Ideal Aerosmith of East Grand Forks, ND, at head of pack for testing equipment

Ideal Aerosmith didn’t take its name from the rock ’n’ roll legends. This East Grand Forks test equipment company has been going strong long before the band members were old enough to walk, let alone rock.

Ideal Aerosmith began in 1938 when a group of former airline mechanics began designing their own test equipment for airline electronics. The small Ideal Aerosmith company moved from Wyoming to East Grand Forks in 1984 and has grown to be a global supplier of test solutions.

The company creates custom-designed, precision motion simulation and electrical test systems, test software and upgrades to test systems. Simply, Ideal Aerosmith designs equipment that is used to test other companies’ components and equipment.

Ideal Aerosmith helps make it possible to watch an in-flight movie on certain international flights. Ideal Aerosmith designed the equipment that tests the entire airplane entertainment system for proper operation. When any part of the plane’s sound system malfunctions, Ideal Aerosmith’s test equipment can pinpoint and diagnose the problem quickly.

Even though Ideal Aerosmith’s test equipment deals with speed and precision, it’s slow in the making. It takes an average of seven months from the time the order is placed to the time the test equipment leaves Ideal Aerosmith’s facility. That’s because many test systems are designed with long-lead-time materials and built to customer specifications.

Ideal Aerosmith is one of only a few similar test equipment companies supplying motion test systems to U.S. and international markets.

For instance, Ideal Aerosmith has designed motion-sensing test equipment that simulates and tests the accuracy of naval and air defense missiles. Many of Ideal Aerosmith’s projects are restricted because of the defense-related applications.

“We can’t sell our test equipment to just anyone,” said Ideal Aerosmith’s president, John Mohn. “Much of our equipment is for defense-related products, which we can only export to U.S. government-approved customers and nations.”

Other projects are not so restricted. Ideal Aerosmith equipment also helps with oil drilling. The specially designed motion test equipment allows oil well drillers to calibrate components that control drilling directions without removing the drill from the ground. Internationally, more than 100 of these motion-sensing systems are making oil and gas drilling quicker and easier.

Ideal Aerosmith has many accomplishments to be proud of, boasting six facilities and 130 employees nationwide. Three of the facilities and 78 employees are in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks.

When asked what the company was most proud of, Mohn touted his employees. “People don’t have to go a long way to find a great job with a great company. At Ideal Aerosmith, employees have a chance to become experts in the world of test equipment. We are proud to have our roots here and have built our company with a core of people who have their roots here, too.”

In the next five years, Ideal Aerosmith hopes to nearly double the size of the company. The company has set itself up for future growth with its most recent expansion into a facility on South Washington Street in Grand Forks.

As an innovative and world-leading test equipment company perched for continued growth, Ideal Aerosmith will no doubt be rocking longer than its rock band counterpart.

Michaela Schell is the marketing associate for the Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corp.

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