Image Rotomolding Enterprises has grown into a two-machine shop with 18 employees and 22,500 square feet of manufacturing. But the Brainerd company still is setting goals, including the addition of 10 more workers, two rotational molding machines and another 30,000 square feet next year to accommodate that expansion, said Jim Wills, chairman.
Currently the company, which has been in production only since September, is building 4,000 square feet of offices in Brainerd , Minn., to house its executives and an expanding sales and marketing team.
Last month it brought on a second, two-arm machine with 120-inch swing capacity, made by Rotational Engineering Inc. of Berthoud, Colo. Wills said Image must continue to add ma-chines to keep pace with its proprietary product lines - which are growing faster than anticipated - and maintain sufficient capacity for custom work, which is about 80 percent of its roughly $1.5 million in sales.
One proprietary product faring exceptionally well is a polyethylene ski case.
Image is stationing an international sales group in Abu Zabi, Saudi Arabia, to target airlines, a big potential market for the cases, Wills said. Airline customers often complain of skis that become scratched or bent during shipping, he said.
Image custom molds marine and building products, playground equipment and other consumer goods. Earlier this year Image also installed a polyure-thane foaming operation, to make boat docks.
Gene Doyle, Image president, left after six months in that post to pursue other interests; Wills' wife, Peggy, is interim president.