ISO 9001:2015
Certified quality management systemThe registered scope covers the manufacture of ultra-high precision glass, optical, and ceramic components. The current certificate is provided during supplier qualification.
View quality detailsAbout IRD Glass
Forty years from a garage in Litchfield
IRD Glass started in 1983 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.
- 1983
- Founded in Litchfield, Minnesota
- 2
- Minnesota manufacturing facilities
- 45k
- Combined square feet
Where we come from
Industrial Research and Development
The original name was a plain description of the job. In 1983, an entrepreneur from Litchfield, Minnesota set up Industrial Research and Development in a local commercial garage and went to work on parts many shops 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.
Built one expansion at a time
The company grew the way its parts are made: incrementally, with each addition tied to a real manufacturing need.
Founded in a garage
Industrial Research and Development opens in Litchfield, building ZERODUR® components for aerospace and precision optics for electro-optic sensors.
New ownership and a purpose-built home
A group of Minnesota investors acquires IRD and relocates the operation to a new 12,000-square-foot facility.
Two towns, two disciplines
IRD moves to 810 E Saint Paul Street in Litchfield and opens IRD Ceramics in Alexandria for advanced hard materials.
A new name for the work
Litchfield expands to 22,000 square feet, the company becomes IRD Glass, and the APA Enterprises optics division joins the operation.
Ceramics expands
IRD Ceramics grows from 7,000 to 15,000 square feet and adds clean-room capability and specialized equipment.
Litchfield grows again
Another 10,000 square feet brings the main glass and optics plant beyond 30,000 square feet.
Dedicated customer cells
Both facilities organize people, equipment, floor space, inspection, and process knowledge around repeat customer programs.
Ownership and delivery
Veteran-owned. Minnesota-made. Measured in production.
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 Advantage- 98%+
- On-time delivery, past decade
- 65+
- Employees across two plants
- 100%
- Veteran-owned small business
Facilities
Two plants, one method for controlling variation
Litchfield 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.
Litchfield, Minnesota
Glass, optics, machining, polishing, coating, assembly, and inspection in more than 30,000 square feet.
Alexandria, Minnesota
A 15,000-square-foot facility dedicated to advanced technical ceramics and hard materials.
The qualifications behind the story
Supplier credentials matter most when they are connected to the manufacturing system buyers are actually qualifying.
ITAR registered
Domestic manufacturing for controlled workIRD is registered with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. Controlled programs are manufactured and stored domestically across both Minnesota facilities.
Veteran-owned small business
SBA-qualifiedIRD is 100% owned by two United States veterans representing the Navy and the Army, and qualifies as both a Small Business and a Veteran-Owned Business under SBA standards.
Responsiveness in the buyer's words
“When I call, the people at IRD Glass listen. I can get things turned around very quickly and efficiently.”
The people customers work with
Leadership experience spans engineering, operations, ceramics, sales, process development, and customer programs.
Dirk Kvale
CEOWest Point engineering physics graduate and former Army Military Intelligence officer. Joined IRD as an engineer in 2000 and progressed through operations leadership to CEO.
John Rutledge
VP SalesJoined IRD in 1998 as a field sales engineer, helped launch IRD Ceramics as production manager and engineer, and now leads sales and customer relationships.
Todd Anderson
VP Business DevelopmentJoined IRD in 2006 as a part-time machine operator and has led business development, marketing, customer growth, and cross-functional initiatives since 2012.
Next step
Put four decades of difficult parts to work on yours.
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 quality management system