Business View Magazine | December 2019

135 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2019 THE I KONI CS CORPORAT ION square feet was constructed in 2008 and was expanded in 2016 with an additional 27,000 square feet for Advanced Material Solutions division and production activities. “There is plenty of room to grow at this new facility,” says Hegman. “We currently operate a 6-axis robot and multiple blast cabinets that support the machining of customer parts while still allowing room to expand capabilities. IKONICS also owns 11 adjacent acres that are still available, as needed for further expansion. We are positioning ourselves for continued growth.” Regarding future growth, Hegman says that the company’s primary objective, going forward, is to expand the industrial businesses that it created over the last few years. The Advanced Material Solutions division is poised to continue supplying its customers in the aerospace industry, as aircraft and other products turn towards lightweight composites and advanced materials in the coming years. Industrial Inkjet understand that this is somewhat of an unknown process that we do versus traditional machining. We are always open to do proof-of-concept for customers. We’re willing to do that to make sure that we can deliver them a product, even in a small fashion, of high quality and good value. I think that goes across the board with all of our divisions.” Marketing Manager, Michael Sullivan, adds that the company’s long-standing reliability and credibility gives it yet another competitive edge. “We have been around a long time,” he states. “The road travelled from screen printing to decorative sand carving, to building new businesses, is all an extension of our company. When we approach new clients, they know we didn’t just start last year.” Today, IKONICS has about 80 employees working out of two facilities in Duluth. The original facility contains offices and manufacturing for legacy products. A second facility of 35,000