We are very excited to announce that IRD Glass will be breaking ground on an expansion that will add 50% more square footage, growing from 20,000 ft2 to 30,000 ft2, as soon as the snow melts. As of February 28th, that is looking to be sometime in June! 😉
How did we get here?
Basically, we’ve outgrown our existing facility. The last 5 years we’ve enjoyed year over year growth of better than 10%. We had our first $1m month last year and started off 2019 with another in January. Our headcount has grown from around 50 people just a few years ago to over 80 today! Yeah, we need more room.
IRD has invested heavily in new equipment for polishing, automation and inspection, and our new AOI (automated optical inspection) system for precision glass tubes is now up and running.
As we have grown, our cell-based manufacturing system has been crying out for more space. The new expansion will allow us to “reset” and reorganize our cells. Each cell will enjoy a natural flow from rough ops to precision polishing, cleaning and packaging.
The addition will also provide our employees with additional common areas — a larger break room as well as new conference rooms and meeting rooms. The expansion will also help us improve our energy efficiency and improve our security layout for ITAR and NIST 800-171.
Dispatch from Photonics West 2019
SPIE Photonics West 2019 was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco February 2nd to 7th. As always, it was incredibly rewarding to hear from all the presenters and exhibitors. Hearing our peers’ interesting and sometimes downright audacious ideas, we really got an idea of where the world of optics is heading.
This year’s Photonics West was definitely a success. We met many new people and reconnected with established partners on both sides of the supply chain.
Looking forward to seeing you at our next industry event!
Defense & Commercial Sensing, Baltimore April 16-18 2019 — Booth 667
About IRD Glass
For over 37 years, IRD Glass has done things that virtually no one else has with glass and ceramics, and that’s largely because we incorporate lean principles into the R&D process and use a unique cell-based manufacturing approach with small, dedicated teams work on individual client projects.
Our dedication to continual improvement and to taking care of our employees is why we have become a sole-source provider to both large and small corporations across the planet.
Stay tuned for pictures of our expansion in April!
P.S. This is not an April Fool’s Joke