What started as a small paint business in New York Mills grew into something much larger. For the past 25 years, Industrial Finishing Services has been growing throughout its community because the demand for what they do continued to grow with them. It's celebrating its anniversary in 2021.
With locations in New York Mills, Deer Creek and Perham, they produce custom coatings and protective solutions that they ship across the nation. According to Chief Operating and Financial Officer Misty Elliott, they strive to be a leader and the custom coater of choice in the industry.
The farthest they ship to is Thailand. Elliott said this is for Harley-Davidson, only one of several large customers they serve. Some of their other high-profile customers include John Deere, Arctic Cat and Mercury Marine. Outside of this, they do business for local customers and mostly ship to Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin.
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Despite their services reaching across the nation and even across the world, Industrial Finishing Services remains proud to be part of the Perham community. Corporate headquarters are at 710 First St. in Perham.
According to Elliott, Industrial Finishing Services worked with KLN Family Brands to help promote the Perham area. In the past year, Industrial Finishing Services' partnerships with the community have increased. Elliott says they work together to support the community, and this is the best part of being located in Perham.
"(Perham is) a great place to raise children," Elliott said. "There are great activities that Perham offers, and we're proud to provide to a growing community." Industrial Finishing Services has more than 105 employees across Perham, Deer Creek and New York Mills, and, according to Elliott, they are always looking to grow their team.
To help continue building their organization, Industrial Finishing Services is working toward finding ways to make work fun while still getting the job done. According to Elliott, when a new person is hired, there is a check-in process to help the new employees with any difficulties. Industrial Finishing Services also has different surveys to understand how their employees feel about the work environment.
Elliott said she believes that, over years, they've managed to make the company feel like a family. Elliott said that she and Chief Executive Officer Ken Maloney always have an open-door policy to communicate with and answer questions for employees. They like to take an approach where voices matter.
Elliott and Maloney have a similar approach to the services they provide. They said they like to treat their relationships with customers as partnerships and, reflecting over the past few years, would love for Industrial Finishing Services to become the number one choice employer in the area.
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Though, reflections aren't the only things Elliott and Maloney have for the company's 25th anniversary. Several celebrations were planned throughout the week of April 19. These included a cornhole tournament, blackout bingo, an Industrial Finishing Services history contest and a special lunch for employees on Wednesday, April 21. All of these activities were planned with safety and social distancing in mind.
"We couldn't ask for more supportive communities," Elliott said. She and Maloney are both prideful in what they do and hope to continue contributing toward the area in the future.
Industrial Finishing Services can be reached at 218-346-3975.
