CASSOPOLIS — Postle Extrusion officially broke ground on its $12 million expansion with the help of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.

Gov. Snyder toured the facility Tuesday before lifting a shovel full of dirt next to the expansion site.

Postle Aluminum of Elkhart, Ind. announced that it would be expanding its extrusion facility in Cassopolis back in June when it received a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund.

According to Postle Aluminum CEO Kevin Robinson, the expansion will create 40 new jobs.

Postle Extrusion in Cassopolis currently employs 125 people. Corporate wide, Postle Aluminum employs 400 people. It makes parts for recreational vehicles, fencing and specialty/cargo trailers.

The 52,000-square foot expansion will house a new extrusion press and all the equipment that goes with it, plus a new vertical wet-coat paint line for aluminum, which will allow the company to serve more customers.

“This will really add a lot of value and open up markets,” Robinson said. “The current price tag on that is about $12 million for the expansion.”

Robinson added that expansion is expected to be completed “by the end of the first quarter or before if we can get the equipment running sooner. The long-lead item is the press itself and that is going to be here between the middle of January and the end of January.”

Robinson was also pleased to announce that the major equipment for the expansion is being made by two Michigan companies — one in Ann Arbor and the other in Belding.

Gov. Snyder was pleased to hear that not only is the expansion happening in Michigan, but the parts to build it are too.

“It is great to see you expanding and growing,” Snyder said. “It’s exciting to see you growing because one of the messages I’m really proud of and we need to get out to more people is made in Michigan. We think we make things really good in this state; we’re the world’s best. So we want to get that message around.”

Robinson also told the governor that one of the reasons why Postle Aluminum, which was founded in 1974 in Elkhart, expanded to Cassopolis and is expanding again is the people.

“Since I have been in since 2006, the pool of employees and workforce in the Michigan area is made up of very good, solid workers. That helped us make the decision to why we wanted to expand here.”

While many are focused on the big cities and what they are trying to do, Gov. Snyder knows that projects such as the one in Cassopolis are just as important.

“We have companies all over Michigan adding jobs and that adds up,” Snyder said. “We are seeing good comeback across Michigan because we’ve created a better environment for business and we are competitive. Made in Michigan means something special. We are a place that provides the best products in the world.

“There are so many great places in Michigan. That’s the fun part of traveling around. That’s why it is great to be here in Cassopolis. As you get around Michigan you get to see there is a reason why people live where they do. It’s about the quality of life they are looking for.”