Bike Tool Company Plans to Move to Oakdale by January

Oakdale has a lot to offer.

That's why Park Tool, a bicycle tool manufacturer and distributor, decided to relocate its headquarters from Mahtomedi to Oakdale. 

Last week the city with Park Tool for 23 acres of land located along Hadley Avenue north of 50th Street. Eight of the 23 acres is buildable land while the remaining 15 acres is wetlands. Park Tool will pay $900,000 for the land.

The company in Oakdale in the spring and it seemed to be just the right fit, said Eric Hawkins, the president of Park Tool.

The location off of Highway 36 and 694 was a major draw to the land. Park Tool does national and international business, but it also works with quite a few vendors in the east metro. Plus, several employees live in the north-east metro, including Hawkins, who is from Lake Elmo.   

The 23 acres of land also offered serveral possibilities for the future.

"I really liked that our neighbors wouldn't be right on top of us," Hawkins said.

The headquarters is currently housed in a 45,000 square-foot building in Mahtomedi. The new building will be 68,000 square feet.

"We have grown through the recession and we're out of space here," Hawkins said of the Mahtomedi facility. 

Park Tool employs about 50 people and does business with more than 70 companies around the world. Hawkins said Park Tool appeals to both the professional mechanic and the enthusiast home mechanic. 

"It's going to be good to have a thriving business move in," Hawkins said. 

Park Tool uses its facility to engineer and test new products in addition to building, packaging and distributing all of its tool products. 

If the company gets all the proper approval from the city then Hawkins plans to begin construction in mid-August and move into the new facility by January. 

"The city has been great to work with and has really put us on the fast-track to getting this done in a timely manner," Hawkins said. "It's all about planning for the future."