Shutterfly bills itself as an Internet-based social expression and personal publishing business. This summer, the California-based company, which Forbes magazine has called one of America’s best small companies, will cut the ribbon on a new factory in Shakopee, Minnesota. 

Shutterfly provides its customers with free online storage of photographs. Customers can then use its web sites to print photos and create books, greeting cards, and other products. In addition to Shutterfly, their web sites include MyPublisher, BorrowLenses, ThisLife, Treat, and Wedding Paper Divas.

The $60 million facility will encompass 217,000 square feet and will employ about 315 people year-around. The building is designed to allow employment to swell much higher during peak seasons such as the Christmas holidays.

Minnesota is making a serious commitment to manufacturing and it is beginning to show signs of success. TRW Automotive has 260 employees there, and plans to add 150 more. ConAgra is adding 116 new workers. Baxter International, the medical device manufacturer, has purchased a facility and plans to add 200 to 400 employees. Force Valve Manufacturing, which makes hydraulic equipment for snow-removal products, is expanding its plant by 46,000 square feet. Other manufacturers expanding their footprint in Minnesota include Toro, Innova Industries, Gedney Foods, and Avicenna Technology, among others.

As part of its commitment to advanced manufacturing, the state has agreed to provide funding to technical and community colleges to deliver training programs for some of the workers at these growing manufacturing companies.