General company/product description

1. Please describe the product/service your company provides? Liquid, powder, and electro coating services.
2. How does your company impact a specific industry?
This is difficult to say how we impact any specific industry. The needs of our customers are either cosmetics based, performance based or both and we are here to support all those needs.
3. Are you a corporation? Yes.

Company history

1. When was the company started and who founded it?
Industrial Finishing Services (IFS) was started in April 1996 by a group of private investors.
2. When has there been major changes to the produce line or expansions?  
IFS began its journey in the small town of New York Mills, MN. At that time, we provided protective coatings for the agricultural and power sport markets. IFS ventured into liquid paint in 1998 with the addition of a paint line in our NYM’s facility and expanded very quickly with the opening of our second location in Deer Creek, MN in 1999 and third in Perham, MN in 2000, which currently serves as our corporate headquarters. As the industries we serviced grew, our Perham facility followed. In 2005 we implemented a new liquid line serving the power sports market and in 2014 Perham expanded to include a world class robotic paint line. 
3. What is significant/interesting about the history? 
A fun fact is that the Perham facility was a small tofu factory when we purchased it (which we have since expanded to a 176K sq ft facility) and that our Deer Creek facility manufactured Haybuster Wagons prior to us purchasing it.

Customers

1. Who are your customers?
Our primary customer base varies between casters, molders, and fabrication shops to large OEM’s. Some of our more well-known end users of parts we coat are Harley Davidson, Textron (Arctic Cat), Mercury Marine, and Case New Holland.
2. Where are they located? (Regional, national, international)
All across the US with some international.
3. Who do you want for customers?
We don’t have a specific market we target, but we do consider our customers partners. When we are approached by a new customer, a question we are always asking is, “Is this customer going to be a good partner?”. We pride ourselves on open communication and transparency with our customers. We believe a truly successful partnership is when both sides have that same philosophy.
4. Who should prospects contact at your company? Justin Larson, Director of Sales, 218-346-3975

Current stats

1. How many people work at your company today?
115 employees
2. How many products/services does your company provide in a month/year, etc? 
Last year we provided 1,367,000 coated parts to our customers.
3. Current certifications? (ISO, etc.) 
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
4. Other interesting stats?
Our most recent engagement survey results were 75% favorable and our turnover rate for 2022 was 30%. While these stats might not be interesting, we are proud of them and believe they reflect the environment we are striving to create for our employees.

Future

1. Are there currently plans to expand or change?
We are currently focusing on leveraging automation wherever possible to increase our efficiencies and provide the safest environment possible for our employees. We all know how important ergonomics is to manufacturing and automation is going to help us decrease the risk for our employees when performing tasks, especially those that require significant repetitive motions. So, while we may not be expanding in the near future, we are investing heavily in making our business as safe and efficient as it can be, in turn freeing up capacity by doing things faster and better and providing a better experience for our employees.
2. What are the future goals for your company?
At IFS our goals are simple. We want to be the employer of choice in the communities we operate and serve as well as the partner of choice for our customers.

Other questions

1. How has TSMA benefited your company?
While we have not been able to attend as many events as we would have liked, we have benefited greatly from the webinars that are provided. From marketing to navigating the choppy waters during the COVID pandemic, we were grateful for the outside perspective and support provided. It has also helped perspective customers find us for their coating needs, which we always appreciate!
 
Contact:
Justin Larson, Director of Sales
218-346-3975
710 1^st Street NE, Perham, MN 56573
Industrial-Finishing.com