IRD Glass started in 1982 as one entrepreneur manufacturing precision components in a Minnesota commercial garage. Today, teams across two facilities build the glass, ceramic, sapphire, and optical parts that customers depend on for long-running programs.
The name changed, the buildings grew, and the equipment list expanded. The work stayed recognizable: difficult parts, held to their prints, for customers who value a supplier that learns the program.
The original name was a plain description of the job. In 1982, an entrepreneur from Litchfield, Minnesota set up Industrial Research and Development in a local commercial garage and went to work on parts many manufacturers would not quote, ZERODUR® components for aerospace and precision optics for electro-optic sensors.
In 1997, Minnesota investors acquired the company and moved it toward a purpose-built 12,000-square-foot facility. The garage is gone. The habit of solving difficult glass and ceramic work remains.
The company grew the way its parts are made: incrementally, with each addition tied to a real manufacturing need.
Industrial Research and Development opens in Litchfield, building ZERODUR® components for aerospace and precision optics for electro-optic sensors.
A group of Minnesota investors acquires IRD and relocates the operation to a new 12,000-square-foot facility.
IRD moves to 810 E Saint Paul Street in Litchfield and opens IRD Ceramics in Alexandria for advanced hard materials.
Litchfield expands to 22,000 square feet, the company becomes IRD Glass, and the APA Enterprises optics division joins the operation.
IRD Ceramics grows from 7,000 to 15,000 square feet and adds clean-room capability and specialized equipment.
Another 10,000 square feet brings the main glass and optics plant beyond 30,000 square feet.
Both facilities organize people, equipment, floor space, inspection, and process knowledge around repeat customer programs.
IRD is a 100% veteran-owned small business, owned by two United States veterans representing the Navy and the Army, and has maintained an on-time delivery rate of more than 98% for the past decade.
The IRD AdvantageLitchfield is the glass and optics plant, with machining, grinding, polishing, coating, assembly, and inspection under one roof. Alexandria is IRD Ceramics, with dedicated hard-material processing and controlled-environment capability.
Both plants use cell-based manufacturing. A cell carries the customer or product line from material through final inspection and shipping, supported by Lean methods, Six Sigma, and metrology. The purpose is straightforward: preserve process knowledge and reduce the variation created by handoffs.
Glass, optics, machining, polishing, coating, assembly, and inspection in more than 30,000 square feet.
A 15,000-square-foot facility dedicated to advanced technical ceramics and hard materials.
Supplier credentials matter most when they are connected to the manufacturing system buyers are qualifying.
The registered scopes support the manufacture of ultra-high precision glass, optical, ceramic, and medical components. Current certificates are provided during supplier qualification.
View quality detailsIRD is registered with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Controlled programs are manufactured and stored domestically across both Minnesota facilities.
IRD is 100% owned by two United States veterans representing the Navy and the Army. Current ownership and registration documentation is available during supplier qualification.
“When I call, the people at IRD Glass listen. I can get things turned around very quickly and efficiently.”
Leadership experience spans engineering, operations, ceramics, sales, process development, and customer programs.
West Point engineering physics graduate and former Army Military Intelligence officer. Joined IRD as an engineer in 2000 and progressed through operations leadership to CEO.
Joined IRD in 1998 as a field sales engineer, helped launch IRD Ceramics as production manager and engineer, and now leads sales and customer relationships.
Joined IRD in 2006 as a part-time machine operator and has led business development, marketing, customer growth, and cross-functional initiatives since 2012.
Send a print, a sketch, or the operating problem. An applications expert will tell you whether IRD is the right manufacturing fit.
Litchfield + Alexandria, Minnesota · ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485:2016 certified quality systems