United States — with more than $912 million in exports at last count.“It’s amazing how much water talent there is in this state,” says Steve Riedel, a regional trade manager with the Minnesota Trade Office who works closely with water technology firms. MTO is part of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.“There’s a great collaborative spirit here that brings this water talent together with our other strong industries, such as food and agriculture, where there’s so much demand for new solutions,” he adds.by M AR K AR EN DMWhere the World Turns For Smart Water SolutionsMI NNE SO T A E C O N O MI C D E V E L O P ME N T G U I D E 71In Minnesota, Water is Getting SmarterIf your basement is flooding due to a leak, wouldn’t it be nice to get a heads-up? And flip the shut-off valve from your phone? Uponor’s North American headquarters, based in Minnesota, is making that happen, thanks to a partnership with IT firm Belkin. Watchers of water technology recognize the underlying trend here, and they know that Minnesota is helping lead it: the integration of smart technology with water technology, often called “smart water.”Thanks to a remarkably strong IT and Internet of Things (IoT) industry base in Minnesota, the state is home to smart water firms that can: • Optimize manpower and water conservation in landscape irrigation (Irrigreen) • Fight invasive species with an unmanned IoT-powered boat cleaning station (CD3) • Remotely manage an aquifer with live 3D modeling tools (Summit Envirosolutions) • Manage a larger scale water delivery network with the latest monitoring and control advances (Open Systems International) • Supply the wireless connectivity technology needed to make a water technology or system smart (Digi International) Minnesota’s many other water tech firms are solving water challenges far and wide. Among them: • Aeration Industries International is a global player and pioneer in aeration equipment • Creative Water Solutions leverages the natural properties of sphagnum moss to treat swimming pools and other water, without the use of chemicals • Flatwater Fleet rehabilitates water wells around the globe, rather than digging new onesMinnesota’s close-knit water technology community includes private sector companies, government agencies, non-profit organizations and academic institutions. One Water Summit — a three-day event attracting hundreds of water leaders from across the country — was held in Minnesota in 2018. Keep an eye on Minnesota, there’s more to come. “It’s amazing how much water talent there is in this state. There’s a great collaborative spirit here that brings this water talent together with our other strong industries, such as food and agriculture, where there’s so much demand for new solutions.”— Steve Riedel, regional trade manager, Minnesota Trade Office72 MI NNE SO T A E C O N O MI C D E V E L O P ME N T G U I D EMI NNE SO T A E C O N O MI C D E V E L O P ME N T G U I D E 73Putting the Byte Into BusinessT E C H N OL O G Yhe next time you use a computer, which may be right now as you read this article, you might want to stop and thank the state of Minnesota.Long before anyone had ever seen a PC or even heard of one, engineers and other researchers were working in Minnesota to design and produce the world’s fi rst intelligent device.In the 1950s and 1960s, Engineering Research Associates and Control Data Corp. got their start in Minnesota and began laying the foundation for the computer technology that would ultimately change the world and the way human beings relate to it.The roots of computer science and information technology run deep in Minnesota. The world’s fi rst super computer originated in the North Star State through Control Data Corp. and IBM.Even the tactical micro-robots used by the military and law enforcement — ground tactical drones — emerged out of technology discovered at the University of Minnesota.The merger of computer science and device technology ultimately led to Minnesota staking its claim as the world leader in medical device R&D and production. Today, Minnesota ranks fi rst in the nation in the number of medical device patents per capita, and fi rst worldwide in the number of patents (2,048) in medical device light, thermal and electrical applications between 2011 and 2015.Minnesota ranks No. 8 in the U.S. in electrical comput-ers, digital processing systems and related patents from 1996 to 2016 and in the top 10 nationwide in patents in T>> Minnesota has spent seven decades carving out>> a dominant computer tech position.by R O N S TAR N ERImage by GettyImages; digital illustration by Bob Gravlee74 MI NNE SO T A E C O N O MI C D E V E L O P ME N T G U I D Evarious other Internet of Things (IoT)-related industries including semiconductors and navigational, measuring, electromedical and con-trol instruments.With all this patent innovation, it’s no surprise that many leading medical device and IoT firms are either based in Minnesota or have significant operations here. Count among them 3M, Abbott, Boston Scientific, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Medtronic and Rosemount Inc. Among the dozens of companies with products and services in the fast-growing IoT sector are 75F, Datalink Corp., Digi-Key Electronics, Exosite, IrriGreen, Seagate and ZTR Control Systems. When people ask why so much technological innovation thrives in Minnesota, Jeff Rossate of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) cites several factors:• Minnesota is an idea incubator and patent powerhouse.• The state boasts a fast-growing and well-networked IoT community.• A tech-savvy workforce with multi-generational expertise exists all over the state.Minnesota has developed globally competitive sectors in sensors and automated controls; systems engineering; medical devices and digital health; advanced manufacturing; logistics; water technology; and data centers.The data center sector, in fact, is one of Minnesota’s strongest. “Since 2012, we’ve assisted 35 projects that have invested over $3 billion in capital investment and built 3 million square feet of new or retrofitted data center space,” says Rossate, executive director of the Office of Business Development for DEED.Recent data center projects in the state include Irongate Solutions’ 88,000-sq.-ft. investment, DataBank’s 88,000-sq.-ft. facility, and Stream’s 75,675-sq.-ft. expansion.“The data center landscape in Minnesota is the foundation for a lot of aspects of I.T. and infrastructure,” he adds. “For example, we’ve seen growth in software development. Amazon now has 400 workers in Minneapolis in software.”“The data center landscape in Minnesota is the foundation for a lot of aspects of I.T. and infrastructure.”— Jeff Rossate, Executive Director, Office of Business Development, DEEDMinnesota isTechnology andIn fact, Rossate notes, the growth in the I.T. sector in Minnesota shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Computer and mathematical occupations in Minnesota are 11 percent more concentrated than in the U.S. as a whole, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Milken Institute ranks Minnesota No. 4 overall in Technology and Science Workforce.An educated and affordable workforce underpins this success. Minnesota ranks first nationwide in percent of population (93.1) with a high school degree, and I.T. and telecommunications industries in Minnesota employ 134,983 workers — up 12 percent since 2010, according to EMSI. Meanwhile, their employers get a bargain, as average annual I.T./telecom earnings in Minnesota are $106,143, compared to yearly earnings of $169,462 in California and $155,744 in Massachusetts. The average annual national figure is $120,650.As a result, a plethora of high-tech firms are choosing to expand in Minnesota including Banner Engineering, Emerson, Minnetronix and Prime Therapeutics. The business climate has enabled a lot of large companies to continue to grow here, including electronics retail giant Best Buy, UnitedHealth Group, Ecolab and Mayo Clinic, to name just a few. Several organizations exist in Minnesota to support tech firms. The Minnesota High Tech Association has more than 350 high-tech companies that work together to further a vision of making Minnesota one of the country’s top five technology states; and more than 40 I.T. professional organizations and industry groups have chapters in Minnesota that provide education and networking opportunities. Average annual I.T./telecom earnings in Minnesota are $106,143, compared to yearly earnings of $169,462 in California and $155,744 in Massachusetts.5th inInnovation(CNBC, 2018). Next >