Villard Company Acquires Burnsville's PASE Group

Burnsville's PASE Group has been bought by Massman Automation Designs, LLC—a Villard, MN packaging company that is in the middle of a boom.

PASE (Projects & Systems Engineering Group) was founded in 2002. The company builds machines that can fill and lid packages, separate pallets or containers, and many other functions. 

Massman proffers packaging systems to a variety of industries—dairy, food and beverage, consumer products, and pharmaceuticals. The company has humble beginnings. The company was born in 1978, in the the garage of Founder Burl Massman. Five years later, Massman moved into its first real building.

Since then, Massman has grown by leaps and bounds, even in the midst of recession. PASE Group is Massman's fifth acquisition in the last seven years, and the second in 2012 alone. In an effort to meet increasing demand, Massman recently added 14,250 square feet of assembly and office space to its headquarters in Villard, boosting production potential by 20 percent. 

According to the Echo Press in Alexandria, PASE Group and Massman will merge under one newly formed company, PASE Group – Massman, LLC. Company officials believe the acquisition will broaden their already extensive line of products.